imagine my disappointment when i found out this was basically Saloon 5 and not a country cover of The Strokes’ “Last Nite”

that cut from morgan dropping the n word to him singing “looks like i’m learning the hard way again” is perfect editing

I'll give him one thing; "I screwed up, don't support me" is a line I wish more celebrities would take. Too many just thank people for supporting them despite whatever it is they did, missing the point that saying that implies that you didn't actually do anything wrong.

The "DON'T!!! THINK!!! JESUS!!!" is already an all-timer Todd moment imo

After a controversy for making regrettable drunken remarks, his next big single starts with the lines "Last night, we let the liquor talk...can't remember everything we said, but we said it all..." You sure did, Morgan. You sure did. :/

I find myself questioning how anyone can have 36 "deeply personal" songs...I don't think I've had 36 different emotions since 2019.

I gotta admit, I'm kind of proud that he actually apologized and worked to reclaim his previous position, rather than just scream about being canceled on Tucker Carlson or whatever

Never heard of this song but id listen to Todd analyze damn near anything

"I grew up listening to country music. I mostly stopped when I got old enough to realize I could listen to literally anything else." Todd must be my long lost brother because same.

"You want my opinion about Last Night? My opinion is that it sounds like Maroon 5." Oof. For Todd that's like murdering someone.

I feel like another thing that needs to be addressed is that having a black celebrity endorse an apology doesn’t automatically mean they’re in the clear. For a hypothetical example, imagine if Lil Nas X gave him a pass vs if Kanye West did.

"we gave you a second chance for this?" The most succinct review of this song possible

Todd: "Right now, Morgan Wallen is bigger than Jesus." I've LITERALLY never heard of this dude before 4 minutes ago

God, this reminds me of Todd's old Turn Up the Music by Chris Brown review where he just can't bring himself to talk about the song and just spends the whole review venting out his frustrations about the artist. But instead of pure vitriol about Chris Brown being an asshole, it's one big moral conflict and it's just as fascinating to watch

I'm making a bet: this song will be an honorable mention on Todd's worst list but Waller will have a song on Todd's Best list

“I’m your only source of music news.” Guilty as charged

I do like how, despite most of the video not being about the song itself, the long leadup does help support Todd's eventual opinion about the song and his hypothesis as to why it was made that way. It's similar to what he said about Bieber's "Lonely" back on the 2020 Worst list: a popular artist has a brush with infamy that doesn't hurt their long-term career but does scare them into playing it safe, not just behaviorally but musically, and their future output suffers creatively despite its commercial success. But more importantly, every time I see a Todd upload this year that isn't a Trainwreckord, I imagine Justin Timberlake exhaling in relief.

Morgan Wallen's arc on Todd's channel has been truly fascinating lmao

i love how Todd sorta anticipated how he became the trusted source for pop music commentary for a distressingly not insignificant number of people (me included) in his Worst Songs of 2011 video: *”We regular internet morons are finding out we have power, and some of us are using that power in horrible ways… I envision some dark days ahead for us.”*

When you try to avoid your past controversies with safe choices, you risk being so bland that you leave no new impression, so the controversies you're avoiding become the only interesting thing anyone can latch onto.

Todd with a timely pop song review. I never thought I'd see the day.

The weirdest thing I’ve learned about Morgan Wallen is that despite growing up in rural Tennessee, he says that he never liked any country music until he heard Zac Brown in 2014. Apparently he only listened to rock until then. To me that makes his ambitions pretty clear. He wants to be a rockstar and can tell that the closest thing to that anymore is a country star.

"DON'T!!! THINK!!!! JESUS!!!" Holy shit I just burst out laughing in the middle of work

The "As far as YOU know" gets me every time

Maybe I’m alone on this, but since I prefer using Spotify in my car, I rarely listen to current songs. So in my case, I rely solely on Tods reviews to keep me up to date.

For some reason, whenever controversies come up like this, I'm now immediately thinking back to the Janet Jackson Super Bowl controversy since I watched a video about it recently. I think Morgan Wallen has absolutely improved in not fucking up every week and I think he genuinely means what he says. However, my mind wonders what would happen if Janet were in his shoes knowing how she was basically forced to disappeared from the public eye after the Super Bowl that year while Timberlake went on to be a megastar.

the pacing on this video was absolutely spot on. The setup took its time, but it was the perfect build up to the song itself, which was a hell of a punchline.

