On Morgan Wallen Bowing Out of Grammy Consideration
You might have heard, but for the upcoming run of the Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy finally added a “Best Traditional Album” category, and turned the previous album category into “Best Contemporary Country Album.” This is a major development for trying to separate the country genre in a way that is fair to everyone, that can decrease conflict, and increase exposure for worthy country artists that too often get overshadowed by big contemporary names.
An effort is currently underway to get as many of these traditional country artists to submit their albums to the Grammys as possible, so hopefully the Recording Academy keeps this new category around, and who knows, maybe adds a song category in the future. But artists and bands have to put out the effort to submit, or their album won’t be considered. If you’re one of these artists, you have until August 29th to get your stuff in.
If you don’t have a label or know a Grammy member who can submit on your behalf, please reach out to Saving Country Music who’s actively trying to help independent artists get their albums in for consideration via the site’s Contact Page. If you happen to be a Grammy member and want to help out, also feel free to reach out. For more information, you can read the Grammy’s How To Submit Music Guide.
But one artist that we know won’t be submitting their work to the Recording Academy happens to also be the biggest artist in all of “country” music. Morgan Wallen has let it be known that he won’t be submitting his massive #1 album I’m The Problem for consideration this year. Though no explanation has been given, Wallen’s representatives did confirm the decision on Wednesday (8-20). That means the album that has spent 11 weeks in the #1 spot in all of American music since its release in May won’t compete in country or anywhere else.
Though it might be easy to cast off the Grammys as being too hoity-toity for the likes of Wallen, he was nominated for two awards just last year: “Best Country Song” and “Best Country Duo/Group Performance” via “I Had Some Help” with Post Malone. It wasn’t entirely out of the question that he couldn’t receive some nominations this year, including in the Grammy’s all genre categories.
It’s interesting this information leaked out to the public as well. Sometimes artists just don’t submit their stuff, like Zach Bryan last year. But it wasn’t until the press figured out Zach Bryan wasn’t in contention after the submissions had closed when the news was revealed. It’s almost like Wallen wants the public to know he’s not playing ball, though unlike Drake or The Weeknd who’ve declined consideration in the past, it doesn’t come with some sort of fiery sermon of how the Grammy’s suck.
Nonetheless, this very well could be a face saving move for Wallen to get ahead of the Grammys before making headlines for being “snubbed.” At the same time, Wallen has never been much for awards to begin with. In 2024, he won the most coveted trophy in the entirety of country music: the CMA’s Entertainer of the Year. Wallen wasn’t there to accept it in-person, and really hasn’t even acknowledged the win subsequently, let alone seemed grateful for it.
But what does Morgan Wallen need awards for? He’s already one of the biggest artists in all of music. When Sierra Ferrell won four Grammy Awards in the “Americana” categories earlier this year, it was a major moment in her career. There could also be more big moments for independent artists when the nominations are revealed on November 7th, and at the awards in February 2026, especially with the new Best Traditional Country Album category.
By focusing more on the critically-acclaimed as opposed to the completely commercial, it’s not exactly a loss that Morgan Wallen won’t be in Grammy contention. It simply opens the field for more artists who deserve the recognition, can benefit more from it, and might actually care if they receive it.
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August 24, 2025 @ 8:38 am
He can’t keep playing victim for profit if he actually participates and risks winning something.
August 24, 2025 @ 9:08 am
Good.
Stay away from satanic hollywood.
He doesn’t need awards.
He ‘s already the king of the charts.
We want a christmas/gospel/live album and film career.
August 24, 2025 @ 9:37 am
“Stay away from satanic hollywood” “we want a film career”
August 24, 2025 @ 10:36 am
There are filmmakers outside of Hollywood.
August 24, 2025 @ 10:47 am
Who has made a successful film outside of Hollywood besides the Daily Wire? And that’s just a Satanic Mossad/Jewish outlet.
August 24, 2025 @ 12:07 pm
Tyler Perry, whose entire entertainment company, including his own self-funded studio, is based in and operates out of Atlanta, and only used Hollywood for distribution. And now that his projects go to Netflix, he doesn’t even need them for that anymore.
That is just one example. There are others.
