Morgan Wallen is the biggest country star in the world. The levels of stardom he's reached in his career rivals Garth Brooks and George Strait at this point. You could argue he's the leading artist in explaining why country has made such a huge comeback in the 2020s. Every metric puts Wallen in rarified air. But when you think of the best country songs of the 21st century, does he truly fit this category? I'm not so sure.
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Recently, the publication releases their Top Hot 100 Songs of the 21st Century Chart. There, they track performance on Billboard's Hot 100 and gather what songs have garnered the biggest impact in the 21st century so far. Number one belongs to The Weeknd's staggering hit song "Blinding Lights." Country music finds its way on such a prestigious list via Morgan Wallen. His smash hit "Last Night" lands at number 7, the only bit of country music representation on the list. However, as big as it is, I do not think this song comes even close when considering the best songs of the decade, let alone the century.
Morgan Wallen Has The Biggest Country Song But Certainly Not The Best
Let's make one thing clear: "Last Night" barely registers as a country song. It might as well be a modern Maroon 5 song. The only thing that keeps it out of plain pop territory is the twang in Morgan Wallen's voice. There's a plasticity to the guitars, a synthetic quality to the drums, ugly snaps. Wallen has flirted before with more plain standard pop records before and has since. This also isn't the worst that he's done, I prefer this drunk text of a song than any of Wallen's rapping and goose honking. But I relent calling this anything more than passable.
So what are some alternatives? There are other Morgan Wallen songs that demonstrate just how great he can truly be. But outside of the Wallen side of things, I would go to the Chris Stapleton well for some "Tennessee Whiskey," popular and universally beloved and also a truer representation of country music. I think covers like "Fast Car" by Luke Combs or "Landslide" by The Chicks can also fit the bill. They prop up the warmth that makes country music so enticing. Time will tell if Morgan Wallen surpasses this hit or if "Last Night" will follow him as the quintessential song of his career.