Hearing he has 36 songs on this album reminds me that carly rae jepsen wanted to put 30 songs on Emotion and they wouldn't let her #justiceforcarly

I'll give him this, instead of being yet another "controversial" celebrity ranting about "cancel culture" when they're in the wrong, he actually bothered attempting an apology tour. Few seem to have the gumption to admit when they've messed up these days.

I laughed way too hard when he said "My name's not Brandon!"

You're my only source of music news, because I don't care about music news, but I love hearing you talk about music.

Being a POC Morgan Wallen fan is complicated. You are so right about a certain part of his fan base. If I were to come out to one of his concerts people would think "She gets it. She's not one of those snowflakes." In the beginning they definitely bought his album multiple times. They blew up his numbers. What kept him on the charts though? His music is good. He was irreplaceable. Oh trust me I have tried. Nothing hits quite like "Rednecks Red Letters Red Dirt." Dangerous was a fantastic album. No skips. Spotify doesn't lie. Check people's Spotify wraps across the country. I'm sure Nashville wish that this happened to a different artist. Someone that they could've come down harder on.

As a country music fan who has been absolutely appalled (but maybe not surprised) at thoroughly Morgan Wallen has been allowed the redemption arc that he has received, I appreciated hearing your perspective on all of this so much, especially coming from someone who actually grew up listening to country music (it was a MUCH longer journey for me, lol). And you certainly gave me a lot to think about in terms of what he did vs. what other celebrities have done in the past, too. I will point out one thing that I was kind of surprised you didn''t bring up, though: The (artists formerly known as the Dixie) Chicks and the backlash that THEY got for what Natalie Maines said. Especially because, for those of you who didn't know, this week marks the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the backlash against them by country radio and the industry at large (this past Friday, March 10th, marked the 20th anniversary of Natalie's actual comments). To have Morgan Wallen become the first country (not counting "Old Town Road", Carrie Underwood's "Inside Your Heaven", although it was never a country single, or "All Too Well" (Taylor's Version) or WANEGBT by Taylor Swift; the only songs of hers to reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 that might qualify as "country", if only for the album they're on and nothing else) to have a country song reach the top of the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 since Lonestar's "Amazed" in 2000, on THIS week of all weeks...is bittersweet, to say the least. It is truly a testament to how women and men are treated in country music if they cause controversy (even though the Chicks did ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong). Sigh. -_- ETA: Because I have to make a long post that much longer for some reason, I should also point out that Morgan Wallen's n-bomb incident also occurred less than two months after the death of Charley Pride, the most famous black artist in the history of country music. So...yeah, there was that, too.

The return of the "As far as YOU know" Todd personal life gag!

The moment Todd compared Wallen to Maroon 5, I physically screamed!

i like how this is basically a sequel to his "turn up the music" review where he didnt even review the song and just called chris brown a wifebeater for 14 minutes

This has to be the most on time Todd has been for a review, right as it hits number one

"As far as YOU know" might be my favorite Todd running gag.

I don’t think we’re going to have any more artists who are “bigger than Jesus.” I am definitely in a bubble because idk anyone who is really into country music and I had never heard of this dude until Todd put him on the best list. At the same time, I vaguely knew of other country artists in the 2010s through cultural osmosis.

Two things this review implies (that are really funny to me): -We are probably gonna get a worst list this year after the existential crisis from last year due to Maroon 5 not having any hits, because Morgan 5 Wallen here is our backup if Levine fails again -Todd is still Quite Bitter About That.

Notice that Morgan Wallen didn't whine about "cancel culture" and actually owned that he screwed up which I have to respect... Don't have to listen to his music

Todd really waited for the fire to stop for this one

8:00 This first part exactly. You need to leave avenues open for people to apologize and improve. If you don't and continue to punish them regardless, they'll have no reason to want to get better. The way i see it- He did a Bad, he apologized, we say alright... just don't do it again.

