What a year for Morgan Wallen.
Despite not releasing an album in 2024, the 31 year-old singer/songwriter was crowned the fourth most streamed artist on Spotify this year. Couple that with the fact that he became the first artist ever to earn five #1s on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart in a calendar year, it’s hard to argue that Wallen doesn’t have one of the most die-hard fanbases in all of music.
And last night, he surprise-dropped a fan favorite, “Smile,” to streaming platforms, accompanied with a new music video featuring Barstool Sports comedian, Caleb Pressley.
“Smile” is just Morgan’s fourth release this year. Back in January, he dropped a new acoustic version of his 2015 song, “Spin You Around.” He then later released “Lies Lies Lies” the day after the Fourth of July, followed by “Love Somebody” in the fall. With a few sporadic singles throughout 12 months, and the fact that it’s been nearly two years since his last record, “One Thing At A Time,” dropped, fans are expecting (and begging for) a release date asap.
While prominent new releases this time of year are scarce, Wallen’s new song “Smile” topped Apple Music’s Top Country Songs chart in just thirteen hours. For what it’s worth, it also went No. 1 on iTunes (all-genre) ahead of ROSE and Bruno Mars, as well as Shaboozey and Lady Gaga.
Written by Wallen along with ERNEST, Rocky Block, John Byron and Ryan Vojtesak, “Smile” paints a picture of Wallen grappling with a chance encounter with an ex, emphasizing his mixed emotions on the breakup.
Along with the brand new song, Wallen also dropped a music video to go with it, featuring none other than Barstool podcaster and comedian, Caleb Pressley, who recently collaborated with Wallen on a Ryl Tea ad back in August.
Directed by Justin Clough, who has shot nearly all of Wallen’s past projects including the “Cover Me Up” short film, the music video depicts the 31-year-old singer/songwriter preparing for a late-night show hosted by Pressley. Fittingly set on New Year’s Eve, Wallen is set to perform his recent #1 hit, “Love Somebody,” before going off script and singing “Smile” instead with the song’s post-break-up storyline being directly reflected in the music video’s narrative.
Watch here: