Morgan Wallen, Tate McRae release controversial collaboration from 'I'm the Problem' album
Morgan Wallen and Tate McRae do what they want, and their new single "What I Want" is no exception.
The controversial country star's collaboration with the up-and-coming pop superstar, released May 16, comes exactly one month after Wallen announced which artists would appear on his new album "I'm The Problem."
But McRae fans have taken issue with her for working with the Nashville superstar, who recently raised eyebrows during his stint as "Saturday Night Live" musical guest when he abruptly exited the stage early before the show ended. The star was also previously caught on tape in a 2021 leaked video using a racial slur aimed at Black people, a year after the police-involved murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
In the chorus of "What I Want," the pair croon, "'You don't want this heart, boy, it's already broke' / Told me everything she touch just goes up in smoke / Only stay a couple nights, then she gon' be gone / I said, 'Baby, you should know that's what I want.'"
Tate McRae draws backlash for Morgan Wallen collab
The McRae feature marks Wallen's first major collaboration with a woman.
After Wallen announced the collab, McRae fans flooded her April 16 Instagram post, slamming the "Revolving Door" hitmaker for her Wallen collab: "I was rooting for you, we were all rooting for you! How dare you?" one commenter said, while another added, "Girl we love you pls cancel that collab with Wallen pls." One person wrote, "now why would you go and do that."
McRae first teased the news on April 15 after she posted a picture of a jersey with Wallen's initials on her Instagram story.
In a Billboard feature published in 2023, Wallen opened up about his lack of collaborations with women in music.
"I've reached out to a couple of people, and they've turned me down," Wallen told Billboard. "I just really want certain people, and I haven't gotten the chance to do it yet. I'm going to keep trying to write songs for it or write with them." He added that he "would love" to write with more women, as well.
One of Nashville's biggest stars, Wallen has sparked controversy for a half-decade in the music industry.
Most recently, in a May 11 interview on "Sundae Conversation with Caleb Pressley," Wallen clarified his decision to hug Oscar-winning "Anora" actress Mikey Madison and then abruptly walk off the SNL" set before the credits had finished rolling. When asked if the NBC sketch show made him "mad," the singer denied this was the case.
Morgan Wallen addresses why he abruptly walked off 'SNL'
"No," Wallen said. "I was just ready to go home. I'd been there all week."
He also made headlines last year after he was arrested and charged with throwing a chair off a balcony at collaborator Eric Church's Chief's rooftop bar on Broadway in Nashville. He pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment and was sentenced to seven days in a DUI education center and two years of supervised probation.
Contributing: Brendan Morrow
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Morgan Wallen, Tate McRae release 'What I Want' song
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