Completely unrelated to football, but it's weird how little cultural impact a number one artist in America has up here these days, with all the recent strife between the nations. I had never even heard of Morgan Wallen before reading this article, and he did not sell out Toronto a couple days ago. For reference, Taylor Swift sold out both shows in seconds.
The two biggest stars on Earth (Drake being Canadian and T-Swift being T-Swift) are probably not fair comparisons. I'm not a fan of modern low effort (meaning low effort both to listen to and to record) pop music anyway, which both Drake and Taylor are guilty of, but at least I've heard of those two people. Who the heck is Morgan Wallen, and why do Americans want him to play the Super Bowl? The people the pop-country genre panders to do not watch the Super Bowl, so why would we want whoever this is up there?
Keep country away from the Super Bowl at all costs. That's all I'm saying. If the NFL wants to pretend like it's global, non-Americans do not know who these country guys are. I don't know who they can get, as the Super Bowl stubbornly refuses to pay artists to perform, but it's in Santa Clara. Bring in a California local. I don't know what kind of Cali performer they can get, but none of them will go over as poorly with a Super Bowl crowd as a pop-country act will.
Once again, this is no comment on the specifics of the music, so I ask all the fans of this guy please don't crucify me LOL. I've never heard the name Morgan Wallen in my life. In my status as an amateur NFL historian, I have an understanding that country has never gone over at the Super Bowl, and isn't about to start now. I really hope they don't try it.
As a huge fan, I definitely do take offense 😂😂😂, but I will respond.
First off, Toronto is probably the only location he wouldn’t have sold out in. The country atmosphere in Toronto just isn’t there for Morgan Wallen to succeed. Note: there isn’t an NFL team in Canada.
If the NFL wants to market itself even better then it already does, then it needs to get into country. With Taylor swift and Travis kelce already in a relationship, many of her fans watch the football games. Drake has no odds of performing at the halftime show. Even if swift does perform, there’s absolutely no way her fan are watching the whole game if the chiefs are not involved. Meanwhile, if you have Morgan, the target audience will watch the football game and the performance.
His newest album, I’m the Problem is the biggest of the year, and has also been the #1 album in the world, featuring collabs with Tate McRae and Post Malone. Just naming 2 that you probably know. The one with Tate McRae has frequently been ranked #1.
Global impact? Yes, it’s going to be less if you bring in Morgan, but that’s just how it is with these artists in general. If you want to expand globally with the HALFTIME SHOW, then just bring in Ed Sheeran. His San Francisco shows did sell out (Morgan’s).
I've barely interacted with the American pop music chart in my life, so believe it or not, I will defer to you on most of this.
You're probably right that the halftime show is mostly a novelty act, and it doesn't matter who they bring in. I was mostly going for which act would get over with the people that would be at the game, and considering pop-country as a genre, with all of its glorification of drug abuse and generally right leaning political tone (at least on the Canadian chart, I have not made a point to listen to a Morgan Wallen song since I penned the original comment), generally panders disproportionately to young people, who love both glorification of drug abuse and right leaning political rhetoric.
For all I know, Morgan Wallen could be the modern day Jason Molina, in which case it may work, but how many members of the audience that country music panders to are going to be at the stadium in Santa Clara? Virtually none, because while pop-country panders to young and poor people, the Super Bowl caters to rich corporate people.
I don't know what kind of music rich corporate people in the Bay area like, but I'm almost certain it's not pop-country, and while we're booking an act for the whole TV audience to watch, it's the people there in person who get to set the narrative. If they boo him off the stage, it doesn't really matter if 80% of the people loved it. It will still go down in history as a disaster.
Corporate suits from San Francisco likely won't go that far. Even in the worst possible scenario, bored silence seems the likeliest outcome to me. Bored silence is not a disaster, although it would be awkward. Still best avoided.
To me, bringing in a pop-country guy this year seems like the NFL would only be walking into a trap, begging people to call them 'too woke' or something similar when the performance falls flat with corporate suits in Santa Clara. I don't think it'd work any better next year, in front of corporate suits in Los Angeles. It may work better the year after that, in front of the corporate suits in Atlanta.
