Tate McRae fans were surprised — and some were dismayed — to learn that she'd recorded a duet with Morgan Wallen. But how did the Canadian pop singer and the controversial country superstar end up connecting in the first place? Blame family.
"My sister turned me on to Tate and her music a few years ago and I’ve been a fan ever since,” Morgan told Billboard. "She is a true pop star, a prolific songwriter and is also an extremely underrated vocalist.” He added that the two had been "talking about doing a song together if the right one came about."
The song they cut together, "What I Want," didn't start out as a duet. But Morgan says, "After listening to it a few times, she kept coming to my mind as someone that would really give the song a dynamic element that I felt it deserved.”
Morgan has had multiple hits with male singers and told Billboard in 2023 that while he wanted to record a duet with a woman, when he reached out he got turned down.
"What I Want" is on Morgan's new album, I'm the Problem, which has 37 tracks, including duets with Post Malone and country stars Eric Church, HARDY and ERNEST.