“Tears, Man”: Morgan Wallen Said He Started Crying When His Dad Sent Him Chris Tomlin's ‘Is He Worthy?’

There's a reason Morgan Wallen is one of the biggest artists on the planet today. Yes, he's got fantastic hooks, and yes, he knows how to effortlessly fuse genres in a way that feels authentic and fresh. But the secret ingredient behind the Sneedville native's catalogue is just how deeply he feels, and in turn, makes his listeners feel.

Faith-based offerings have always struck a particularly visceral chord with Wallen, with the ‘Last Night’ chart-topper regularly exploring his spirituality on haunting tracks such as ‘Don't Think Jesus’, ’The Dealer’, ‘I Wrote The Book’ and ‘Outlook’.

He's also taken to socials on a number of occasions to share covers of gospel favourites, such as ‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus’ alongside his good buddy ERNEST in 2023. Wallen grew up singing in church, with his father a prominent Tennessee pastor.

It's perhaps no surprise, therefore, to learn that Wallen is a fan of Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) pioneer, Chris Tomlin. Tomlin is the hitmaker behind CCM staples such as ‘How Great Is Our God’, ‘Good Good Father’ and ‘Jesus Messiah’, which are sung across the world in churches as modern hymns. In 2016, Tomlin received the Sound Exchange Digital Radio Award, recognising his status at the time as one of only four artists to have accumulated one billion digital radio streams, joining Justin Timberlake, Pitbull and Garth Brooks.

Tomlin has dabbled in the country music sphere throughout his career, famously releasing his star-studded crossover record, Chris Tomlin & Friends, in 2020, featuring the likes of Thomas Rhett, Lady A, Russell Dickerson and Florida Georgia Line.

During his recent podcast appearance on Net Positive with John Crist, Tomlin recalls performing with the Florida Georgia Line duo at their blockbuster Atlanta, Georgia show in 2019. Canaan Smith, Dan + Shay and Wallen were all on the bill, too.

Tomlin explains how, when he met Wallen for the first and only time, the ‘Love Somebody’ singer-songwriter told Tomlin that his music had made him cry the previous week.

He reflects, “I went on a tour with Florida Georgia Line...That was wild. Morgan was opener, and then Dan + Shay. Morgan walks on the bus, and I'm standing there - it's right at the entrance to the bus. He's like, ‘Are you Chris Tomlin?’ I was like, ‘Yes, I am’, and I was like, ’Nice to meet you, man. Great music’”, with Tomlin explaining that he, like the rest of us, were only just getting familiar with Wallen's talents.

Tomlin then describes the heartwarming moment, “He goes, ‘My daddy, he sent me a video of yours last week, called, ‘Is he worthy?’ I was like, ‘Yeah’. He goes, ‘Tears, man’. And he just walked by. He walked on. That was my only encounter, ever”.

With Wallen continuing to dabble with spiritually-minded music, and with a handful of CCM artists exploding in popularity in recent years, such as Forrest Frank, Brandon Lake and Josiah Queen, we're wondering if the country titan will ever follow in the footsteps of Carrie Underwood and share a full-blown gospel project.

Forrest even joked last month about how he has drawn comparisons between his music and Wallen's - with the only difference being the alcohol content of their lyrics. Forrest, Brandon and Josiah have all joined forces with country artists in the past year or so, with Forrest collaborating with Thomas Rhett on the vibrant, infectious ‘NOTHING ELSE’, Brandon linking up with Jelly Roll, Gabby Barrett, Cody Johnson and Lainey Wilson and Josiah combining with Avery Anna.

If Wallen does decide to venture into the CCM landscape in the near future, we'll be keeping our fingers crossed he recruits Tomlin for a seismic, genre-blurring collaboration...

Watch the full interview with Chris Tomlin below:

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