Country comeback. Morgan Wallen is opening up about how being a father helped him “grow” in the wake of his N-word scandal.
02.05.2022 - 23:23 / deadline.com
Morgan Wallen’s comeback continues after a scandal in which he was seen using a racial slur on video.
Wallen has been banned from performing at various awards shows — including the 2021 Billboard Music Awards — in the wake of the February 2021 footage. After a few months, he mounted an apology tour and spoke with Black organizations about his mistake. He has since been reinstated by his record label after a hiatus of several months.
Now, MRC, which produces the Billboard Music Awards, is letting the country star back into the fold. The company has included Wallen in the lineup of performers for the 2022 show, which airs on May 15, and issued a statement to Deadline regarding the decision.
It reads as follows:
We oppose discrimination, harassment, or racism of any kind. We believe in treating everyone with dignity and respect. After a thorough review and robust discussions internally and with the artist’s team, in which we found a demonstrated and ongoing commitment to meaningful work and outreach, we extended an invitation to participate in this year’s show.
The performance will mark the latest in a string of steps back into the spotlight for Wallen. Last year, the country star had the most popular album across all genres on the Billboard charts. This year, he launched a tour in February and won Album of the Year At ACM Awards in March.
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Country comeback. Morgan Wallen is opening up about how being a father helped him “grow” in the wake of his N-word scandal.
Morgan Wallen took home the award for top country male artist at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards. "I got the best d--- fans," Wallen said during his acceptance speech. "Thank you to my momma for being my date tonight.
Travis Scott and Morgan Wallen made controversial returns on the Billboard Music Awards stage on Sunday, while Mary J. Blige was honored for her musical excellence.Wallen performed in his first major awards show after he was caught on camera more than a year ago using a racial slur. After not receiving a verbal introduction, the country star sat alongside his four-piece band and performed “Don’t Think Jesus” then his chart-topping “Wasted on You,” a single from his popular project “Dangerous: The Double Album.”Shortly after his performance, rapper Pusha T presented Wallen with the top country artist award.“I want to say, ‘Thank God.’ And thank my fans.
It was a night of redemption at the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday night.First, there was country star Morgan Wallen — who had been banned from performing at the Grammys and the Country Music Association Awards for a video that surfaced in early 2021 of him using the N-word — getting the chance to take the stage at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. He milked the opportunity by going gospel for maximum sympathy with his song “Don’t Think Jesus.” Then there was Travis Scott performing publicly for the first time since last December’s Astroworld tragedy that killed 10 concertgoers.
Travis Scott and Morgan Wallen returned to the stage at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards. This marks the first major televised appearances these music stars have made since their respective controversies last year.
Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticThe Billboard Music Awards telecast positioned itself this year as the official awards show of forgiveness for so-called “canceled” stars, with performance slots offered to both Morgan Wallen and Travis Scott. In the case of Wallen, that also extended to a major on-air award, as Wallen was called to the BBMAs’ podium Sunday night to accept a trophy for top country artist.It wasn’t Wallen’s first win at an awards show since his career time-out in early 2021; he won album of the year at the fan-voted Academy of Country Music Awards in March.
Morgan Wallen took to the stage to perform at this year’s Billboard Music Awards after previously being cancelled for his use of the N-word.
Morgan Wallen’s performance.The country star was banned from last year’s ceremony – among other awards shows – after footage of him using a racial slur surfaced online.However, it was announced in the days leading up to the event that Wallen would be performing at this year’s ceremony, which is being held tonight (May 15) at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. In the minutes before he took to the stage, civil rights activist Tamika Mallory was given an award and delivered a message about social justice and anti-racism.The BBMAs 2022 also opened with a message offering condolences to the victims of a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, which saw 10 people killed in a racially motivated attack, and another shooting in Laguna Words, California in which one person was killed.Wallen performed his tracks ‘Don’t Think Jesus’ and ‘Wasted Alone’ at the ceremony.
Thania Garcia In his first televised performance since the Astroworld disaster last fall, Travis Scott performed his song “Mafia” on the Billboard Music Awards, on a polar-themed set reminiscent of “Game of Thrones.”The camera slowly zoomed in on him inside a cave-like room framed by a polar scene, wearing a fur-and-white outfit as he launched into the song surrounded by similarly garbed dancers. All of them lurched around fake bolders and ice slabs; the scene would suddenly lurch into a surreal, blurry black background like some parallel dimension.He performed a brief segment of a new song — presumably from his forthcoming album, “Utopia” — before the performance ended abruptly, followed, naturally enough, by Morgan Wallen accepting an award presented by Pusha T.
Morgan Wallen took to the stage to perform at this year’s Billboard Music Awards after previously being cancelled for his use of the N-word.
2022 Billboard Music Awards.The previously “canceled” 29-year-old performed not one, but two songs Sunday night a year after a February 2021 video of him surfaced drunkenly calling his friend the N-word and other expletives went viral.“F— Morgan Wallen and this Jim Crow music,” one user wrote. “With what just happened in Buffalo, we coulda cut him from the lineup.
Morgan Wallen is giving props to his son. ET's Cassie DiLaura spoke to the country music singer at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas Sunday night, where he shared how his son has helped his «grow» over the past year.«I think mostly I can attribute it to being a dad,» Wallen said of his growth over the last year, which he attributes to one-year-old Indigo, who he shares with KT Smith.
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Olivia Rodrigo and Kanye West are leading the winners at the Billboard Music Awards 2022 today (May 15), following 54 of the show’s 62 victors being announced.The bulk of the awards were handed out during a TikTok livestream, while the rest of the winners will be revealed at a ceremony at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena tonight. The show begins at 8pm ET (1am BST).Rodrigo and West are currently tied on six wins apiece at this year’s BBMAs, with the ‘Sour’ star collecting Top New Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist and more.