Morgan Wallen fans vote him back onto Tennessee radio after racist-slur controversy

Morgan Wallen’s career is taking a small step forward after the country star’s use of a racist slur sent it off a cliff a month ago. His “Dangerous: The Double Album� is atop the Billboard 200 album chart for the seventh straight week and, at fans’ request, an East Tennessee radio station is once again playing his songs.

The 27-year-old musician’s red-hot career crumbled in early February when video was posted showing him shouting the N-word at a buddy after what TMZ described as “a rowdy night out.� Wallen later explained that the video showed “Hour 72 of 72 of a bender, and that’s not something I’m proud of either.�

But even as he saw his record contract “paused,� lost his representation and was banned from the ACM Awards and the nation’s largest radio networks and music streamers’ playlists, fans have had his back.

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“We were disappointed by the behavior in the video,� KMYL-96.7 Merle owner Ron Meredith said in a statement when the Knoxville, Tenn., station posted its Wallen poll Feb. 7.

“But we were also uncomfortable with sitting in judgement [sic]. If you’ve lived long enough, you probably have said at one point or another you were glad video and social media wasn’t everywhere when you were young and did stupid things,� Meredith added. “While nobody liked the behavior, we are a radio station — not in the censorship business.�

Calling the situation “like being between a rock and a hard place,� Meredith said the station was uncomfortable with “institutions� making the decision to ban Wallen. Instead, it let listeners vote in an unscientific poll.

Nine days later the results were in: With strong support, Wallen’s music returned to the air near his Sneedville, Tenn., birthplace. Songs including “7 Summers� and “Chasin’ You� are now playing about every two hours.

Wallen explained himself Feb. 10 in a five-minute video apology that at times rang true and at others appeared to show a man consulting a written statement.

The country superstar noted that he had let down people who meant a lot to him, including his son and his parents, who he said were “the furthest thing ... from the person in that video.� He said he’d been invited by several Black organizations to have educational conversations and was “pretty nervous to accept those invitations.�

“The very people I hurt, and they had every right to step on my neck while I was down, to not show me any grace, but they did the exact opposite,� Wallen said. “They offered me grace and they also paired that with an offer to learn and to grow.�

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“I was wrong,� he said. “It’s on me to take ownership for this and I fully accept any penalties I’m facing.� Wallen said he’d be going “off the grid� for a while to wrangle his habits — presumably his drinking, which has caused problems for him before — and improve his decision-making.

He’s been silent on social media since then.

With seven consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200 album chart since its release, Wallen’s “Dangerous: The Double Album� is tied with Taylor Swift’s “Red� and Garth Brooks’ “The Chase� for total weeks on the chart. “Dangerous� is the first country album to spend seven straight weeks after its release at No. 1 on the chart that tracks all types of music.

Per SiriusXM host and music writer Eric Alper, Wallen is still behind Brooks’ “Ropin’ the Wind� and “The Hits,� Swift’s “Fearless� and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Some Gave All� for total weeks on the 200 chart among country releases. (Also, for those who weirdly count the Eagles as country, their “Hotel California� is also more successful.)

Wallen’s latest album has had the longest run at No. 1 since Drake’s “Views� in 2016, according to the New York Times, which suggested that a lack of competition might also be boosting Wallen’s performance.