Morgan Wallen Hosts Idaho Murder Victim’s Family Before Show

Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

July 18th, 2023 9:44 AM

When Morgan Wallen recently played two sold-out shows at San Diego’s Petco Park, he also helped one family heal. Morgan invited the family of slain Idaho student Ethan Chapin to meet him before the shows and also donated money to Ethan’s Smile Foundation. In November 2022, Chapin, along with three other University of Idaho college students, were found murdered in a home not far from the university’s campus. A suspect was ultimately arrested and charged in the incident.

Stacy Chapin, 20-year-old Washington native Ethan’s mother, shared on Instagram how Wallen’s song “Thought You Should Know” was a special song for her and her son.

She wrote a lengthy post on Instagram that included several images of herself and her family, including Ethan’s triplet brother and sister, Hunter and Maizie, backstage with Morgan before the show. Chapin wrote, “On Mother’s Day 2022, Ethan sent me the best text about how @morganwallen had written a song for his mom @lesliwallen and how that could be our song. It was a very touching moment between us. I listen to ‘I Thought You Should Know’ all the time. I’ve told this story a lot, and to our surprise, a very kind person made an introduction.”

RELATED: Morgan Wallen Gets Hit With Cowboy Boot While On Stage

She continued, “Last night, we met Morgan Wallen! He kindly gifted our family and friends tickets to his show in San Diego. Morgan’s mom, Lesli, even flew in! It was an incredibly bittersweet full-circle moment. Truthfully, the show would have been enough. We were all over the moon, and then Morgan handed us a donation check to the @ethanssmilefoundation. It was one of the kindest gestures in my life. I still cannot believe it happened, and it isn’t easy to recognize it all came at a massive cost to our family.”

Chapin closed with, “Morgan, thank you for everything (prayer hands emoji) @morganwallenfoundation.”

13 Songs That Made Morgan Wallen An ACM Star

• 13. “The Way I Talk” (2016)

  Share

  His very first single. A memorable lyric to the song, "Man, it ain't my fault, I just live the way I talk."

• 12. “Chasin’ You” (2019)

  Share

  "Chasin' You" became Wallen's third consecutive Number One hit on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. The "Chasin' You (Dream Video)" was filmed in black and white and showed Wallen driving around Nashville, Tennessee, in a convertible.

• 11. “Wasted on You” (2022)

  Share

  This song made history as it debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts for the week ending January 23, 2021, along with the album tracks "Somebody's Problem," "Warning," and "Sand in My Boots" and the singles "7 Summers" and "More Than My Hometown." In doing so, Wallen became the first artist ever to chart six songs within the top 10 of Hot Country Songs at the same time.
• 10. “This Bar” (2019)

  Share

  Morgan said, "Wrote this song with my buddies about some moments and times in my life that have made me who I am today. Some good, some bad, but all of them I can look back on and grin a little."

• 9. “Somebody’s Problem” (2020)

  Share

  This song's narrative is all about a budding new relationship; one ends and another begins. In the lyrics, Wallen thinks how a woman who is too good to be true could have slipped through an ex's fingers and guessed she is somebody else’s problem.

• 8. “Don’t Think Jesus” (2022)

  Share

  Morgan said that even though he didn't write this song, it brought him to tears upon first hearing it, and he said it is of his most personal songs.
• 7. “Still Goin’ Down” (2020)

  Share

  Wallen described the song as all about growing up in the country; it truly is a love song to the town that raised him. The song is an anthem that pays tribute to all the small-town Friday nights and beer drinking around the bonfire.

• 6. “Up Down” (featuring Florida Georgia Line) (2017)

  Share

  A fun party song with Florida Georgia Line. The video features Wallen and both members of Florida Georgia Line partying on a beach and in concert.

• 5. “More Than My Hometown” (2020)

  Share

  An ode to his hometown, the photograph used as the cover image for the single, was taken looking southbound on Tennessee Highway 70 just north of Kyles Ford, Tennessee. One of the towns listed on the highway sign in the photo, Sneedville, is Morgan’s actual hometown.
• 4. “Whiskey Glasses” (2018)

  Share

  A big hit for Wallen, this song reached number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart dated June 8, 2019, after topping the Hot Country Songs chart. The song was certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA in May of 2020.