August 24, 2025 @ 9:38 am
“Satanic” lol
Get a grip.
August 24, 2025 @ 9:30 am
Just saw Flatland Cavalry this weekend, and didn’t have to pay for a ticket, or even parking, so I can’t be bothered right now with Wallen’s shtick. Come back when you’ve actually made half-decent music, or at least something that doesn’t spoil memories of Keith Whitley, Morgan.
August 24, 2025 @ 10:25 am
A stand-up guy thing to do, seems to me.
“But what does Morgan Wallen need awards for? He’s already one of the biggest artists in all of music.”
Exactly.
August 24, 2025 @ 11:30 am
Thank You.
Time’s up on your street cred, Trig.
Time to get a new gig.
August 24, 2025 @ 12:16 pm
You’re not well Di.
No clue what this comment means.
August 24, 2025 @ 12:26 pm
: D Save your insults.
August 24, 2025 @ 10:42 am
Seems like a ‘preemptive breakup’ situation like what George Costanza pulled. He declines the consideration knowing they likely will give the win to someone else anyway in some attempt to belittle him. The people who like Wallen’s music don’t give a crap about the Grammy’s anyway.
August 24, 2025 @ 12:46 pm
Sooner or later, with all these hits, someone will invite Mogan to come back to the Opry. It’s been what, three and a half years? Surely he won’t turn THAT invitation down,will he?
August 24, 2025 @ 12:40 pm
“Though it might be easy to cast off the Grammys as being too hoity-toity for the likes of Wallen, he was nominated for two awards just last year: “Best Country Song” and “Best Country Duo/Group Performance” via “I Had Some Help” with Post Malone.”
No, the opposite is true. The guy has been recording since 2018 and has been the best-selling male artist in the country by a mile during that time. (Note: Ed Sheeran and Harry Styles are British; The Weeknd and Drake are Canadian.) Yet his only nominations came via his collaboration with the far-less selling pop singer Post Malone. And he lost … to pop singers Beyonce and Miley Cyrus for a song, II Most Wanted, that was terrible artistically and flopped commercially (where the Wallen and Malone song broke records commercially and while no grand artistic statement was at least entertaining).
As the Grammys are a serious event like the ESPY’s, meaning that they can’t do things like have Serena Williams onstage publicly humiliating NFL player Harrison Butker during the live broadcast, that is literally the most that they can do in order to overtly mock someone. That there were other acts more deserving of that award that were totally hosed by the Grammy’s “let’s make fun of Malone” statement? The Grammys caring about that would mean providing evidence that they ever cared about country music in the first place. We’ve known that they haven’t at least since 2007 when they gave the Dixie Chicks all those country awards for a pop album – and also gave them a record, song and album of the year sweep that is practically unheard of for performers not on the Beatles or Stevie Wonder strata and completely unprecedented in the modern era for a country act – for the sole purpose of mocking country music, fans and culture.
And no, we can’t claim that Grammys are objecting to Morgan Wallen for morality’s sake. The same Grammys that oh so objects to Wallen has given Chris Brown the Best R&B Album despite his having been on an almost continuous crime spree since 2009. (Not exaggerating much here because even if you exclude his taking 2 or 3 years off every now and then, they are more than made up for with the several times when he had multiple incidents in the same year. Talking about what “might have happened” during any of Wallen’s several drunken incidents is fine, but with Brown those things ACTUALLY DID HAPPEN – meaning people getting injured badly enough to require hospitalization and treatment – several times. Note: nothing personal against Brown. PLENTY of musicians and other entertainers have done much, much worse. Only singling Brown out over his getting a major Grammy the very same evening that the Grammys chose once again to claim that a country singer’s uttering an anti-black slur makes him, to quote The Simpsons with respect to Wallen’s fellow Georgian Jimmy Carter, “history’s greatest monster.”)
Country fans and hip-hop/rap fans don’t agree on a whole lot. (Even if behind the scenes the actual performers in those genres have gotten along well for quite some time.) But one thing that they should agree with and support each other on is well-deserved disdain for the Grammys.
August 24, 2025 @ 1:10 pm
Not a fan but yeah he has nothing to gain by winning but a lot (mostly pride) to lose if he didn’t win.