With the end of Morgan Wallen’s 2026 Still the Problem tour quickly approaching, and the continuous teasers of his unannounced single, “Been By Now,” circulating on social media, there’s no doubt that a new era for the country superstar is on its way.
As the reigning RIAA highest-selling country artist of all time, with his 2025 album I’m The Problem continuing to hold its ground in the top five on Billboard’s Top 200 chart, Wallen’s insane success is a dominating force that, for the most part, can likely be attributed to the fact that the Sneedville native is a genre-blending mogul. However, while his songs may fare well on the charts, that same genre-blending approach is also what leads many listeners time and time again to question whether he can even be called a ‘country artist.’
With his most recent teaser emphasizing this new pop-heavy summer anthem sound, it appears Wallen is continuing to lean further into that side of his artistry. While that may be exciting news for fans eager to blast the track on a boat with friends, it only further raises concerns among traditional country listeners. And according to his producer, Wallen is expected to continue to explore this pop-driven production style on his next project.
Charlie Handsome, the producer and co-writer behind hits like “Wasted on You,” the Moneybagg Yo collaboration, “Whiskey Whiskey,” and a majority of the One Thing At A Time album, recently confirmed the potential shift in an interview for the Country Music Hall of Fame’s latest exhibit, American Currents: State of the Music.
Handsome shared that as they prepare for this next wave of music, his goal is, “for Morgan to be able to have #1 pop songs with no features.” Now, as he mentions in the video, while they were able to accomplish this feat with Post Malone’s hit track, “I Had Some Help,” Handsome hopes this is something Wallen will be able to snag alone, with his “definitively country” vocals topping the charts alone.
In the past, Wallen’s highest charting solo single on Billboard’s Pop airplay was “Last Night,” peaking at number five, followed by Handsome’s produced, “Wasted On You” at number 16, and of course last summer’s jammy anthem, “Love Somebody” at #18. While Wallen at first was pushed into trying to pursue Pop thanks to the advice of the Voice, “ I wanted to sing country music, and they wanted me to sing pop music,” he has said that he’s since attempted to lean into his hip-hop influences after seeing the well-received reaction from fans.
While there’s no doubt that Wallen is a hitmaker, reaching the top of the pop charts is still a difficult feat unless they bring something entirely new to the table. And unfortunately, that approach could potentially push Wallen even further away from any notes of a traditional country sound that fans already feel he’s diverting from.
Handsome clarifies that, “moving forward, I’m gonna merge more of the thing that people could consider pop and find a way to do that.” The Grammy Award-winning producer also noted that he hopes to achieve the fusion sound in a way that he’s never done before, adding, “What I try to do is not do the same thing twice, and that’s where the challenge comes in.”
With fans continuing to speculate on when Wallen will officially drop his next track and even the man himself stating at the start of his tour that he, “Recorded about ten new songs so I’m working on new music. I’ll get that out pretty soon.” With a two-week break inbound until he hits the road again for the remaining six stops on tour, who knows, the next few days off may be the perfect time for Wallen to get the ball rolling on releasing his next chart-breaker. Lord only knows what he has up his sleeve, but I’ll hold my tongue on making any assumptions until I actually hear it.
Tour Dates:
- July 17 – Baltimore, Md. – M&T Bank Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat
- July 18 – Baltimore, Md. – M&T Bank Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat
- July 24 – Ann Arbor, Mich. – Michigan Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten
- July 25 – Ann Arbor, Mich. – Michigan Stadium w/ HARDY, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten
- July 31 – Philadelphia, Penn. – Lincoln Financial Field w/ Brooks & Dunn, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten
- Aug. 1 – Philadelphia, Penn. – Lincoln Financial Field w/ Ella Langley, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten