MORGAN WALLEN - Love Somebody - Big Loud Records/Mercury/Republic

With his third studio album One Thing At A Time recently notching a 7X Platinum certification, “Lies Lies Lies” and his collaboration with Post Malone, “I Had Some Help,” both earning massive radio play and huge chart success, and a sold out stadium tour that’s crisscrossed the country and impacted overseas, Morgan Wallen is an unstoppable force that’s at the top of his game.

However, the country music megastar isn’t staying complacent in the safety of his comfort zone but is rather stretching the boundaries into a new approach that stays familiar enough while outlining touches of a next generation vibe.

“'Love Somebody' is a little bit of a new approach lyrically and sonically,” shares Wallen. “I wanted to try something different, with what I wanted to talk about, how I wanted it to sound, and we were inspired by Latin-leaning influences. I'm really excited about this song and pumped that it is out.”

Written by Wallen, John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Elof Loelv and Ryan Vojtesak, “Love Somebody” offers the first taste of an anticipated new project with a sound that intriguingly blends those Latin flares like he mentioned with a flash of 80’s pop fusions akin to what we heard on “One Thing At A Time.”

Induced in a moody backbeat that allows the strands at the edges of his voice to hold the depth of the lyric, he faces the mirror and gets real honest with himself about what he’s looking for in love, admitting that he’s upheld the “live too fast to settle down” rumors that he’s been hearing while lamenting the heartbeat truth that he wants something more than the one night rendezvous or no strings attached.

Maturely listing specifics in each of the verses, he spells out exactly what he’s looking for - “wanna find somethin’ stronger than the whiskey,” “who ain't hypnotized by dollar signs and blindin' lights,” “I need someone that I'd be proud to take on back to my hometown” – landing then at the yearning graft of the vocal trail in the chorus.

“I just wanna love somebody

Who won't leave a hole in my heart

I just wanna love somebody

That don't want me fallin' apart

And I'll be lucky if I ever find

A somethin' more than just a crazy night

I just wanna love somebody”

Morgan Wallen is at a point in his career where he can rest easily in what he does and maintain his massive success, but he’s always embedded interesting risks into his songs to try something fresh and different. “Love Somebody” continues to expand his risk-taking abilities, slightly moving the lines of his style a bit further out while allowing a transparent vulnerableness to move to the forefront. 

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)