• 3. “Flower Shops” (Ernest featuring Morgan Wallen) (2021)

  Share

  This touching ballad's chorus sings, "Mister, I'll take your roses / If you cut off the thorns, she can't take no more / I'll buy violets and daisies to hide all the crazy, it's gonna take all you've got / Aw, it's a bad day for love, but a good day for flower shops."

• 2. “7 Summers” (2020)

  Share

  This story song was the perfect vibe for the time. When this smash was released, the song broke the single-day Apple Music streaming record for a country song and debuted at number six on the Billboard Hot 100.
• 1. “Sand in My Boots” (2021)

  Share

  This touching song is a nostalgic ballad about lost love, describes a worn-out cowboy, weathering lost love and fading memories of drinking with that girl who could've been the one. It became Wallen's fifth number one song in February of 2022.

• 13. “The Way I Talk” (2016)

  Share

  His very first single. A memorable lyric to the song, "Man, it ain't my fault, I just live the way I talk."

• 12. “Chasin’ You” (2019)

  Share

  "Chasin' You" became Wallen's third consecutive Number One hit on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. The "Chasin' You (Dream Video)" was filmed in black and white and showed Wallen driving around Nashville, Tennessee, in a convertible.
• 11. “Wasted on You” (2022)

  Share

  This song made history as it debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts for the week ending January 23, 2021, along with the album tracks "Somebody's Problem," "Warning," and "Sand in My Boots" and the singles "7 Summers" and "More Than My Hometown." In doing so, Wallen became the first artist ever to chart six songs within the top 10 of Hot Country Songs at the same time.

• 10. “This Bar” (2019)

  Share

  Morgan said, "Wrote this song with my buddies about some moments and times in my life that have made me who I am today. Some good, some bad, but all of them I can look back on and grin a little."

• 9. “Somebody’s Problem” (2020)

  Share

  This song's narrative is all about a budding new relationship; one ends and another begins. In the lyrics, Wallen thinks how a woman who is too good to be true could have slipped through an ex's fingers and guessed she is somebody else’s problem.
• 8. “Don’t Think Jesus” (2022)

  Share

  Morgan said that even though he didn't write this song, it brought him to tears upon first hearing it, and he said it is of his most personal songs.

• 7. “Still Goin’ Down” (2020)

  Share

  Wallen described the song as all about growing up in the country; it truly is a love song to the town that raised him. The song is an anthem that pays tribute to all the small-town Friday nights and beer drinking around the bonfire.

• 6. “Up Down” (featuring Florida Georgia Line) (2017)

  Share

  A fun party song with Florida Georgia Line. The video features Wallen and both members of Florida Georgia Line partying on a beach and in concert.
• 5. “More Than My Hometown” (2020)

  Share

  An ode to his hometown, the photograph used as the cover image for the single, was taken looking southbound on Tennessee Highway 70 just north of Kyles Ford, Tennessee. One of the towns listed on the highway sign in the photo, Sneedville, is Morgan’s actual hometown.

• 4. “Whiskey Glasses” (2018)

  Share

  A big hit for Wallen, this song reached number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart dated June 8, 2019, after topping the Hot Country Songs chart. The song was certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA in May of 2020.

• 3. “Flower Shops” (Ernest featuring Morgan Wallen) (2021)

  Share

  This touching ballad's chorus sings, "Mister, I'll take your roses / If you cut off the thorns, she can't take no more / I'll buy violets and daisies to hide all the crazy, it's gonna take all you've got / Aw, it's a bad day for love, but a good day for flower shops."
• 2. “7 Summers” (2020)

  Share

  This story song was the perfect vibe for the time. When this smash was released, the song broke the single-day Apple Music streaming record for a country song and debuted at number six on the Billboard Hot 100.

• 1. “Sand in My Boots” (2021)

  Share

  This touching song is a nostalgic ballad about lost love, describes a worn-out cowboy, weathering lost love and fading memories of drinking with that girl who could've been the one. It became Wallen's fifth number one song in February of 2022.

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Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

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Morgan Wallen