Latest news with #Hits
New York Post
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Why Morgan Wallen, back with new album ‘I'm the Problem,' is a controversy-proof country sensation: ‘A cultural lightning rod'
'I guess I'm the problem … If I'm so awful, then why'd you stick around this long?' So asks Morgan Wallen on 'I'm the Problem,' the title-track hit of his fourth studio album, which dropped on Friday. Clearly, the 32-year-old country sensation — who has taken the genre to the top of the pop charts in recent years — is as problematic as he is popular. Advertisement 6 Despite all of his controversies, Morgan Wallen is still the hottest thing in country music. EB Media But despite all his transgressions — from a video of him using the N-word in 2021 to hurling a chair off a rooftop bar last year to him abruptly bolting at the end of 'Saturday Night Live' in March — Wallen is still the hottest thing in country music. Or, arguably, music period. Advertisement Wallen's fans — of which there are enough to fill stadiums — are sticking around through all of the controversies that would have killed many a career. Instead, he has racked up three Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits and 10 country chart-toppers. Wallen represents a big part of the country that sees themselves in him — flaws, mullet and all. 'I think Morgan is very much a cultural lightning rod,' Holly Gleason — Nashville editor of Hits magazine – told The Post. 'It's the difference between how New York and LA and the flyover [between them] tend to view each other.' 6 Morgan Wallen has already racked up three pop and 10 country chart-toppers. EB Media Advertisement Instead of getting canceled after his series of scandals — which began in 2020 with him being arrested after being kicked out of Kid Rock's Nashville bar and partying without a mask at the height of COVID — Wallen has only come back stronger. And bigger. His new album is a 37-track opus — featuring guest appearances by Eric Church ('Number 3 and Number 7'), Tate McRae ('What I Want') and his 'I Had Some Help' partner Post Malone ('I Ain't Comin' Back') — that has already spawned four hits: 'Lies Lies Lies,' 'Love Somebody,' 'I'm the Problem' and the current single 'Just in Case.' Yet the Sneedville, Tennessee native hasn't exactly embraced all of the trappings of his superstardom. 'I think Morgan has had one of the strangest relationships with fame,' said Gleason. 'Here is this Southern kid. He's got a mullet, chicks dig him. And then all of a sudden, the world crashed in … He's never been able to really settle into the fact that he is a public figure. Every time he goes out, it's all eyes on him. Advertisement 6 Wallen's 'I'm the Problem' is a 37-track LP featuring collaborations with Eric Church, Post Malone and Tate McRae. EB Media 'He feels judged,'' Gleason continued. 'Morgan doesn't get a break, because if he leaves the house, you know, he's got a target on.' At this point, Wallen is rolling with his rabid fanbase — and perhaps doesn't feel the need to appease the haters. 'He has been so publicly pilloried and judged without anyone trying to understand where he comes from or what his foundation is,' said Gleason. 'He probably does have a little bit of a chip on his shoulder or some anger about no one wanting to hear his side of the story.' 6 Morgan Wallen performed 'I'm the Problem' on 'Saturday Night Live' in March. Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images When the two-time musical guest bolted from 'Saturday Night Live' — forgoing the usual hugging and high-five-ing at the end — and posted 'Get me to God's country' as he boarded his private plane, Gleason said that it could just be simply that 'he may not like New York.' Wallen himself recently said 'I was [just] ready to go home' on the podcast 'Sundae Conversation.' 'I'd been there all week.' Advertisement 6 Morgan Wallen abruptly exited from 'Saturday Night Live' at the end of the show in March. NBC Wallen has also had a bumpy relationship with awards shows, as the 'Last Night' singer was banned from the CMAs in 2021. This might explain why he didn't even show up when he won Entertainer of the Year in 2024. He also just ditched the ACMs, where he won Entertainer of the Year. And despite all of his success, Wallen has yet to win any Grammys, only being nominated twice — for 'I Had Some Help,' his duet with Post Malone. 'I think Morgan has come to a place where he doesn't care about those awards anymore,' said Gleason. 'And I think once people know you're not going to show up and you don't care and you don't respect them, they're inclined to give the awards to somebody who does. They're not going to give an award to somebody who isn't breaking bread with them.' Advertisement 6 Morgan Wallen performed at the Stagecoach Festival in 2024. Getty Images for Stagecoach Still, Wallen clearly connects with a massive audience. And while 37 songs is a lot for anyone to digest on 'I'm the Problem,' there's enough here to keep Wallen's hot streak going. The guy knows his lane. 'He doesn't try to sing songs he doesn't understand,' said Gleason. 'His tone is like that guy you went to high school with who calls you one day because he's got to talk to somebody. He's a young man who is trying to figure it out.' Advertisement As he sings on the introspective 'Superman' — one of the highlights of 'I'm the Problem' — he embraces the human imperfections that have a long history in country music: 'Don't always know my wrong from right/Sometimes I'm my own worst enemy/No, I don't always save the day.' 'When he sings, something about the tone in his voice is truly believable,' said Gleason. 'You can hear the flaws in his voice. You know this isn't a perfect individual.'
