Joining an elite group of Country predecessors, Big Loud/Republic Records’ Morgan Wallen brought twang, electricity, and two debut performances to this weekend’s edition of NBC’s Saturday Night Live (5/12; broadcast on Sky Comedy 6/12) with host Jason Bateman.
Starting the night with “the country song that everyone’s talking about right now” (Los Angeles Times), Wallen’s “7 Summers” (watch here) gently introduced the Country juggernaut, showing off the US Top 30 single’s “dreamy, ‘80s inspired” (Stereogum) mood. Cranking up the volume, his second performance brought “Still Goin Down” (watch here) to life for the first time, “a hometown, paint-by-numbers country pride anthem” (Entertainment Weekly) that also previews his upcoming sophomore effort, Dangerous: The Double Album.
Wallen topped off the bucket list night making his sketch debut in “Morgan Wallen Party,” a time travel-filled recreation – down to the Mossy Oak “Mr. Fox” t-shirt – of the now infamous Tuscaloosa evening back in October that made this “Second Yankee Chance” a reality. Vulture called the scene starring Wallen, Bateman, Pete Davidson and Bowen Yang “wall-to-wall Wallens seeing who can out-Wallen Morgan Wallen,” that UPROXX notes turns “into a song of reconciliation.” Hear “Focus on the Future” and watch the dust-up unfold.
Looking to 2021, Wallen’s “hot streak is about to go nuclear” (HITS) when the hitmaker’s highly anticipated sophomore record releases January 8th. His much-anticipated Saturday Night Live debut solidifies Wallen as “a superstar in the making” (MusicRow).
