If you’re wondering what I’ve been up to since March 3 2023, just look for the girl strutting around Memory Mall with her ears glued to a pair of out-of-date Airpods and singing out loud to the tunes of Morgan Wallen’s latest and greatest (IMO) album. One Thing at a Time features a whopping 36 songs and dabbles in everything Wallen listeners would expect; no song short of whiskey drinking, breakup drama, faith-trusting, country-loving perfection. Despite the past controversy of using a racial slur in a video, which cost him sponsorships (for a limited time) with country production labels and radio stations as many talked of having him “canceled,” Wallen has arguably maintained being the biggest country star in the 2020s.
You never know the plan. You never know what’s going to happen. We are not even promised tomorrow. I just try to focus on one day at a time.
Morgan Wallen
With his blue eyes, trimmed mullet (one of the only men I know who can pull this off successfully), and calming attitude, Wallen and his candid music have captured the hearts of many old and young country fans. Having a difficult time generating new audiences, country music struggled for a while in the early 2010s. Country music tried to jump on the pop/rap train and forgot its roots, all until breakout stars like Wallen, Zach Bryan, Kacey Musgraves, and Lainey Wilson correctly collided traditional ways with newer styles of music and brought country into the boom it’s currently experiencing. Morgan’s newest album was remarkably sought after, breaking Spotify’s single-day streaming record for country music by a male artist, with 52.29 million streams on March 3rd, according to Billboard.
As we slowly near summer, it is my prediction that cookouts, pool parties, endless games of beer pong, and drunken karaoke sessions will have these songs on repeat. Due to this, here are my top 5 songs from the best album to ever be recorded (in my opinion, of course) that have dominated my headphones and heart and may just capture yours and the radio over the summer.
- “I Deserve A Drink”
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Surprisingly, Morgan’s “I Deserve A Drink” is easily my #1 as it just hits too close to home (as do some of the others on this list). Number 20 on One Thing at a Time describes the difficulty of relationships (or lack thereof) in the current era of toxic situationships. The song flawlessly describes the temptation we face when we know someone isn’t supposed to be our person, but things get messy, feelings inevitably get involved, and we can’t stay away, leaving us with an endless cycle of a broken, confused heart, and maybe one too many shots at the bar.
- “Outlook”
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If any song on Wallen’s album makes me cry, “Outlook,” is certainly at the tip top of the list. “Outlook” details the impact of going through so much and how immensely it can change a person. Many could speculate that Wallen’s reasoning for the song correlates with his muddled past with the racial controversy he faced and how going through that caused him to rethink his place in the music industry. For me, I relate to it more simply. I lost one of the most important people in my life in the latter half of this past August. Going through such an impactful loss, it’s hard to come out the same person, and I’m not. I did a total 180, and I now have to remember someone is looking down on me and I have to live my life for myself and for them. Wallen’s words somehow perfectly describe where my head is at now. So, if you’re trying your best to make it out of a dark place, this song will hit you right where you need it to.
- “Ain’t That Some”
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Despite being an absolute feral animal when country music blasts over the radio, I, surprisingly, never really listen to country when I workout— well until the release of One Thing at a Time. This song is just an ultimate bop. Although “Dirt Road Anthem” by Jason Aldean, will always be my top favorite of country/rap/pop beats, “Ain’t That Some” is vividly upbeat and all I wanna do is ride in the tailgate of a lifted truck, on a backroad, wearing daisy dukes, blasting this song on repeat. I expect this song to definitely be a mandatory summer tune of 2023, or at least it will be wherever I am.
- “Sunrise”
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Ohhhh, infatuation. Hopefully, I’m not the only one who becomes utterly enthralled with someone they like or else I’m gonna sound crazy. “Sunrise” is all about that special someone that you literally can never get off your mind. Like being in class trying to focus on some super important mathematical equation (which I never do, Advertising/PR majors hate math) and all you can think about is the totally sloppy makeout session you had in the back of some guy’s car the night before, or in my case, getting lost in a daydream about meeting a cowboy in Nashville because your girl is in her “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” era).
- “I Wrote The Book”
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If this song isn’t the epitome of college life, I really don’t know what is. One of the more popular tracks on the album, “I Wrote The Book,” accurately depicts the struggle between balancing day and nighttime activities. During the week I’m the ideal college kid, I never skip class, eat pretty healthy, workout every single day, and get my homework done, but that tends to disappear the moment Friday night comes around and I wanna let my hair down. On the weekends you can find me out on the town, having the mouth of a sailor, being feral with my friends, and enjoying life. Sometimes I go too far and learn that maybe I should rein myself in for the next weekend. But staying in and pretending the wild west isn’t on the streets of Nashville is something Wallen doesn’t want to accept as he didn’t write the book on having to settle down.
In preparation for the summer, consider blasting these songs and daydreaming of a country girl lifestyle.