LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Country music superstar Morgan Wallen is releasing a new album next month. To call it highly anticipated doesn't do it justice. Stephen Thompson of NPR Music reports.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "JUST IN CASE")
MORGAN WALLEN: (Singing) Every now and then, I go get a taste. But I never fall in love, baby, just in case, just in case.
STEPHEN THOMPSON, BYLINE: Morgan Wallen's latest single, "Just In Case," debuts at No. 4 on Billboard's main pop chart this week. That means he's done something no one has ever done before. But first, a quick explainer. There are many effective ways to roll out a new album. The traditional approach is to make an announcement months in advance, then allow new information and advanced singles to trickle out in the run-up to the release date. One new-school streaming-era approach has major stars dropping albums with little to no advance notice. There are risks and rewards to both approaches, but most labels still like to work with a little bit of a runway. Well, Morgan Wallen's forthcoming album, "I'm The Problem," drops May 16, but the prerelease runway stretches all the way back to last summer.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LIES LIES LIES")
WALLEN: (Singing) Them ain't nothing but lies, lies, lies. Look into my eyes, eyes, eyes.
THOMPSON: This was the first teaser. The single "Lies Lies Lies" came out in July. It peaked at No. 7. Then came another single last November. That debuted at No. 1. Wallen dropped two singles in January. Both hit the top 10. And now with the debut of "Just In Case," Wallen has charted five top 10 singles from an album that isn't even out yet, and he's the first artist ever to do so.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I'M THE PROBLEM")
WALLEN: (Singing) You hate that when you look at me, you halfway see yourself. And it got me thinking, if I'm the problem, well, you might be the reason.
THOMPSON: Prior to Wallen's feat, two artists have landed four top 10 singles in the run-up to an album's release - Post Malone and Taylor Swift. But Wallen stands alone, and he might not even be done yet. The album doesn't come out for another six weeks, and yet another of its songs, "I'm A Little Crazy," debuts at No. 17 on this week's chart. There's little question that "I'm The Problem" will be one of 2025's biggest albums. What remains to be seen is which Wallen song, if any, is able to break out as a dominant song-of-the-summer-style chart-topper. He's already bought six tickets for this year's sweepstakes.
Stephen Thompson, NPR Music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I'M A LITTLE CRAZY")
WALLEN: (Singing) Yeah, the only thing keeping these tracks on the train, knowing I'm a little crazy, but the world's insane. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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