Country star Morgan Wallen thanked his supporters for backing him after a tumultuous 2021 saw him de-platformed and nearly run out of country music after audio of him saying ni**a was leaked.
As Breitbart News reported, Wallen was dropped from various platforms in February after the recording was released of the singer during a drunken night out with friends.
After Cumulus Media pulled the Wallen’s music, the company demanded its 400-plus stations follow suit and cut him from their playlists.
Wallen apologized and apologized again. He was also disqualified from playing at the Country Music Awards before being despatched on a “re-education” tour to correct his thinking as his critics hoped he would simply disappear.
He didn’t.
Despite having been nearly completely wiped from the country music scene, Wallen went on to have the best-selling album of 2021, outperforming the likes of Adele, Olivia Rodrigo, and Drake.
“I could write a book on 2021,” Wallen wrote in an Instagram post published Saturday. “And I probably will one day. But for now, I wanna say thank you.”
“Thank you to everyone who believed in me and continued to believe in me, even when it wasn’t the popular thing to do,” the country star continued. “Thank you to my family, my band, my friends, and my fans for having my back and sticking up for me when so many were coming for me. I hope my heart has shown through the noise.”
“I go into 2022 feeling inspired and free,” the 28-year-old wrote. “Inspired to create from the heart and free to share those creations with you guys. Im so proud of how far we’ve come together. I still feel like this is just the beginning.”
Wallen closed the post, “God bless y’all let’s crush this year.”
It’s not clear how much scandal still sticks to Wallen. A music video of him starring alongside Chicago rapper Lil Durk has garnered over seven million YouTube views in two weeks. The song, “Broadway Girls,” scored a No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Now Wallen wants to collaborate with rap megastar Kendrick Lamar.
In November he announced a set of dates for a nearly eight-month headlining tour taking him to arenas in 46 cities around the country. Shows are already selling out.
Variety reports the tour starts Feb. 3 in Evansville, Indiana, and wraps up Sept. 24 at L.A.’s Staples Center. Stops in-between include gigs at New York’s Madison Square Garden Feb. 9 and Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on March 17.
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