The Biggest Viral Country Music Moments in 2024

While Drake Duelled with Kendrick, Morgan Wallen Battled with a Chair

When news broke on April 7th that Morgan Wallen had been arrested, some members of the country music community did a double-take. But no, we hadn't been magically transported back to 2020. Wallen had landed himself in hot water again, this time for launching a chair off the top floor of Eric Church's Chief's Bar in Nashville.

Hurling a chair off a six-story building is undoubtedly highly dangerous, but in the following weeks and months, the country world managed to find the funny side. From Chief's Bar installing a placard reading “Don't Even Think About It, You Are Not Morgan Wallen” and promoting their BBQ with messages like “Our Pigs Fly, Our Chairs Do Not”, to the swathes of memes that arose from that hilarious photo of Wallen in court raising his hand like a naughty school-boy, this was one of the stranger country storylines that 2024 had to offer.

The fact that Wallen threw the chair on the same night that Jelly Roll won three CMT Awards led to its own sub-genre of meme-ification, with fans joking that Wallen saw Jelly Roll winning and thought, “What does Jelly have that I don't?” with the answer being “Multiple felony charges.” So, Wallen swiftly ensured that was rectified (although his felony charges were later reduced to misdemeanours).

Wallen's case ended this month with a seven-day stint at a DUI Center and two years of probation, but the Leave Them Broadway Chairs Alone t-shirts will live on forever.

- Maxim Mower

Spidergate: Zach Bryan Fends Off Eight-Legged Fan Onstage

While a somewhat of a blip on the viral radar, Zach Bryan’s random arachnid encounter earlier this summer had to make this list.

Back in June, the Oklahoma hitmaker’s spidey senses were set atingle when a creepy-crawly invaded his space during his Buckeye Country Superfest set. The Saturday night showcase of the multi-day Ohio event found the star halting his performance of ’Something in the Orange’ when a spider landed on his shoulder, likely intent on enjoying the show up close and personal.

Just as he was delivering the hit tune’s chorus, he caught a glimpse of his new eight-legged companion in the corner of his eye and quickly stepped away from the microphone to sweep and shimmy the wee thing away. The audience, unfazed, carried on in singing the song.

He returned to center stage sans spider with a sheepish look and an apology to fans, telling the crowd, “There was a spider on me, I'm really sorry. So so sorry. It was climbing toward my neck so I had to get it, or I wouldn't have done it, I promise”.

- Alli Patton

Ingrid Andress Murders the American National Anthem

Sometimes when everything goes to shit it's easier to just tell the whole world you were drunk when you did it. That was the get out that Ingrid Andress plumped for after her erratic out-of-tune performance of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' during Major League Baseball's Home Run Derby in Texas this July was widely shared online.

Her acapella version of the anthem was called everything from a simple "painful" to "one of the worst national-anthem renditions ever" online, as clips of Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm apparently smirking as Andress was singing began to do the rounds along with comparisons to Fergie’s disastrously free-jazz rendition before the 2018 NBA All-Star game.

"I’m not gonna bullshit y’all, I was drunk last night," the four-time Grammy Award nominee said in a statement the following day. "I'm checking myself into a facility today to get the help I need.

"That was not me last night,” the statement continued. “I apologize to MLB, all the fans, and this country I love so much for that rendition. I'll let y'all know how rehab is," she added, suggesting she might not be taking the whole thing completely seriously. "I hear it's super fun."

Conspiracy theories have continued to spread with some pointing the finger of blame at her autotune being set in the wrong key and her in-ears not working properly.

- Jof Owen

Theo Von Gives Miranda Lambert A Blast From the Past

Miranda Lambert proved she was one of country music's good eggs after Theo Von accidentally punk'd her by playing her ex-husband's song when she was a guest on his This Past Weekend With Theo Von podcast.

