For a genre with so many distinct sub-sounds and influences, you’d think the debate over what truly defines country music would be minor. Instead, it’s more like politics or religion; there’s no winning when it comes to declaring a concrete definition. At the forefront of this ongoing conversation, there tends to always be one name that rises to the top: Morgan Wallen.
Whether you love him or hate him, there’s no denying that Wallen is not just one of country music’s biggest stars, but one of the most prominent artists in music today. And of course, with that level of success comes constant scrutiny, particularly over whether his fame is truly deserved. Since the release of his debut album, If I Know Me, in 2018 and through 2025’s I’m the Problem, Wallen has undergone a clear metamorphosis, both personally and musically. What began as a 20-year-old contestant with gritty vocals on The Voice has evolved into an unmatched level of stardom within the genre.
Wallen’s roots in the establishment of Bro-Country solidified him as a fan favorite for bonfire cookouts and JBL speakers at beach bashes with hits like “7 Summers,” “Chasin’ You,” and “Up Down,” featuring Florida Georgia Line, carving his name onto everyone’s playlists at some point early on. With both catchy melodies and a fairly unique lyric diction, Wallen was the perfect recipe for country radio. And like any artist dominating the airwaves, that success inevitably brought two common criticisms: overexposure and being “too poppy.”
Those arguments hit especially hard for songs like “Whiskey Glasses,” “More Than My Hometown,” “Wasted On You,” and, more recently, “Last Night,” “Thinkin’ Bout Me,” and “You Proof.” After hearing these upbeat tunes on repeat across country radio, listeners start to get fatigued and play the comparison game. Wallen’s success has never come from the fact that he is 100% country, though. While he may sing about his backwoods lifestyle and intertwine his Tennessee roots throughout these tracks, it’s the pop influences that help make them so successful, for better or worse, enabling them to transcend multiple audiences across genres.
Truths like these landed him on Billboard’s list of the Top 10 Greatest Pop Stars of 2025. Alongside artists like Tyler the Creator (10), Tate McRae (7), and Sabrina Carpenter (5), Morgan Wallen was included in spot number 8. In their article, they do refer to Wallen as “country superstar,” but it’s very interesting that they so blatantly labelled him as a pop star. While many would argue this to be a long-overdue acknowledgement of his true colors, I have a feeling Wallen and his true fans would disagree with the blanket statement.
2025 was a pretty monumental year for the Sneedville native, given the outstanding success of his 37-song project, “I’m the Problem,” a sold-out stadium tour, and becoming RIAA’s Highest Certified Country Artist of all time in December. Within his fourth studio album, Wallen played into various inspirations spanning the genres of pop, rap, and, of course, country. Two of the top singles on the album featured primarily pop artists, Tate McRae (“What I Want”) and Post Malone (“I Ain’t Coming Back), as well as their collab for Malone’s album, “I Had Some Help.”
Probably one of the biggest pieces of supporting evidence in the anti-country music debate for this album was the widely controversial track, “Miami.” What started as a Keith Whitley interpolation snowballed into a Rick Ross and Lil Wayne rap remix and garnered A LOT of hate from fans on the traditional side of the debate. The album is a hybrid blend of different sounds, all forced under a single genre, in this case, country, which makes it jarring to see a revisited trap-influenced track included under the same genre (especially given its sacred Whitley ties).
This isn’t the first time Wallen has blurred genre lines through collaborations like these. Early on, he crossed into pop with Diplo on “Heartless,” teamed up with Moneybagg Yo on “WHISKEY WHISKEY,” and later leaned into hip-hop with Lil Durk on “Broadway Girls” and “Stand By Me.” Ahead of the release of Dangerous, GQ spoke with Diplo shortly after “Heartless” dropped, and he shared, “I remember him saying, ‘I was never a country singer, I’m just a redneck,’” Adding on.“But he happens to have a killer voice.”
With a project as big as I’m The Problem, it’s hard to pigeonhole both the album’s and the artist’s sound based on ten singles like “Love Somebody,” “Just In Case,” and “What I Want.” Not to discredit Billboard’s pop star crown, but the album also has numerous tracks that lean further into Wallen’s country roots. The classic storytelling and more acoustic production are prevalent on tracks like “The Dealer (feat. Ernest),” “Don’t We,” “Number 3 and Number 7 (feat. Eric Church),” “Revelation,” and more.
While being labeled a “Pop Star” might feel like a slight, especially for Wallen, who has faced constant scrutiny from country fans for blending genres, it’s still flattering to be recognized as the “greatest” in any category. The list may also extend beyond the typical “mainstream pop” sound, instead nodding to the original meaning of “pop music” simply referring to music that’s popular.
I see this inclusion more as an attempt by Billboard to recognize Wallen’s cross-category influence on music as a whole this past year, rather than simply giving him the predictable title of top country artist (because let’s be honest, that’s a given). No matter where he lands on your radar, it’s impossible to overlook that 2025 was defined by Morgan Wallen’s success.
And while this headline only added fuel to the never-ending fire of this debate, there’s very little chance it would have any effect on Wallen or his future choices in future projects. He’s made it very clear that the media and these prestigious accolades mean nothing to him. After all, he used his Spotify plaques as ATV hubcaps, and his last award show appearance was at the CMAs in 2023. He surely doesn’t care what online trolls or Billboard call him.