Morgan Dealie Wade (born December 10, 1994) is an American country music singer. She has released four albums: Puppets with My Heart (2018), Reckless (2021), Psychopath (2023), and Obsessed (2024).
As a freshman in college, she was inspired to write songs after breaking up with her boyfriend. She recruited musicians through Craigslist to record her first album, Puppets with My Heart, released in January 2018 under the band name Morgan Wade & The Stepbrothers.[2]
In July 2018, Wade performed at FloydFest, where Jason Isbell's sound engineer gave her album to Sadler Vaden, the guitarist in Isbell's band the 400 Unit.[3]
Reckless (2021–2022)
Sadler Vaden and producer Paul Ebersold then helped her assemble Reckless; the album was released via the Thirty Tigers label in 2021. Reckless sold 3,000 copies in its first week and charted at number 14 on the BillboardTop Heatseekers charts. Wade said that the album was inspired by her struggles with her mental health, past relationships, and sobriety.[4]Rolling Stone wrote that Wade has "the ragged edge of a singer-songwriter who’s been putting her nose to the grindstone for some time. In a voice like worn leather, Wade describes desperate, spontaneous relationships that feel the strongest when they’re at their breaking point."[2]
"Wilder Days" was released to radio in 2021 as the album's first single. Billy Dukes of Taste of Country described Wade's vocal presence on the song as a "hardened Sheryl Crow" and called the song "complex, with chords and a melancholy shuffle that shouts heartbreak, even if her story is at worst hesitant and thoughtful."[5]
On May 19, 2023, Wade released a song titled "Psychopath," the lead single to her third album of the same name, released in August 2023.[9] On July 10, she released a second single "80's Movies"[10] followed by the third single entitled "Fall in Love with Me" which was released on August 4.[11]
On March 1, 2024, Wade released "2AM in London,"[12] the lead single to her fourth album Obsessed. On April 12, the second titled "Time to Love, Time to Kill" was released. Along with release of the single, Wade announced Obsessed, released in August 2024.[13]
Personal life
In March 2024, Wade proactively underwent a double mastectomy after she tested positive for the RAD5ID gene, which, along with a family history of breast cancer, put her at a greater risk. She then got breast implants.[14]
The stress of touring and recording early in her career led to her developing an alcohol addiction at age 19; however, after a night of heavy drinking in 2017 at age 21, she became sober.[2]
^Certain award groups do not simply award one winner. They acknowledge several different recipients, have runners-up, and have third place. Since this is a specific recognition and is different from losing an award, runner-up mentions are considered wins in this award tally. For simplification and to avoid errors, each award in this list has been presumed to have had a prior nomination.