For a halftime show at the Super Bowl, it must be kept in mind that you're not trying to please the real population of any place. You're trying to please the local corporate people that can afford to attend the Super Bowl (which chokes the life out of the live game by the way, I do not recommend watching the Super Bowl in person) to prevent either audible booing or bored silence.
This (in conjunction with the NFL refusing to pay their acts) is why the Super Bowl halftime always has to play it so safe. That's been the tradition since the very start, and I'm not sure the NFL would want to break that by taking a risk of any kind. That's what makes an over the hill (musically) Taylor Swift a good choice. She would fit the tradition. Pop-country would not, unless they happen to do it in Atlanta, the only place they've ever had a country halftime show.
In short, if they're going to do it, I would not be surprised if they pull that trigger in Atlanta in a couple years. If they do it either of the next two years in California, I would be shocked. It wouldn't bother me, but the NFL is normally not willing to take a risk that big.
Maybe you're right, but what I will tell you is that Morgan's style of country is extremely different from the stuff that you mentioned.
Yes, the Bay is home to Silicon Valley, and I'm not sure if the rich people truly appreciate pop-country music, if not country. What I will say, though, is we don't know where the future of country music is going to take us, and it could fail us by the time we get to Atlanta. Unlike all the other genres of music, country music fluctuates.
However, with Nissan Stadium set to be completed in 2027, the 2029 Super Bowl can very well be in Nashville, and with Nashville being the city for country music, we could very well see Morgan on center stage over there. Atlanta could be possible. Sorry, LA, but absolutely not. More than the destination, Morgan's had a huge year, which is definitely why I looked into him in performing in San Francisco.
It's a big risk, but maybe if you listen to the music, you'll see why? lol just try it.
Completely unrelated to football, but it's weird how little cultural impact a number one artist in America has up here these days, with all the recent strife between the nations. I had never even heard of Morgan Wallen before reading this article, and he did not sell out Toronto a couple days ago. For reference, Taylor Swift sold out both shows in seconds.
The two biggest stars on Earth (Drake being Canadian and T-Swift being T-Swift) are probably not fair comparisons. I'm not a fan of modern low effort (meaning low effort both to listen to and to record) pop music anyway, which both Drake and Taylor are guilty of, but at least I've heard of those two people. Who the heck is Morgan Wallen, and why do Americans want him to play the Super Bowl? The people the pop-country genre panders to do not watch the Super Bowl, so why would we want whoever this is up there?
Keep country away from the Super Bowl at all costs. That's all I'm saying. If the NFL wants to pretend like it's global, non-Americans do not know who these country guys are. I don't know who they can get, as the Super Bowl stubbornly refuses to pay artists to perform, but it's in Santa Clara. Bring in a California local. I don't know what kind of Cali performer they can get, but none of them will go over as poorly with a Super Bowl crowd as a pop-country act will.
Once again, this is no comment on the specifics of the music, so I ask all the fans of this guy please don't crucify me LOL. I've never heard the name Morgan Wallen in my life. In my status as an amateur NFL historian, I have an understanding that country has never gone over at the Super Bowl, and isn't about to start now. I really hope they don't try it.
As a huge fan, I definitely do take offense 😂😂😂, but I will respond.
First off, Toronto is probably the only location he wouldn’t have sold out in. The country atmosphere in Toronto just isn’t there for Morgan Wallen to succeed. Note: there isn’t an NFL team in Canada.
If the NFL wants to market itself even better then it already does, then it needs to get into country. With Taylor swift and Travis kelce already in a relationship, many of her fans watch the football games. Drake has no odds of performing at the halftime show. Even if swift does perform, there’s absolutely no way her fan are watching the whole game if the chiefs are not involved. Meanwhile, if you have Morgan, the target audience will watch the football game and the performance.