Appearing as a guest on the podcast, Lambert was reminiscing with Von about a popular radio segment called Cryin’, Lovin’ or Leavin' and saying she’d love to hear it again, but when Von asked his producers to pull up a clip from the show and the random segment they pulled up was a request from a listener to hear Blake Shelton’s 'God Gave Me You' – a song Shelton said reminded him of Lambert, who he was dating at the time, when he recorded it – listeners were left wondering how keen she would be to revisit that particular memory.

“Perfect one to pick, by the way,” Lambert said before bursting into laughter.

Von sat there in shock, promising the singer that the incident wasn’t planned beforehand and shaking his head as Lambert kept telling him it was perfect.

“We did not pick that on purpose,” Theo said. “I had no idea we would talk about Cryin’, Lovin’ or Leavin.”

Lambert continued laughing it off and added, “My first wedding song, guys! Let’s play that! We’re crying, loving and leaving now, bye!”

- JO

Megan Moroney Gives The World Exactly What It Needs – Another Kenny Chesney

2024 featured tour pranks galore, from Lainey Wilson dressing up as an adult-sized toddler as her opener Zach Top crooned, “I sleep like a baaaaby”, to Top returning the favour by crashing Wilson's set wearing a Kermit the Frog costume because… well, we still don’t really know why he chose Kermit, actually, but it was funny regardless.

However, the award for best tour prank of the year undeniably goes to Megan Moroney, who emerged on-stage during Kenny Chesney’s Gillette Stadium triple-header donning Chesney's signature tank-top, blue jeans and cowboy hat, while sat on a green tractor no less, with ‘She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy’ blaring over the speakers.

It was comedy gold, and the fact that it took place in Foxborough, the adopted home of Chesney’s loyal No Shoes Nation fanbase, made it all the more special, with Moroney and Chesney's sweet friendship one of the more welcome gifts 2024 had to offer.

- MM

Maren Morris' Rocks A Jirt & Pays the Price

Oh, Maren...

For the second straight year, the ex-country singer-songwriter has found her way into the Top Viral Moments of the genre that she publicly denounced in 2023. While last year it was namely because of the musical cutting of ties, this year is for a much less... family-friendly reason.

During her performance at Willie Nelson's 4th of July Picnic concert this summer, the 34-year-old entertainer donned a a maxi denim skirt – a "jirt," if you will – that had quite the revealing slit up the side that reached up to her... nether regions. As she bounded across the stage, attendees claimed to have seen more than than they bargained for and were convinced that the Grammy-winner had nixed any underwear and went commando.

After the incident, Morris appeared on Cosmopolitan's "Cheap Shot" series to give the inside scoop on the wardrobe mishap, saying: "Against my will, a video circulated recently of me wearing a denim skirt with a giant slit in it. I was wearing underwear. It was nude underwear, but it looked like my whole vagina was out.”

Explaining that the skirt was actually meant to be her backup outfit for a different wardrobe slip-up, she added: "I wish I'd worn, like, dayglo underwear so people would definitely know I had it on. But you live and you learn."

Many of her legion of haters were adamant that this was all a publicity stunt so as to hang on to any shred of relevance, but at the end of the day, we just hope no children were permanently scarred from the picnic gone wrong.

- Lydia Farthing

Holler Becomes Its Own Worst Enemy in the Florida Georgia Line Feud

It's a statistical fact that, at any given point in time, at least one team-member at Holler HQ has the lyric “Baby, you're a song, you make me wanna roll my windows down” stuck in their head. Well, okay, maybe just one team-member in particular.

But on the whole, we love Florida Georgia Line here at Holler, and are front of the queue to sign any petition attempting to get Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard back together so they can churn out more country smashes in the mould of ‘Round Here’ and ‘Meant To Be’.

But somehow, when interviewing Hubbard and Kelley in the space of one week, Holler inadvertently ended up being a beef-mediator. Kelley decided to speak "his truth" to Holler last year about what really went down when the duo split, then BK dropped his explosive THubb diss track, ‘Kiss My Boots’, in March, and then Hubbard told Holler what he thought of it later that week, before BK delved into the inspiration behind the fiery track with us a few days later. Could it be possible that BK and Hubbard' sole form of communication with one another was through… Holler?!

