In the personal three-minute track, Wallen slowly picks away at his guitar while questioning some of the “bad decisions” he’s made in life.
“What’s going on mama?/ Something’s just dawned on me/ I ain’t been home in some months,” he begins the ballad. “Been chasing songs and women/ Making some bad decisions/ God knows I’m drinking too much/ Yeah, I know you’ve been worrying ’bout me/ You’ve been losing sleep since ’93.”
Wallen posted an apology video on Feb. 10, in which he told his fans to stop defending him because he needed to “fully accept any penalties I’m facing” while announcing his newfound sobriety and meetings with Black leaders. He later posted an update in April, saying he had spent recent months out of the spotlight to reflect on his various misdeeds and would use the rest of the year to continue working on himself.
In mid-May, however, Wallen hit the stage at Kid Rock‘s Nashville honky tonk to sing “Whiskey Glasses” and “Wasted on You,” marking his first marking his first performance since being caught using the racial slur.
The country singer has spent the last year embroiled in scandal, from being arrested at Rock’s bar in March 2020 to being booted from his slot on Saturday Night Live in October for breaking COVID safety protocols prior to his appearance. Following the video of Wallen saying the N-word, his music was pulled from radio airplay, removed from official playlists and he was dropped by his booking agency. His record label, Big Loud, also suspended his “recording contract indefinitely.”
Despite his rocky year, Wallen has continued to thrive on the Billboard charts. His Dangerous: The Double Album spent 10 weeks on top of the Billboard 200 chart, making it the first album to spend its first 10 weeks at No. 1 since 1987.
Watch Wallen perform his new song “Thought You Should Know” here.