Miami Herald
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Las Vegas Strip casino signs spectacular singer to long residency
Las Vegas Strip casinos continue to extend long-running headliner residencies upwards to 100 shows, and sometimes more, on a regular basis. Some of biggest names in music have recently completed lengthy residencies on the Strip, including Adele, who performed her 100-show "Weekends With Adele" residency at Caesars Entertainment's Colosseum at Caesars Palace from Nov. 18, 2022, to Nov. 30, 2024. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Legendary country singer Garth Brooks wrapped up his sold-out 54-show Plus One residency at the Colosseum on the Strip on March 8, and country superstar Carrie Underwood concluded her long-running "Reflection: The Las Vegas Residency" engagement at the Resorts World Theater at Resorts World Las Vegas after 71 shows on April 12. Related: Las Vegas Strip casino signs popular singer for longer residency Rock star Rod Stewart debuted his "Hits" residency at the Colosseum in 2011, and, after 13 years and 200 shows, the "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" singer closed the show on Aug. 7, 2024. Stewart signed on for another residency, "The Encore Shows Las Vegas Residency at The Colosseum," with six shows in March and another six shows in May and June 2025. He has already extended the residency for six more shows, which could end up being another long-running engagement for Rockin' Rod. Legendary rock star Carlos Santana has headlined a long-running residency on the Las Vegas Strip since 2012, performing over 300 shows to sold-out audiences. Santana extended his "An Intimate Evening with Santana: Greatest Hits Live" residency at the MGM Resorts International's House of Blues at Mandalay Bay on the Las Vegas Strip with 15 new shows in September and November 2025. The classic band canceled the first eight shows of its 16-show extended 2025 residency at the House of Blues in Vegas, which was set to begin Jan. 22, due to frontman Carlos Santana breaking a finger in an accidental fall at his vacation home in Hawaii. Santana will perform the eight previously scheduled shows on the residency after the singer recovers from May 14-25, superstar pop and R&B singer Bruno Mars has added nine more dates to his long-running residency in August and September at MGM Resorts International's Dolby Live at Park MGM. Related: Las Vegas Strip casino signs legendary rock band to new residency Tickets are on sale for Mars' new shows on Aug. 22, 23, 26, 27, 30, 31, Sept. 3, 5, and 6 at More Las Vegas: Las Vegas Strip Sphere signs another superstar band residencyLas Vegas Strip casino closes country superstar's residencyLas Vegas Strip casino signs global superstar singer to residency The "24K Magic" singer adds to the existing shows that are scheduled on his sold-out residency for May 21, 24, 25, 28, 30, 31, and June 2. The residency's June 2 show will be Mars' 99th show at Dolby Live, while the first show on the extended engagement on Aug. 22 will be his 100th show at the venue, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Mars, who opened his The Pinky Ring lounge at MGM's Bellagio Resort & Casino in February 2024, has performed residencies at Park MGM since 2016. Mars was one of the first superstars to perform at Park Theater, which would become Dolby Live, just days after it opened on Dec. 17, 2016, as he took the stage for two shows Dec. 30-31, 2016, and returned for two more shows March 11-12, 2017, according to Before that, Mars headlined a residency at MGM's Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan in 2013-15. Related: Las Vegas Strip casinos face an alarming trend The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Miami Herald
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Las Vegas Strip casino signs another superstar singer residency
Las Vegas Strip casinos are full of long-running headliner residencies that often sell out. Several classic Vegas strip residencies have extended their engagements for years and even decades. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Pop superstar Barry Manilow has been booked on the Strip for over 20 years since he began performing in the International Theater at Westgate Las Vegas just off the Strip in February 2005. Related: Las Vegas Strip casino brings back iconic rock band for residency The singer in September 2023 broke Elvis Presley's record of 636 sold-out shows at the Westgate and continues selling out shows. In December 2024, he signed up for a lifetime residency at the casino's 1,582-seat International Theater. Legendary Las Vegas singer Wayne Newton, who began headlining at the Flamingo in 1963, three years ago opened his "Wayne: Up Close and Personal" residency at the Wayne Newton Theater in Bugsy's Cabaret at the Flamingo and extended the engagement through Dec. 31, 2025. Rock star Rod Stewart debuted his "Hits" residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Vegas in 2011, and, after 13 years and 200 shows, the ""Maggie May" singer closed the show on Aug. 7, 2024. Stewart launched his new The Encore Shows residency at the Colosseum in March 2025, with additional shows in May, June, September and October 2025. More Las Vegas: Las Vegas Strip Sphere signs another superstar band residencyLas Vegas Strip casino closes country superstar's residencyLas Vegas Strip casino signs global superstar singer to residency Superstar pop singer Lionel Richie launched his successful career with the funk-pop group The Commodores as singer-songwriter on their 1970s hits, such as "Sail On," Three Times a Lady," and "Easy." In 1980, Richie wrote country star Kenny Rogers' No. 1 hit song "Lady," and two years later he launched his solo career with his self-titled debut album and hit songs "You Are" and "Truly," before following that up with his No. 1 hit album in 1983, "Can't Slow Down," which included the hit "All Night Long." Richie sold over 125 million albums worldwide, and has won an Oscar, Golden Globe, and four Grammy Awards. He also was inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The pop star's popularity led Richie to add his name to the long list of superstar singers performing residencies on the Las Vegas Strip. The singer had been performing as a headliner in Nevada showrooms since the early 1980s, and in 2016 he headlined his "All The Hits" residency at Caesars Entertainment's Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino Las Vegas in next began his Encore Theater residency at Wynn Las Vegas in August 2019 and performed 36 sold-out shows through 2022. Richie's residency was so popular that he extended his King of Hearts engagement with six shows in October 2023 and again with 17 dates June 26 through Nov. 16, 2024. Related: Las Vegas Strip Sphere signs rock legends for longer residency Richie has signed on to extend his King of Hearts residency in the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas for six shows in October 2025 after selling out a three-show engagement in April. Tickets are on sale for shows on Oct. 15, 17, 18, 22, 24, and 25 through the Artist presale, which began April 2 at AEG and Amex presales begin April 3 at 10 a.m. Pacific time Tickets go on sale to the general public on April 4. Previously scheduled performances on April 9, 11, and 12 are sold out. Related: Legendary rock star signs for longer Las Vegas Strip residency The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