His newest album, I’m the Problem is the biggest of the year, and has also been the #1 album in the world, featuring collabs with Tate McRae and Post Malone. Just naming 2 that you probably know. The one with Tate McRae has frequently been ranked #1.
Global impact? Yes, it’s going to be less if you bring in Morgan, but that’s just how it is with these artists in general. If you want to expand globally with the HALFTIME SHOW, then just bring in Ed Sheeran. His San Francisco shows did sell out (Morgan’s).
Let’s see how you respond to this.
I've barely interacted with the American pop music chart in my life, so believe it or not, I will defer to you on most of this.
You're probably right that the halftime show is mostly a novelty act, and it doesn't matter who they bring in. I was mostly going for which act would get over with the people that would be at the game, and considering pop-country as a genre, with all of its glorification of drug abuse and generally right leaning political tone (at least on the Canadian chart, I have not made a point to listen to a Morgan Wallen song since I penned the original comment), generally panders disproportionately to young people, who love both glorification of drug abuse and right leaning political rhetoric.
For all I know, Morgan Wallen could be the modern day Jason Molina, in which case it may work, but how many members of the audience that country music panders to are going to be at the stadium in Santa Clara? Virtually none, because while pop-country panders to young and poor people, the Super Bowl caters to rich corporate people.
I don't know what kind of music rich corporate people in the Bay area like, but I'm almost certain it's not pop-country, and while we're booking an act for the whole TV audience to watch, it's the people there in person who get to set the narrative. If they boo him off the stage, it doesn't really matter if 80% of the people loved it. It will still go down in history as a disaster.
Corporate suits from San Francisco likely won't go that far. Even in the worst possible scenario, bored silence seems the likeliest outcome to me. Bored silence is not a disaster, although it would be awkward. Still best avoided.
To me, bringing in a pop-country guy this year seems like the NFL would only be walking into a trap, begging people to call them 'too woke' or something similar when the performance falls flat with corporate suits in Santa Clara. I don't think it'd work any better next year, in front of corporate suits in Los Angeles. It may work better the year after that, in front of the corporate suits in Atlanta.
For a halftime show at the Super Bowl, it must be kept in mind that you're not trying to please the real population of any place. You're trying to please the local corporate people that can afford to attend the Super Bowl (which chokes the life out of the live game by the way, I do not recommend watching the Super Bowl in person) to prevent either audible booing or bored silence.
This (in conjunction with the NFL refusing to pay their acts) is why the Super Bowl halftime always has to play it so safe. That's been the tradition since the very start, and I'm not sure the NFL would want to break that by taking a risk of any kind. That's what makes an over the hill (musically) Taylor Swift a good choice. She would fit the tradition. Pop-country would not, unless they happen to do it in Atlanta, the only place they've ever had a country halftime show.
In short, if they're going to do it, I would not be surprised if they pull that trigger in Atlanta in a couple years. If they do it either of the next two years in California, I would be shocked. It wouldn't bother me, but the NFL is normally not willing to take a risk that big.
Maybe you're right, but what I will tell you is that Morgan's style of country is extremely different from the stuff that you mentioned.
Yes, the Bay is home to Silicon Valley, and I'm not sure if the rich people truly appreciate pop-country music, if not country. What I will say, though, is we don't know where the future of country music is going to take us, and it could fail us by the time we get to Atlanta. Unlike all the other genres of music, country music fluctuates.
However, with Nissan Stadium set to be completed in 2027, the 2029 Super Bowl can very well be in Nashville, and with Nashville being the city for country music, we could very well see Morgan on center stage over there. Atlanta could be possible. Sorry, LA, but absolutely not. More than the destination, Morgan's had a huge year, which is definitely why I looked into him in performing in San Francisco.
It's a big risk, but maybe if you listen to the music, you'll see why? lol just try it.
Have a huge bet on the Broncos -8. My Titans hopefully get trounced to start the season, but do enough good things to give us hope.
With KC losing, Denver will never have a better opportunity to become the winner of the AFC West!
Absolutely. This Broncos team is looking really good.
Also, how about Joe Flacco? What a game!?