"She Just Absolutely Crushed Every Single Part of the Song:" Morgan Wallen Reveals the Story Behind New Tate McRae Collab, 'What I Want'

It looks like Morgan Wallen is giving fans a special birthday present as the country megastar rings in his 32nd year around the sun today (May 13).

Hosting a series of listening parties at his Nashville multi-hyphenate establishment, Morgan Wallen's This Bar & Tennessee Kitchen, the record-breaking entertainer has given a few sneak peeks into some of the songs fans can expect to hear come Friday, May 16, with the release of his highly-anticipated fourth record, I'm the Problem.

news GENERAL • Morgan Wallen's New Album - ‘I'm the Problem’: Release Date & Tracklist

The Sneedville hitmaker's fourth studio album arrives on Friday, May 16th, 2025.

In addition to gushing about standout tracks like 'Miami,' 'No. 3 and No. 7' with Eric Church,' 'Kick Myself' and more, Wallen also let us into the backstory behind his first-ever female collaboration with pop icon Tate McRae, 'What I Want.'

"We had been talking about doing a song for a while. We've expressed to each other, for a couple years now, that we were fans of what each other was doing and just talked about doing a song. It just hadn't worked out up until now," Wallen explained.

"It seems just like one of those songs that's a no brainer. She was an absolute pleasure to work with on the feature. She did everything very timely," he continued. "We didn't get to work on it in the studio together, but the song wasn't originally written for her in mind. It was written in a [male] key, technically, and she just absolutely crushed every single part of the song. I'm fired up for people to hear it!"

Taking on Wallen's signature trap-country style, 'What I Want' shares the story of a doomed partnership between two people with their own sets of romantic baggage, both of whom have clear expectations for what they want from each other.

The country titan is currently gearing up to drop his long-awaited fourth studio album, I'm the Problem, which coincides with the opening day of his inaugural Sand in My Boots Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

For the lyrics to Morgan Wallen & Tate McRae's 'What I Want,' see below:

She said you don't want this heart, boy, it's already broke
Told me everything she touched just goes up in smoke
Only stay a couple nights then she gon' be gone
I said, baby, you should know that's what I want

That's what I want
That's what I want
That's what I want
That's what I want
What I want

You ain't gotta worry about no trust issues with me
I got 'em, too
I got 'em, too
You ain't gotta worry about no ex that's crazy
I got 'em, too
You know I do

If you're in a hurry
You ain't gonna hurt me tonight
It won't be the worst thing
If this is all it is
And in the middle of a kiss

She said you don't want this heart, boy, it's already broke
Told me everything she touched just goes up in smoke
Only stay a couple nights then she gon' be gone
I said, baby, you should know that's what I want

That's what I want
That's what I want
That's what I want
That's what I want
What I want

––

For more on Morgan Wallen, see below:

Morgan Wallen

Artist

Tate McRae

Artist