After teasing the track back in October 2021, Morgan Wallen surprised fans with a post on TikTok revealing that the previously unreleased song, “Don’t Think Jesus” would officially be released on Friday, April 15th.
Wallen first previewed the song on Instagram, sharing that the tune was written by his friends (Chase McGill, Jessi Alexander, and Mark Holman) with him in mind. Admitting the song brought him to tears on first listen, Wallen went on to perform his own acoustic version of the song.
“Don’t Think Jesus” is relatable and comparable to Wallen’s own journey thus far. The ballad has a pure traditional country sound paired with Wallen’s unique vocals making it an instant fan-favorite.
Check back on Friday, April 15th for the official release of the brand new song, “Don’t Think Jesus”.
Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about upcoming Morgan Wallen announcements and releases.
To keep up with Morgan Wallen, follow him on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
For the latest releases in country music, check out our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.
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Dangerous: The Double Album is the second studio album by American country music singer Morgan Wallen. The double album was released on January 8, 2021, via Big Loud Records and Republic Records on CD, vinyl, and digital download.[2][4] The production on the album was handled by Joey Moi, Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome, Matt Dragstrem and Dave Cohen.[1] It also features guest appearances by Chris Stapleton and Ben Burgess.
Dangerous was preceded by the release of two singles: "More Than My Hometown", and "7 Summers"; and six promotional singles: "Cover Me Up", "This Bar", "Heartless (Wallen Album Mix)", "Somebody's Problem", "Still Goin' Down", and "Livin' the Dream".[1] The album also received generally positive reviews from music critics and was a commercial success. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and US Top Country Albums charts, earning 265,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.[5]
In March 2022, the album established the all-time record for longest duration in the #1 spot (75 weeks and counting) on Billboard's Country Albums chart. It achieved the most weeks in the top ten of the Billboard 200 by a solo studio album.
Background[edit]
Wallen stated:
"The 'double album' idea started off as just a joke between me and my manager because we had accumulated so many songs over the past couple of years. Then quarantine hit, and we realized it might actually be possible to have enough time to make it happen. I also ended up writing quite a few more songs during the quarantine with some of my good buddies. I also wanted the songs to speak to multiple phases of life and have multiple different sounds based on my influences and based on what I enjoy."[6]
Shortly before the release of the album, several CDs were erroneously put up for sale at certain Walmart locations in the United States. This prompted several consumers to leak clips of unreleased songs, to which Wallen responded by saying "If anyone’s gonna leak my music, it should be me" and releasing "leaks" of unreleased songs himself.[7] He also urged his fans to buy the physical release at Target instead, adding: "I don’t shop at Walmart anyway. I also gave Target two extra songs, so if you’re going to buy my album physically, go to Target, baby".[7]
Walmart responded to the issue with this statement provided to the Rolling Stone:
"We are deeply apologetic to Morgan for this unfortunate situation. We appreciate Morgan as an artist and understand his frustration and disappointment. We have protocols in place to help ensure new albums are not sold before the release date, yet in this instance his album made its way to the shelf in a handful of stores early. We’re actively removing any albums remaining on the shelves in those stores to hold until the official release date, and taking additional precautionary measures for the future."[7]
Critical reception[edit]
Professional ratings| Metacritic | 72/100[8] |
| AllMusic | |
| Pitchfork | 6.9/10[9] |
| Rolling Stone |
Owen Myers of Pitchfork complimented Wallen's vocals and songwriting alongside writing that "among the album’s 30 tracks there are few skips."[11] Jonathan Bernstein of Rolling Stone felt the opposite, calling the record "part album, part playlist, part content dump" and that "Wallen does not always seem up to the heavy task of pumping fresh life into well-worn topics."[12] Writing for Stereogum, Chris DeVille wrote that though "Wallen’s look is old-fashioned, his sound is thoroughly, sometimes maddeningly current" and called the record "a massive leap from his debut" while adding "if the tracklist feels excessive, it also doesn’t have a lot of weak spots" and that "the guy seems capable of becoming Garth Brooks for a new generation."[13] Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote that Wallen "leaves ample room for musical variety" and called the record "modern Nashville studio product, aimed for radio playlists and, eventually, big concert spaces."[14]