Can this guy seriously be considered "bigger than Harry Styles" if nobody outside the US knows who he is?

Me, having never heard this song before. Todd plays the first few seconds of it and I think, "Huh. that sounds like Maroon 5 with a drawl." Todd not a few seconds later. "IT SOUNDS LIKE MAROON 5 WITH A DRAWL!!" Glad to know my ears are still working.

This is a Trainwreckords disguised as a Pop Song Review. And I also think this completes a trilogy for Todd. A Pop Song Review trilogy where he breaks down and studies problematic/controversial artists and almost or completely ignores the song in question. It started Chris Brown years ago, then the video on 6ix9ine, and now this. I've always felt a video on Wallen was a matter of time considering how he gets mentioned in a lot of Todd's more country-focused videos. I've been aware of Wallen and his controversy since it happened, knew about his whole apology tour, and etc. and my feelings towards him and what to make of him have been complicated. It especially becomes complicated when artists like these get to thrive and face no real consequences for the issues/scandals in question. Besides 6ix9ine (maybe), Chris Brown and Morgan Wallen are still guys who are enjoying the limelight and get to have thriving careers. I think Wallen is the easier one to forgive, but that's pretty easy when you compare him to a walking woman beating shit sack like Chris Brown. Regardless, this was really well done and worth discussing. There will always be people that want to shy away from talking about the problematic because it's complicated or people that want to ignore it just so they don't have to confront any bad feelings when trying to listen to music they find enjoyable. I'm glad that people like Todd and these videos are here to make sure those issues are confronted and talked about in a mature and meaningful way that drives conversation rather than the awful "discourse" one usually finds online. It can be tough to trudge through the mud and talk about scandals and things like this, but they're important things to talk about. This one is a new favorite for me. Thanks, Todd.

Some people might find Todd talking about other things besides the song annoying but I love it. That’s when Todd’s cleverness truly shines

It's the car horn tones that country music just can't stop using in every song that sets me off... I have now spontaneously combusted from hearing them again as I always do. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

I know nothing about Wallen himself but for me the most unforgivable thing about the situation was how his fans handled it. Like I don't know how older people handled it, but the way younger fans made passive aggressive tik toks defending him and rushing to buy every possible copy of his album that they could is insane to me. It felt very "you're rightfully criticizing someone but i refuse to acknowledge that in a normal manner and will make it about cancel culture instead". I also know country music has a very loyal fanbase (I was also raised on it) but his popularity seems like it was born out of sheer desperation (and maybe pettiness) from country fans because they felt like his messing up was gonna get them all in trouble.

Btw one of the songwriters on this song is a frequent songwriter for M5 so that comparison is actually as apt as ever

That piano arrangement is genuinely beautiful, wow. This also has to be a record for Todd’s punctuality.

I basically only listen to my own playlists on Spotify or albums from my favourite artists and I avoid any news like the plague. So the only way I get any idea of what is going on in modern music is if it's big enough that one of my friends cares enough to talk to me about it or through your channel, Todd. Or if it's Taylor Swift news, my sister will torture me with Taylor info when she wants something from me lol

Todd's timing on this one was insane. The day this dropped, Morgan had five songs in the Billboard top 10, and the first country #1 (depending on your feelings on Old Town Road) since Carrie Underwood's Inside Your Heaven from 2005.

i’m an afro latina early 20’s cis female. i wanted to LOVE wallen. once he angrily spewed that bull from his mouth… i’ve pretty much given up on country as a whole…. i had to pause this video multiple times to stop my stomach from twisting up, and your pacing was perfect. worried that i would love the new material only for it to sound like maroon 5 with a drawl??? HAHAHAHAHA HOLY SHIT. thank you for being honest and understanding. it’s going to take a long time for me to come back around to this dude, and he certainly isn’t earning my plays with this album.

"Last Night is the first country song to go to number one since Amazed." If Last Night is a country song, than Walkin' on Sunshine is a metal song.

These vids are increasingly the only place I learn about mainstream performer or songs that exist Edit: hey, I got a shout out! Hi, Todd, yes you’re our only source of music news!

