Morgan Wallen has made a lot of mistakes. And some of those mistakes have stretched into the realm of Saturday Night Live, where once again he will be the musical guest with host Mikey Madison on Saturday night.

And while the SNL audience is already cynical when it comes to country music, they go out of there way to tag Wallen because of his lack of caution during a pandemic era performance, in addition to his other serious mistakes.

Still, Wallen is on top of the country music world right now. He’s the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year. He’s collaborations with rappers and legacy country music stars continue to do well. “I had some help” is still on heavy radio rotation long after it’s release.

But he can expect another frosty reception for SNL. The promos with Madison and Chloe Fineman are very uncomfortable.

It’s easy to point out problems. Let’s talk solutions.

Morgan should channel the energy from his “Smile” video and try to bring that to the show.

The video is a somber affair that takes place on New Year’s Eve. Morgan is called out of his dressing room to perform on a countdown show. When he changes the song, producers begin to panic. But as the song continues, it’s received well by everyone and registers well with the ratings. The video closes on a sad note, that is more of a reflection of mistakes made than a victory lap.

Will this angry, real life crowd run out and buy tour tickets? No. But its a quiet acknowledgement of what’s happening that can still produce a powerful moment of television.

You can watch the “Smile” video below.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

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