Chris Richards, writing for The Washington Post, opined that the album "feels about 19 songs too long" and that "time never seems to be moving fast enough [on it]."[15] Dan DeLuca of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that the album "gets tiresome fast" and called it "overstuffed with radio-ready cliche," but did recognize Wallen's overall talent.[16] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that "the sheer variety proves Wallen can indeed convincingly sing just about any modern country style" and felt that the album weaved between "harder country and softer pop."[17]
Commercial performance[edit]
Dangerous: The Double Album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and US Top Country Albums charts, earning 265,000 album-equivalent units (including 74,000 copies as pure album sales) in its first week, according to MRC Data.[5] This became Wallen's first US number one debut and his second on the latter.[5] The album also accumulated a total of 240.18 million on-demand streams, becoming the largest streaming week ever for a country album at the time.[5] This more than doubles the record set by Luke Combs' What You See Is What You Get.[5] In its second week, the album remained at number one on the chart, earning an additional 159,000 units making it the first country album to spend two weeks at number one since Chris Stapleton's Traveller in 2015 and the first country set to spend its first two weeks at number one since Luke Bryan's Kill the Lights that year.[18] In its third week, the album remained at number one on the chart, earning 130,000 more units.[19] In its fourth week, the album remained at number one on the chart, earning 149,000 units.[20] It received a 14 percent increase from the previous week, despite the nationwide removal of Wallen's music throughout radio stations in the United States following his use of a racial slur outside of his Nashville home on February 2, 2021.[20] It concurrently became the first country album to spend its first four weeks atop the Billboard 200 chart since Shania Twain's Up! did so in January 2003.[20] In addition, it later extended its run with a fifth and sixth week at the top,[21] marking the longest run atop the charts for a country album since Garth Brooks' The Chase in 1992.[22] The album eventually spent a total of ten weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 and ended up becoming the best selling album for the first half of 2021.[23][24] As of September 2021, the album has earned 2,539,000 album-equivalent units and has sold 267,000 copies in the United States.[25]
Track listing[edit]
Bonus and Target edition tracks[1][27][28]
| "This Side of a Dust Cloud" |
| 3:20 |
| "Bandaid on a Bullet Hole" |
| 3:54 |
Bonus edition[28]
| "Sand in My Boots" (The Dangerous Sessions) |
| 3:17 |
Notes[edit]
- "Country Ass Shit" is stylized as "Country A$$ Shit".[2]
- All tracks produced by Joey Moi.[1]
- "Wasted on You" and "Bandaid on a Bullet Hole" feature co-production by Jacob Durrett.[1]
- "Warning" features co-production by Charlie Handsome.[1]
- "Your Bartender" features co-production by Matt Dragstrem.[1]
- "Cover Me Up" features co-production by Dave Cohen.[1]
Personnel[edit]
Adapted from the album liner notes.[29]
- Tom Bukovac – electric guitar
- Ben Burgess – duet vocals on "Outlaw"
- Dave Cohen – Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards
- Matt Dragstrem – programming
- Jacob Durrett – programming
- Paul Franklin – steel guitar
- Charlie Handsome – programming
- Wes Hightower – background vocals
- Mark Holman – programming
- Jake Mitchell – programming
- Joey Moi – electric guitar, programming, background vocals
- Niko Moon – programming
- Jerry Roe – drums, percussion
- Daniel Ross – programming
- Ernest K. Smith – background vocals
- Jimmie Lee Sloas – bass guitar
- Chris Stapleton – duet vocals on "Only Thing That's Gone"
- Bryan Sutton – acoustic guitar, banjo, dobro, mandolin
- Ilya Toshinsky – acoustic guitar
- Morgan Wallen – lead vocals, background vocals
- Derek Wells – accordion, electric guitar
Charts[edit]
Certifications[edit]
Release history[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Kaufman, Gil (November 12, 2020). "Morgan Wallen Announces 30-Track Double Album 'Dangerous': The 'Idea Started Off As Just a Joke'". Billboard. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ a b c Dukes, Billy (November 11, 2020). "Morgan Wallen Announces New 'Dangerous' Double Album, Featuring Chris Stapleton". Taste of Country. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Dangerous: The Double Album - Morgan Wallen". AllMusic. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ "Morgan Wallen Vinyl- Dangerous- PRESALE". richardsandsouthern.com. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Caulfield, Keith (January 17, 2021). "Morgan Wallen's 'Dangerous: The Double Album' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200, Breaks Country Streaming Record". Billboard. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ "Morgan Wallen's 'Dangerous: The Double Album' Is Here: Stream It Now". Billboard. January 8, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Morgan Wallen Gears Up for 'Dangerous' Album Release by Trolling Walmart". Rolling Stone. January 5, 2021.
