Hear ‘Heartless’, Morgan Wallen + Diplo’s New Collaboration
Morgan Wallen is the latest of DJ Diplo's country collaborations. "Heartless" is the second song Diplo has released as part of a new project under the name Thomas Wesley; press play above to listen.
Wallen's echoing vocals and a sparse, lonely melody open "Heartless," and while the song picks up from there, it does so only slightly, its sound continuing to mimic the loneliness Wallen sings about in its lyrics. He's lamenting a "heartless" woman who can't seem to make up her mind.
"I know you think it's harmless / But you're tearing me apart ... Girl, why you gotta be so heartless?" Wallen sings in the song's chorus.
Diplo released his first country collaboration, a song with Cam called "So Long," in April. According to Variety, his other collaborators include Thomas Rhett, Zac Brown and Sam Hunt.
"I’m ... just trying to do something totally off-the-cuff and different. They’re kinda like country, but I’m adding some of my flavor to make it unusual," the DJ explains. "It’s actually a hard thing to get some of these guys to take a chance, because country’s such an insular community, but I’m trying to do something a little bit different with the songwriting, just trying to experiment, y’know?"
In addition to his new songs, Diplo has also recently remixed a couple of recent big country songs. At the 2019 Stagecoach Festival in April, he, Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus remixed "Old Town Road," while he and Hunt put a new spin on the latter's 2017 megahit "Body Like a Back Road."
In addition to making music solo, Diplo -- a native of Tupelo, Miss. -- has worked collaboratively as the EDM trio Major Lazer, the DJ duo Jack Ü and the pop group LSD. In 2019, he, Mark Ronson and Dua Lipa won the Best Dance Recording Grammy for their song "Electricity."
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