Either way, we’re currently hatching a plan to get both Kelley and Hubbard on the same interview, parent-trap-style, and find a way to get them back on good terms. Most of all, we just want Florida and Georgia to be buddies again. Otherwise it’ll just be ‘Line’, which isn’t a very good band-name at all.

- MM

Zach Bryan's Got... Issues

Country's not-so-golden-boy made his way into the headlines quite a few times this year, though not in as much stupid glory as his dramatic arrest in 2023.

In October, Zach Bryan shocked fans by breaking the news that he and his girlfriend, Barstool Sports' Brianna LaPaglia, had split via his Instagram story that was laced with vague explanations and verbiage that immediately had fans assuming that the Oklahoma native had cheated (which he's been known to do in previous relationships).

What immediately ensued was a wave of backlash from LaPaglia, who went on her YouTube channel to give the first insights into what had happened. The following month, she discussed the relationship and its downfall on Barstool's BFF's Podcast alongside co-hosts Dave Portnoy and Josh Richards, who despite numerous removals and attempts, released the humorous Bryan diss track, 'Smallest Man.'

“The last year of my life has been the hardest year of my life dealing with the abuse from this dude,” LaPaglia shared, delving into examples of “narcissistic” abuse, including when he allegedly screamed at her for singing Morgan Wallen's ‘Last Night’ in their house and told her she wasn't allowed to listen to Noah Kahan.

The best part of all of this is that despite one of the genre's biggest stars getting his reputation mowed over and obliterated (even though most of his fans have likely already forgotten), Morgan Wallen finally got some good PR out of it!

- LF

Kacey Musgraves Gets Snatched By a Fan Mid-Performance

It’s always exciting to see our favorite artists get up close and personal with their fans, but what happens when fans can’t keep their hands to themselves?

This year, Kacey Musgraves became all too familiar with an audience member when they grabbed the ‘Golden Hour’ artist mid-performance. During a Deeper Well tour stop at Tampa, Florida’s Amalie Arena, the star moved through the crowd, making her way between the arena’s main and side stages. She was flanked by excited fans as she walked and sang when one particular audience member reached out and grabbed her arm, snatching some of her long, dark hair in the process.

This action prompted Musgraves to turn to the assailant with a questioning “What the fuck?” Shortly after, she addressed the incident onstage during another South Florida show, telling the Hollywood crowd, “I thought I was going to have to get real East Texas on her. Take off my earrings.”

The event sparked a conversation around concert etiquette, with the artist taking to social media to say what happened was not okay and she would not be tolerating that kind of behavior at her shows.

- AP

Gavin Adcock: Shirtless Wonder

If there was one thing that was consistent throughout 2024, it's that Gavin Adcock didn't have a shirt on.

Now, this writer doesn't know a thing about this kid. I couldn't tell you a song he sings, if he's on a label, what his claim to fame is or anything else. Yet, it felt like every time I went on Instagram, this man was taking "sun's out, guns out" to a whole new level and ditching the top half of his clothing altogether.

At festival appearances, live shows or just on a regular Thursday, Adcock wasn't afraid to flaunt it. Good for him, I guess?

Maybe in 2025 someone could gift him some new shirts, though... with lots of buttons.

- LF

Carly Pearce Does Not Have Time for Dicks

Anyone who's listened to 'truck on fire' knows that Carly Pearce isn't afraid to stand up for herself anymore. During a performance at WE Fest in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota in August, the singer was performing ahead of headliner Parker McCollum, when she was rudely interrupted by an audience member and let them feel the full force of her wrath.

A video clip of the musician kicking out the rude heckler quickly went viral, with other audience members claiming that the man had yelled "no one cares" when Pearce had taken to the mic to tell the crowd she wanted to say something about herself.

In a video posted by radio personality Ian Godfrey on X, Pearce is shown asking for the heckler to be escorted out of the show after her shouted at her.

