Tate McRae earns her first No. 1 hit with Morgan Wallen duet
Their controversial collab, What I Want, topped the Billboard Hot 100
Pop star Tate McRae has scored her first No. 1 song with What I Want, a duet with country singer Morgan Wallen from his recent album, I'm the Problem.
McRae's highest-charting single prior to the song was Greedy, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 back in January 2024. The song marks Wallen's fourth No. 1 on the chart, and I'm the Problem also topped the Billboard 200. He also made history by breaking the record for the most songs to ever chart on the Billboard Hot 100 in a single week, with 37 songs.
The collaboration between the two artists has not been without controversy, as McRae's fans were upset that she was choosing to work with the country star, who used a racist slur in 2021 and was arrested in 2024 for throwing a chair off of a roof.
USA Today reported that McRae's fans expressed their disappointment in the comments of her Instagram post on April 8, before the song's release.
"Girl don't do this collab ok I love you," wrote @grazihaas, while fan @missajisha commented, "Please Tate stand up!!! Don't do this collab baby girl! You're SO CLOSE!!! This will not end well!!!!!" Another fan, @offdaines, wrote: "Tate…really? That man?"
Teen Vogue also shared a piece about the song titled "Tate McRae fans are pissed about her new song with Morgan Wallen," which included tweets such as "Tate McRae collabing with Morgan Wallen...... I'm actually so disappointed in her rn."
Several radio stations including SiriusXM and iHeartRadio reacted to Wallen using the racial slur in 2021 by removing Wallen's music from rotation. His record label also temporarily suspended his recording contract.
Wallen later apologized on Good Morning America for his use of the racial slur after the video of him saying it was publicized. Black country stars such as Darius Rucker have since forgiven Wallen, while others such as Mickey Guyton faced cyberbullying for condemning him.
In December 2024, Wallen pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment. He is under supervised probation for two years.
McRae is currently on tour promoting her album So Close to What, which was released in February and went to No. 1. She will return to Canada in August for shows in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.
