Date of Award
5-1-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Music
First Advisor
Darren Grem
Second Advisor
Tom Attah
Third Advisor
Simone Delerme
School
University of Mississippi
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
Country music artist Morgan Wallen has dominated sales charts and streaming numbers on digital platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Wallen has also crafted his own image of what it means to be “country,” distilling it into the usual, hyper-recognizable motifs of whiskey and trucks while transitioning them onto new media platforms. In addition, Wallen maintains his small-town Tennessee boy image despite conquering massive digital landscapes. This thesis argues that Morgan Wallen exemplifies a new phase of country music, “metacountry.” “Meta-country,” as detailed in this thesis, refers to the continuation of country music’s commercialization into the digital space in which hyper-connectivity between artists and fans is possible. Chapter 1 discusses the current cultural moment in country music that has enabled Wallen’s popularity, as situated in the lineage of country music scholarship. Chapter 2 provides a contextualized biography of Wallen’s career. It begins with Wallen’s first appearance on the national stage during a blind audition for the reality television program The Voice and argues that this foundation in broadcast, network, and reality TV primed Wallen to balance legacy media standards with fan connection, which safeguarded him when the streaming and social media era fully emerged. Chapter 3 interrogates how Wallen stays on top of various digital landscapes through strategies that, as suggested, do not merely navigate the meta-South but create it anew and, thus, create new Souths while marginalizing others.
Recommended Citation
Fallon, Ryley, "The “Meta-Country” of Morgan Wallen: Authenticity Signaling in Contemporary Country Music" (2026). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 8815.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/8815