By DEIRDRE DURKAN-SIMONDS, US ASSOCIATE SHOWBUSINESS EDITOR
Morgan Wallen has made one of the most shocking decisions of his career.
Despite having the best-selling album of the year with I'm The Problem, the country superstar, 32, is refusing to even enter the Grammys race after nearly a decade of snubs.
On Tuesday, Billboard confirmed that Wallen's team will not be submitting his last record, or any of its 37 tracks, for consideration at the 2026 Grammy Awards.
According to Hits Daily Double, which first broke the news, the boycott extends to all categories, including the songwriting categories and best country solo performance.
The only exception: his camp isn't blocking other songwriters from submitting their own work from the project.
The decision is a striking one given the success of I'm The Problem, which produced four No. 1 singles on Billboard's Country Airplay chart and his chart-topper duet with Tate McRae, What I Want.
For the Lies Lies Lies hitmaker, the choice may be as simple as not needing another trophy to validate his success or not feeling comfortable in the room.
Earlier this year, he made headlines after abruptly leaving Saturday Night Live to return to 'God's country.'
While it is an unspoken tradition for the guests and the cast to hug and mingle before the credits roll, he reportedly rushed off at the end of the show to head to the airport.
At the time, Wallen's team told Variety that he had a good time on the show and did not mean to cause any offense with his quick exit and Instagram post.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Wallen's team for comment.
Wallen's latest move highlights his fraught relationship with the Recording Academy over the past decade.
The East Tennessee native has never earned a Grammy nomination for his solo work.
His only nods came earlier this year for his collaboration with Post Malone on I Had Some Help, which scored two nominations and zero wins.
On Tuesday, Billboard confirmed that Wallen's team will not be submitting his last record, or any of its 37 tracks, for consideration at the 68th Grammy Awards on February 1, 2026
That lack of recognition has become more glaring as Wallen's star has risen.
His 2021 double album Dangerous was crowned Billboard's No. 1 album of the first 25 years of the century.
Yet the Grammy voters all but ignored him, even in the best new artist category.
Many have speculated that the Grammys has historically iced Wallen out due to his turbulent past and controversies.
In 2021, he was caught on video using a racial slur, sparking industry backlash.
He apologized and checked into rehab, while the Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association both banned him from eligibility for a year.
Since then, Nashville has welcomed him back.
He's scored 13 CMA nominations and took home entertainer of the year in 2024.
At the ACM Awards, he's been nominated 20 times post-scandal, winning three, including album of the year for Dangerous and male artist of the year in 2023.
While Wallen's boycott is unusual, it's not unheard of.
The Weeknd famously stopped submitting music after his After Hours album and hit track, Blinding Lights, were snubbed in 2021.
At the time, he tweeted that the Grammys were 'corrupt.'
Drake, too, has declined to participate, citing a lack of recognition for hip-hop.
The East Tennessee native, who has zero Grammy trophies to his name, has never earned a Grammy nomination for his solo work.
Even after a decade in the industry, Wallen, who launched to stardom after competing on The Voice at age 20 in 2014, recently admitted fame is 'still weird' to him.
'There's parts of that that I don't like,' he said on the Last Weekend podcast after his SNL exit made headlines. 'I think anybody who has to deal with that... it's not ideal.'
'It's not ideal to go everywhere, and even if you don't get bothered, you were on edge the whole time because you thought you might [be bothered],' he continued. 'There's things that you just don't do. There's just things you don't do anymore.'
As for how he spends most of his free time, Wallen explained he usually goes hunting out with his buddies 'in the middle of nowhere' to be 'at ease.'
'I ain't been in a bar since the last time I was in a bar that everybody knows about,' he quipped referencing his notorious night out at Eric Church's bar in Nashville which ended with an arrest for throwing a chair off the rooftop.