Morgan Wallen surprised fans last month when he announced he was a father, after welcoming son Indigo Wilder with his former fianceé Katie Smith. The new role has changed almost everything about how Morgan conducts his life, whose primary goal right now is to raise his son in the exceptional way he was raised by his own father.
“I had a really good example of a dad growing up,” Morgan told Entertainment Tonight. “I really just want to be like my daddy. There was always a lot of sacrifices made for me and for my sister to make sure we were all happy. He always gave me a good example of how to treat my mom.”
Morgan might have had a No. 1 hit with “Whiskey Glasses” (and recently been arrested for public intoxication and disorderly conduct at Kid Rock’s Honky Tonk Bar), but the 27-year-old insists he is a changed man, for the better, after having his son.
“It’s definitely changed the way I look at things,” Morgan maintained. “I think I’m always going to be a bit of a wildcard. I realize every decision I make now doesn’t just affect me, but it really affects him too, so I’m trying to be a little bit more responsible.”
In between seeing his son, Morgan is also working on new music, the follow-up to his freshman If I Know Me record — music that would already be out if not for the coronavirus pandemic.
“Honestly, if it wasn’t for all of this going on, I would have already had it turned in and ready to go,” Morgan revealed. “But we’re getting closer. We’ve got a system figured out to where everybody feels safe, and that kind of thing, so we can work on it right now … We’re getting there. I still don’t have any dates. I think everything is still up in the air, because nobody knows what’s going on. No matter what happens with COVID, it will be within the next six months.”
Morgan’s debut project not only included “Whiskey Glasses,” but his mega hit, “Up Down” with Florida Georgia Line, as well as his most recent No. 1 hit, “Chasin’ You.” The sudden success caused Morgan a few moments of uncertainty as he worked on his sophomore record at first, but he now says he feels more confident than ever.
“Now that I’ve got a whole compilation of songs from my second album, and I’ve gotten a bunch of feedback, the pressure has subsided a little bit, because I know that we have good songs coming,” Morgan shared. “If I was worried about that, then I’d feel a lot more pressure.”
The Tennessee native says his new set of tunes will show a new side of him, one fans haven’t seen until now.
“It’s got everything,” Morgan hinted. “I don’t want to say too much because there’s some things we still have to figure out. But there’s some songs that are more mature and more personal to me and my life. Whenever I make an album, I just want it to have a little bit of everything: a little bit of party, a little bit of fun, a little bit of sad. There’s some different kind of sounding songs for me too. I don’t even know exactly how to describe it all. But it’s a little bit of everything.”
“I’m ready to put it out,” he added. “It seems like forever since I put out my first album. Obviously with everything going on, I think people probably understand.”
