Dolly Parton’s Manager Wants to Learn How Morgan Wallen Is Getting So Famous and ‘Apply That to Dolly’
Morgan Wallen is one of the biggest names in country music. He’s taking the world by storm with his massive hits. While he’s had a career-shaking controversy in the recent past, he seemingly recovered. While Dolly Parton has had one of the most incredible careers of any entertainer, her manager thinks she could learn a thing or two from Wallen. Here’s what her manager said about the newcomer.
Dolly Parton’s manager wants to take a page out of Morgan Wallen’s book
Morgan Wallen entered the spotlight years ago, and his country music career keeps picking up steam. Not only does he attract new fans to the genre, but he’s impressing seasoned country veterans. Dolly Parton’s manager, Danny Nozell, says he might want to learn from how Wallen is growing his audience and see if he can apply it to Parton.
“This is a new generation that is streaming, which is something new to Dolly,” Nozell told Billboard. “What Morgan is doing, I want to take and see how I can apply that to Dolly.”
Luke Bryan, a close friend of Wallen’s, is also willing to learn how the younger folks in the business are sprucing up their listening numbers. “His ability to relate to fans by way of introducing new songs by performing them on socials was truly a brilliant way to build his career,” Bryan said.
Wallen noted that he’s “proud” of his success, “especially when people say to me that they never liked country music before and now it’s [their] favorite.”
How did Morgan Wallen get famous?
Morgan Wallen got his start with NBC’s The Voice, and he may be the show’s most successful singer to date. The father of one competed in season 6 and was eliminated during the playoffs. But that didn’t stop him from attaining career success. After the show, Wallen signed with Big Loud Records. He released his first single in 2016 and his first album in 2018.
By 2021, the Tennessee native was topping the charts with songs on his second album, “Dangerous: The Double Album,” despite the controversy he experienced in 2020. A video surfaced on social media in 2020 that showed Wallen stating a racial slur, resulting in a suspension from his record label. Radio stations also pulled his songs following the controversy.
Despite the video, Wallen’s fans still gathered to see him live. And it doesn’t seem to have affected his long-term success in the industry. In 2022, he tried to compensate for his wrongdoings by donating $500,000 to Black-led groups.
“I was around some of my friends, and we just — we say dumb stuff together. In our minds, it’s playful. It sounds ignorant, but that’s really where it came from, and it’s wrong,” he said at the time, according to Fox News. “We were all clearly drunk, and I was asking his girlfriend to take care of him because he was drunk and he was leaving. I didn’t mean it in any derogatory manner at all.”
Dolly Parton says she’ll continue following her dreams until she ‘falls over dead’
While Dolly Parton’s manager may want to try new ways to keep the “Jolene” singer relevant, she doesn’t seem too worried about keeping up with Morgan Wallen or any other country star. Parton intends to follow her dreams and march to the beat of her own drum until the wheels fall off.
“I keep dreaming myself into a corner!” Parton told People in December 2021. “But I can’t stop now. I’ve learned you can’t just say, ‘Oh, my dream’s come true, and I’m walking out of here.’ No. You’ve got to show you’re grateful and show that you’re not going to just leave it all in the hands of other people. So, I’m going to be right here, doing what I’m doing, ’til I fall over dead.”
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