Fixated on the Feels

Morgan Wade has been obsessed with tattoos since the day she got her first one. Back then, the American Music Awards, CMT Music Awards, and Academy of Country Music awards nominee was a striving freshman in college with barely any money in her bank account.

“One of my friends said, ‘You’d look really cool if you had a tattoo,’ so I took the $90 in my bank account and got my (four younger) siblings’ initials on the inside of my arm,” Wade shared in a recent phone interview. “I figured my mother could only be so pissed. Then I got three more like three weeks later. My favorite is on top of my arm. It’s the Morton Salt girl. I don’t remember when I got it, but my grandmother would put a can of salt on the table, and I remember tracing the girl with my finger. It has some good memories to it.”

Since then, the multi-genre country star now sports a collection of ink from her neck to her feet that features everything from “old school Sailor Jerry” tattoos, a fish bone, and a French bulldog in homage to her Frenchie named Chop.

“Now I have to be more careful with the space I have left,” the vocal powerhouse said. “All of them don’t have meaning for me, but I love getting them. I am definitely obsessed with tattoos. My grandpa wants me to do one on his arm with my initials and now my mother wants to get a matching tattoo. Her first one was a butterfly that she got in 1999 or 2000. I have given out six or seven tattoos. It’s such an art and not easy to do. It’s even harder than I thought.”

Speaking of fixations, the Virginia native recently released her third studio album, “Obsessed.” The solo-written 14-track collection is a bit of a diversion from the music found on “Reckless” (2021) and “Psychopath” (2023). While Wade has performed at the Grand Ole Opry, collaborated with everyone from Kip Moore to Diplo, and has star-studded fans, she tells us she has now just checked off another bucket list item: being featured in Inked.

“‘Obsessed’ is more of a singer/songwriter record,” Wade said. “There is definitely more acoustic stuff. I had to fall back in love with what I was doing, so I did these songs and didn’t even realize those demos would turn into a whole record. ‘Obsessed’ is honest. It’s the only way I can write. I feel like those are the best songs when it’s just me and a guitar.”

The critically acclaimed collection of heartfelt songs touch on “the ache for home and the emotion of being reunited with loved ones, of feeling dangerously preoccupied with someone, and of being in situations that society might consider outside the norm.”

“The song ‘Reality’ I wrote before I put out my debut album,” the singer-songwriter shared. “A lot of fans from really early shows were excited, so it was fun to have that one out there.”

“Obsessed” also features her first collaboration with Kesha on “Walked on Water.” “When TikTok came out, there was a pep rally at my school with a song she did and I immediately became super enthralled,” Wade said. “I have great memories with my friends and cousins listening to her first record and have been listening to her all these years. When I was able to meet her, I saved ‘Walked on Water’ for her. She’s one of those people where you leave her feeling better than when you got there. She’s just incredible.”

Last summer, 30-year-old Wade was on the Triple Moon Tour with music legends Joan Jett and Alanis Morissette. “I was so sad to finish the tour,” she said. “I mean, it’s Alanis and Joan. That’s all I have to say. I was extremely nervous, and our first show was in Arizona, and I looked over and Alanis and Joan are watching my set. It was so freaking cool. They were both so incredibly kind to me. I cried after our last show, which I never do, but I knew how special it was and that it won’t happen again — we won’t all be on one tour again. It was life-changing for me.”

Wade’s musical inspirations mingle in many directions. “If I go back to what I was listening to as a kid, I was huge on bluegrass,” she explained. “I spent Friday nights listening to that with my grandpa. I became enamored as a kid with words. There was something that was different about Elvis, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, and Dolly Parton. I’m such a lyrics person. I appreciate all artists. Every genre I can find something I am enamored with. Miley Cyrus can sing any genre and nail it. Lana Del Rey had this Elvis vibe going on in ‘Born to Die.’ I love rap — it’s so poetic.”

Wade discovered some of her best writing comes when she is going through something. “Whether it’s good or bad, that’s when I tend to write the most and find my most creative times,” she said. “Other times, random stuff just pops in my head.”

There is no slowing down in Wade’s future as she kicks off the Obsessed Tour on January 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C., with Crowe Boys, Amy Ray, The Lone Bellow, and Cole Chaney joining on select dates. She’s delved into acting and is excited about the new and challenging things on the horizon.

“I am really excited to hit my favorite markets,” she said. “I said I was going to slow down a bit after COVID then ‘Reckless’ came out and I haven’t stopped since. I said I wanted to take some time off and spend time with my family. We haven’t been on vacation since 2013, so I want to go somewhere nice and rent a beach house, but don’t judge me if I have 14 more tours next year.”