- ^ "Dangerous: The Double Album by Morgan Wallen". Metacritic. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ Myers, Owen (January 14, 2021). "Morgan Wallen: Dangerous: The Double Album". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (January 8, 2021). "Morgan Wallen Is a Versatile Nashville Cliche Machine on 'Dangerous: The Double Album'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ "Morgan Wallen: Dangerous: The Double Album". Pitchfork.
- ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (January 8, 2021). "Morgan Wallen Is a Versatile Nashville Cliche Machine on 'Dangerous: The Double Album'".
- ^ "Morgan Wallen Is Primed To Become Country's Biggest Crossover Star In Years". January 11, 2021.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (January 12, 2021). "Morgan Wallen's Small-Town Country Songs, Aimed at a Big Audience" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ Richards, Chris. "Review | Morgan Wallen's big moment feels about 19 songs too long" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
- ^ DeLuca, Dan. "The talented Morgan Wallen's new double album is overstuffed with radio-ready cliche | Review". www.inquirer.com.
- ^ "Dangerous: The Double Album - Morgan Wallen | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith (January 24, 2021). "Morgan Wallen's 'Dangerous: The Double Album' No. 1 for Second Week on Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith (January 31, 2021). "Morgan Wallen's 'Dangerous' Makes It Three Weeks at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
- ^ a b c Caulfield, Keith (February 7, 2021). "Morgan Wallen's 'Dangerous' Spends Fourth Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith (February 14, 2021). "Morgan Wallen's 'Dangerous' No. 1 for Fifth Week on Billboard 200 While 'If I Know Me' Hits Top 10 for First Time". Billboard.
- ^ "Morgan Wallen's 'Dangerous' Hits Sixth Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200, Most for a Male Artist Since Drake's 'Views'". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
- ^ "Morgan Wallen's 'Dangerous' Spends 10th Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
- ^ Blake, Emily. "The Biggest Albums of 2021 So Far: Pop Strikes Back". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "Biggest Albums At Nine-Month Mark". Hits Daily Double. September 22, 2021. Archived from the original on September 22, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ a b "Dangerous: The Double Album by Morgan Wallen on Apple Music". Retrieved November 21, 2020 – via Apple Music.
- ^ "Morgan Wallen - Dangerous: The Double Album (Target Exclusive, Vinyl)". Target Corporation. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ a b "Dangerous: The Double Album (Bonus) by Morgan Wallen on Apple Music". Retrieved January 30, 2021 – via Apple Music.
- ^ Dangerous: The Double Album (CD booklet). Morgan Wallen. Big Loud Records/Republic Records. 2021. B0033163-01.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Morgan Wallen – Dangerous - The Double Album". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ "Morgan Wallen Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
- ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. January 18, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ "Morgan Wallen Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
- ^ "Morgan Wallen Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
- ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2021". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
- ^ "Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
- ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
- ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2022 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Morgan Wallen – Dangerous: The Double Album". Music Canada. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
- ^ "American album certifications – Morgan Wallen – Dangerous: The Double Album". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
- ^ "Morgan Wallen Announces Dangerous: The Double Album, Out January 8". Umusic. November 12, 2020.