Speaking of double entendres, the opening lyrics leading into your actual review - especially, "I know that last night we let the liquor talk", and "You told me that you wish I was somebody you never met" - don't just read as the breakup; it's hard not to see it as an extension of the controversy. It doesn't sound like he's very apologetic when you look at it that way. It probably is just a breakup song but god I can't hear anything but "i said a slur last night and you hate me for it".

I swear when I heard those opening lyrics I thought this song was about the incident "last night we let the liquor talk" cause he was drunk in the video "I can't remember everything we said but we said it all" limp excuse for saying horrible things "you told me that you wished I was somebody that you never met" public response to the video "but something's telling me this ain't over yet" that something being a public that asks the bare minimum

I said "this sounds like Maroon 5" about ten seconds before you, so I consider that my big win of the day. Also, I'm guilty of being one of the viewers whose only source for music news is you, so yeah.

At risk of sounding possibly insensitive or one of 'those guys' : Between this whole trainwrech, and the nature of Unholy, it kinda feels like pop music itself (though most of public life media in general) has moved beyond even style over substance to context/metastyle over even just style. Tbh, this has already happened in visual art, but it feels even weirder for it to be happening to music. I almost feel there's gonna be a similar divide soon between 'pop' artists and 'indie' artists like there is between gallery art pieces and internet available art pieces.

Look at it this way. If Adam Lavine doesn't release anything this year, you still have something to put in the Reserved For Maroon 5 spot.

"As far as YOU know." is a joke that won't ever get old, even though Todd himself got sick of it once.

Todd is my only source of music news (unless the thing gets twitter famous) because I started watching him when he had like 2 videos out. Back then I still cared about pop music.

Glad to see Todd pivoting to the more lucrative genre of think pieces.

Literally the only KZfaq channel that can talk intellectually about pop music. Came to this channel due to 1 hit Wonders but these videos about songs I've never heard is fascinating. Thank you Todd.

I love any video Todd makes because he doesn't just cover the song and it's merits, he uses it as a jumping off point for all kinds of other discussions

The thing with Morgan Wallen for me is more him as a symbol than as a person. I really wasn't a fan of the effort the industry put into his PR. I mean, he had Miranda Lambert writing him a song to sing about disappointing his mom and then also has a song about how it would be Christian to forgive him. I know that was mostly (if not all) the label's doing and it just gives me the ick when there are so many rising stars in country that could be invested in.

"...I'm your only source for music news..." Well, you are for my husband, Todd.

i just know when todd builds up to reviewing a song for over half the video, hes gonna do the bit where hes like "at last the review" * plays chorus * "yeah so this sucks"

OMG yes Todd thank you so much for reviewing this. Now I get to form an opinion on it without having to listen to it😄

I love how honest and self-aware Todd is. Admitting that maybe he resents the guy for making him think about unpleasant things is pretty amazing.

Honestly, the fact that you are both a great musician and an amazing reviewer fascinates me. You were born to do this, Todd.

Not gonna lie, I have a playlist dedicated to songs that make me feel nothing at all so I can work while I listen to them. This went in as soon as I heard the intro 😂 as someone from the uk, this is fascinating to watch lol

Todd doesn’t get enough credit for choosing the songs he ends his videos with. This one was pitch-perfect! (For you non-theatre kids, it’s from the musical Avenue Q, which also features the classic “The Internet is for Porn”)

I legit think this might be one of Todd’s best-ever pop song reviews. Fourteen years in and still hitting new peaks… incredible…

Oh boy, this is the first time since his "Turn Up The Music" review where Todd pretty much doesn't talk about the music. At least, with Morgan, he hasn't done anything to keep making us think he sucks. Edit: well, most of the video is like that.

I'm really not a fan of Morgan Wallen at all (he doesn't have a good voice IMO) but one thing this video showed that I can appreciate is how he didn't whine about being "cancelled" unlike some other people I could think of (looking at you, Ariel Pink). The song overall is meh. I don't hate it but have no desire to hear it again. And hilarious song choice at the end of this video (I won't spoil it if you haven't made it that far.)

