Morgan Wallen Boycots The Grammys Amid Longstanding Industry Tensions

Morgan Wallen doesn’t want a Grammy, literally. The country superstar’s team confirmed this week that he will not be submitting his latest album, "I’m the Problem," or any of its 37 songs for consideration at the upcoming Grammy Awards. The move underscores Wallen’s rocky relationship with the music industry’s gatekeepers. Despite his undeniable chart dominance, he’s long been met with skepticism or outright rejection from awards bodies and insiders who have kept him at arm’s length. Morgan Wallen is hardly the first artist to rebuff the Recording Academy. The Weeknd and Jay-Z have both refused to submit their work in recent years, citing a lack of recognition and frustration with what they see as an out-of-touch institution.

Morgan Wallen's strained relationship is reflected in his awards record. Wallen has only two Grammy nominations to his name, both from his 2024 collaboration with Post Malone, and has never been recognized for his solo work. At the CMA Awards, he’s won just twice, far fewer than artists of similar stature.

When he did finally take home the coveted Entertainer of the Year honor last year, he was noticeably absent from the ceremony. Months later, he casually posted a sideways picture of the trophy in an Instagram dump, barely acknowledging the milestone.

While Wallen hasn’t explained why he’s opting out of this year's Grammy contention, collaborators like Post Malone, Tate McRae, and Eric Church, who each appear on tracks from the album, still have the option to submit their joint songs on their own. Whether they will remains to be seen.

History shows Wallen isn’t alone in pushing back against the Grammys. In 2024, Jay-Z returned to the ceremony after skipping it on numerous occasions, and after calling it out directly in his 2018 track "Apesh-t."

While accepting the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, the rapper addressed the Grammys’ long-standing issues with overlooking Black artists. He specifically highlighted his wife Beyoncé’s track record, claiming that despite holding the title as the most-awarded Grammy winner of all time, she has never won Album of the Year.

“The truth is, we grew up wanting to be on the Grammys, and it was our goal. We just want them to get it right. That’s what we want,” Jay-Z said in his speech, drawing applause for the candid acknowledgment.

Jay-Z isn’t the only major artist to call out the Grammys.

Ahead of the 2021 ceremony, The Weeknd openly blasted the Recording Academy after being snubbed from every single category, despite releasing his chart-topping album "After Hours," which included the record-breaking hit “Blinding Lights.”

“I use a sucker punch as an analogy,” he told Billboard later that year. “Because it just kind of hit me out of nowhere."

For Wallen, the decision may be less about defiance and more about indifference. The singer has become one of the most consistent hitmakers in music, not just country. He’s a fixture on the Billboard charts, where his albums and singles linger for months on end.

That dominance hasn’t been without turbulence. Wallen’s career has been marred by scandal. In 2021, he was caught on video using a racial slur, resulting in a one-year ban from the CMA Awards. In 2024, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless endangerment after police accused him of throwing a chair from a rooftop bar in Nashville.

Wallen’s complicated relationship with the spotlight was also on display during his "Saturday Night Live" stint.

Originally set to make his debut in October 2020, his appearance was canceled after videos surfaced of him partying maskless during the height of the pandemic. The show eventually welcomed him back a few months later, and he even appeared in a sketch poking fun at his own controversy.

By 2024, Wallen returned to "SNL" as the official musical guest, an honor that has historically been tough for country artists to land. But instead of basking in the achievement, Wallen made headlines for another reason.

At the end of the episode, during the traditional goodnights where the cast and crew gather on stage, Wallen abruptly walked off before the cameras cut. Within minutes, he boarded a plane out of New York.

Following the backlash, Wallen broke his silence, explaining that the abrupt exit was simply because he was "ready to go home" after a busy week.