How Did Morgan Wallen And HARDY Meet?

Morgan Wallen and HARDY are known for being a powerhouse friendship duo in country music. They support each other throughout their solo careers, tour together, and often appear in the credits of each other’s projects. However, many may not know how this strong bond initially formed. 

HARDY recently caught up with Audacy’s Katie Neal on Superstar Power Hour, and explained that his friendship with Wallen started with a writing session and some BBQ. 

At the time, fans and members of the music industry were starting to recognize Wallen’s name as his debut single, “The Way I Talk,” was making its way up the charts at country radio. It turns out that this song also struck a chord with HARDY.

How Did They Meet?

“I think it was like Top 30, and I was just a huge fan of the song and I had not met him before, and it was just kind of the publisher route,” HARDY explained. “I called my publisher and just said, ‘Hey, can you call, at the time.’ I think it was Sam Jervey at the time who was booking Morgan’s calendar, I said, ‘can you call Sam and see if I can write with this Morgan Wallen kid? We can write over at my house.’”

“And two weeks later he was on the schedule and I got a text at like 10 am, and he was like ‘Hey, this is Morgan Wallen, what’s your address?’ and he just showed up to my house.  And we wrote,” he continued.

A Songwriting Session And BBQ

That writing session included HARDY, Wallen and Jameson Rodgers who the country/rocker revealed used to live in the apartment below him. 

“He and I are really good friends, and we just wrote and then we went to Martin’s Bar-B-Que after,” HARDY said in conclusion.

From that moment on, the artists have continued to watch each other flourish in their careers and provide any necessary support along the way.

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Latest Success

Fast forward to the present time, HARDY is now a three-time CMA Triple Play award recipient, the reigning ACM Songwriter of the Year, the 2022 BMI Country Songwriter of the Year, and a three-time AIMP Songwriter of the Year. Plus, he’s written 13 No. 1 singles including his own double-platinum No. 1 hit, “ONE BEER” feat. Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson, chart-topping, platinum Dierks Bentley + BRELAND collaboration, “Beers On Me,” and his critically-acclaimed duet “wait in the truck” feat. Lainey Wilson.

Most recently, he dropped his sophomore album, the mockingbird & THE CROW, via Big Loud Records. This unique collection breaks down the barriers of country music as it equates to half country music and half rock music, giving HARDY the opportunity to showcase his diversity as an artist in both genres. 

They Often Collaborate

Among the tracks, Wallen is a featured guest on one song titled “Red.” The 17-song project debuted top five all genre on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and nabbed seven additional Billboard charts in its first week, including Top Country Albums, Top Rock Albums, and Top Album Sales. 

This follows HARDY’s previous projects, A Rock and his HIXTAPE projects, which feature a slew of country artists including Wallen on “He Went to Jared,” “Turn You Down,” and “Goin’ Nowhere.”

HARDY just wrapped up the spring leg of his most recent headlining trek and is now joining Wallen on the road for his One Night At A Time World Tour before transitioning into arenas this fall on the next leg of the mockingbird & THE CROW Tour.

Meanwhile, Wallen dropped a highly-anticipated album in 2023 that also features HARDY. Together, they sang on the track, “In The Bible.”

This massive 36-song project titled One Thing At A Time made history on the Billboard Country Airplay Chart, earning the superstar three spots inside the Top 10 on the Country Airplay chart (dated April 29), including “Thought You Should Know” (No. 7), “Last Night” (No. 8), and “One Thing At A Time” (No. 9). 

This makes Wallen the first artist to achieve this chart feat since the Billboard Country Airplay chart launched in January of 1990. Plus, he achieved a 10th week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart with his fan-favorite hit, “Last Night.” 

With over 18.2 billion on-demand streams and nine No. 1 hits at Country radio, Wallen has been dubbed one of the biggest names in Country music currently. One Thing At A Time comes hot on the heels of the success of his 4x platinum, ACM Album of the Year, Dangerous: The Double Album, which topped 2021’s all-genre Billboard 200 Albums year-end chart and notched historical chart status as Billboard’s longest-running Top 10 album in history for a solo artist

The East Tennessee native is in the midst of a doctor-ordered vocal rest that has sidelined him from his massive One Night At A Time World Tour. Currently, Wallen is scheduled to return to the road on June 22 in Chicago.