Weirdest part is that unlike Dangerous or even Broadway Girls, I have heard virtually nothing from this latest album anywhere. I heard You Proof once when I was at a restaurant, and I heard someone blasting Last Night the day after the album dropped (by someone who was also playing a lot of Kanye so take that as you will). I've seen pretty much zero real world hype for this album but it's still huge. I've heard quite a few people bumping stuff like that Flower Shops song from last year and Broadway Girls but neither of those are on the album, they're just collabs with other artists! I still hear stuff from Dangerous places, like Wasted On You for instance which also got a decent bit of pop airplay last year, but OTAAT hasn't had the same impact despite being the biggest thing out right now. Funny thing about the whole sales increase, I saw a lot of music shops selling Dangerous and they upmarked the prices of all of their copies because the sales were going through the roof, they still sell out of every copy whenever they restock.

The 17 min of leadup was worth the punchline, kudos Todd

The way I thought "this sounds like a Maroon 5 song with a country twang" literally 2 seconds before you said it!!! It's an exact copy of a Maroon 5 song.

I don't think there's any better way to put it than hey try picturing Adam Levine singing it

I can't wait for Country Music next trend which will probably be using random sound affects in songs.

I hate how much streaming has changed the way albums are made. There’s no reason beside fluffing up the numbers for any album to have more than 18 tracks (not counting intros or skits).

2:41 to be fair, it was one of those slurs from the 90s... The problem was that it was one of those slurs that was acceptable to say in the 1890s instead of the 1990s

Firstly, we're *definitely* getting a Worst list this year! Secondly, I wonder how long "Last Night" will last at #1. 🤔

11:48 Morgan Wallen be like: "Is it too late now to say sorry?"

I'm kinda reminded of the 7 Rings situation, where I'm not offended at what I'm hearing, but the whole situation around it has so many weird, uncomfortable undertones that it just creates this really uncomfortable background buzz that rubs you the wrong way and is damn near impossible to ignore when you're just trying to listen to the song on it's own merits (though obviously Ariana rapping some shit about her hair that rubbed some people the wrong way is nowhere near as bad as Wallen saying the actual N word.)

Truth is, Country music has problems. One of them is the inherent problematic people that spend money on it but the other is worse than that, IMHO : Its really condescending to that audience. It's a genre of music that does have it's truly outstanding artists but it just littered with albums where I can see the people dripping with "The rubes will love this."

Happy to see the return of the "As far as YOU know" running gag.

I’m glad you touched on it, because as soon as you started talking about his apology tour was successful my first thought was “he didn’t need an apology tour, a not insignificant part of his fan base didn’t think he did anything wrong to begin with”

When Todd spends the last five minutes at the end to review the song, that means he hates it

Remember when people didn't know Todd in the shadows was Pat the NES punk....I remember and so does pepperidge farms.

"all the genre signifiers sanded off." That's good writing. Todd's got the sauce.

It is now the final week of June. "Last Night" is likely the biggest hit of 2023, as it has now spent 11 weeks as the top song on the Hot 100. For my money, I cannot think of a worse hit this year. Even some of the more embarrassing songs to get big were at least interesting.

great editing in this video, love how Todd uses it to highlight his sense of humor

Country music Drake wow Todd strikes again with casually saying the most insulting thing I can imagine but that is honesty a spot on comparison

She said, oh baby i feel so down. And it turns me out.

you can never bee cancelled in country music, Jerry Lee Lewis went to it and had a second life.

Big Morgan fan, honestly at least in part because Todd put “More than My Hometown” at #1 for the year a few years back, it genuinely ignited my love for country music and in spite of being the typical, cynical “it’s Sturgiss, Stapleton or nothin’ “ country fan these days I still get a lot out of Morgan’s Dangerous LP, the final verse of sand in my boots never fails to illicit a tear and 865, is arguably the perfect post breakup song. I cannot condone the man, but I cannot be ungrateful for the music. So thank you Todd and thank you Morgan. Edit: Song’s still too overproduced.

He’s so PR trained now, it’s kinda sad to see him not be himself in interviews and in public. Maybe this success will give him the confidence to relax and be open. Orrrrrr do the opposite and only reinforce his current behavior and he’ll never be free from the shackles of his own mind