“Somebody get him out of here. I don’t want him at my show," she says. "Get out of my show... If you’re gonna be an asshole, you’re gonna have to say it to me and get the fuck out of my show. I do not have time for dicks," Pearce says as fans cheered her on. "See you later!”

"Words hurt," Pearce added once the offending audience member had been removed. "That hurt me. That was not nice."

In an interview after the show with Ashley Morrison on iHeartCountry Pearce discussed the incident.

“I guess people are learning a new side of me, but the boys do it all the time," she told Morrison in an interview on iHeartCountry. "This is no different. If somebody’s going to show disrespect at my show, get out. So many people think that they’re not gonna be reprimanded for their actions. He hit me in a moment where my ‘Kentucky’ came out full-force and I’m just so tired of being afraid of standing up for myself."

"I’ve been doing this for eight years, and I’ve had to keep my mouth shut on a lot of things," she later told the LA Times. "Not just at a live show but about my life, about things that are said to me or about me, what Reddit says about me. And I think that particular moment hit a nerve that had been wanting to speak out for a long time.

"The guy didn’t just say something to me," she added. "I walked over to where he was, and he had a moment to go, 'Hey, I’m sorry.' But he didn’t — he doubled down. He looked me right in the eye and he grinned and he raised his hand to show that he was the one who did it. And in that moment, I’d had enough. I saw red."

- AP

While the World Fell For Country Music, Some Country Stars... Just Fell

We’re positive every artist takes a tumble on stage at least once in their careers. There’s no shame in it; it’s just our jobs to round up all the public spills at the end of the year and pick them apart.

In 2024, we saw acts like Darius Rucker, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Parker McCollum, Ella Langley and Morgan Wallen take on stage stumbles and, more importantly, take them in stride. Because, just as in life, it’s okay to fall as long as you pick yourself back up and keep singing.

Here are this year’s slips, spills and stumbles all scored, with form and recovery taken into consideration:

Darius Rucker – During a performance of his 2008 hit, ‘Alright’, at Charleston, South Carolina’s Riverfront Revival, the artist appeared to trip over a monitor that was placed down center. He only briefly halted the performance to straighten himself and continue the song but not before jokingly telling the crowd, "I'm old as fuck.” We give it a 7/10 for the graceful recovery and sense of humor.

Luke Combs – Talk about a smooth recovery! When Combs slipped onstage this year, it was so graceful it almost seemed planned. 11/10. You don’t often see moves like that from a country star.

Luke Bryan – It was at the Coast City Country Festival when Bryan took a tumble a cartoon would envy. During a performance of ‘I Don’t Want This Night To End’, the artist slipped on a cell phone someone had thrown on stage. With legs near pin-wheeling, the flailing fall sent Bryan to his back, left only to stare up at the stage lights and laugh off the incident. That fall = 10/10. That fan = 0/10

Ella Langley – Baby’s First Onstage Fall. It’s a moment you never forget, but Langley’s inaugural tumble was made all the more memorable when she took out her guitarist along with her. During a stop on her hungover tour, the singer, seemingly unsteady on her feet, took a step back only to realize there was no step to catch her. There was, however, a bandmate that she could hang onto on her way down. They both took the fall with elegance and a good laugh. This one deserves a 8/10 for responsible use of the buddy system.

Parker McCollum – Stairs struck again this year when McCollum attempted a little ascension during one summer performance. Not even making it onto the first tread, the singer, with guitar is hand, took a rolling tumble mid-performance. It was a little uneventful but a decent recovery all the same, so 6/10.

Morgan Wallen – You can’t run from a fall, but that’s exactly what Wallen attempted to do when he stumbled during his BST Hyde Park showcase. Leaving a crouch position to walk the length of the stage, the ‘You Proof’ star wasn’t topple proof. He seemed to trip over his own feet and decided to play it off by hopping, skipping and then sprinting the rest of the way. He’s not fooling anyone, but we’ll give him 7/10 for creativity anyway.

- AP