Knoxville's Morgan Wallen excited for hometown show with Florida Georgia Line

East Tennessee native Morgan Wallen estimates he's written around 100 songs since moving to Nashville and pursing country music in 2015.

He has enough songs for his upcoming album, but Wallen is in no rush and continuing to work on it. He's still riding the success of his 2016 debut EP "The Way I Talk," and the title track has continued to gain popularity on country radio.

He said he also just wants to craft the best first album he can.

"I've got enough songs cut. They aren't completely ready as far as album ready, but there's a majority that are almost there, so I mean, it's going really well," said Wallen in a phone call. "Like if I were to have to release an album in a month, I could do it, but I'm going to try and make it the absolute best I can be, and I've only got one first album so I'm going to try and make it very memorable."

Wallen doesn't have a formula when it comes to writing songs. He finds ideas in his own thoughts, what other people say, what he reads or watches and the Bible. Ultimately, Wallen aims to be genuine in his music, let it reflect who he is and help others at the same time.

"I guess there's a song for every situation in life if you look at it that way, and for me ... we've all got a lot of things to deal with, and there's all kinds of things going through our minds every single day, and we don't have time for many other new things," said Wallen. "And if someone takes the time to listen to my album, I would hope for each song for those three and half minutes or however it long it is, for it to take their mind off of what they're going through or to take them to a different place or to help them deal with what's going on in their mind. I just want it to be a help really ... to make somebody happy if they're dealing with something sad ... just for my songs to be their friend is the best way I can put it."

Wallen was born in Sneedville, moved to Knoxville when he was a freshman and graduated from Gibbs High School in 2011. He competed on Season 6 of NBC's "The Voice" in 2014 on Team Usher (Raymond IV) and Team Adam (Levine) and made it to the show's live playoffs. 

He will get the chance to play his songs for the people closest to him when he opens for country duo Florida Georgia Line at a concert at Thompson-Boiling Arena at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Knoxville show will be the first of many shows Wallen will perform with FGL throughout the year on their "Dig Your Roots" tour.

"I'm so excited. I can't believe (it). I've gotten to know those guys from Florida Georgia Line pretty well here recently. I consider them friends now ... I knew I was going to get to go on the road with them this year, but I wanted to make sure that I got to go and play Knoxville 'cause it's my hometown," said Wallen. "They were kind enough to make sure that that happened, and it's a super big blessing. It's my first weekend out on the road with them, and I've been asked a bunch of times 'what city are looking forward to playing the most this year?' and all of that kind of stuff, and obviously I say Knoxville every time 'cause why would I not?"

Wallen put long hours into rehearsing for the tour. He said the large volume of shows he takes on doesn't wear him out. He's fueled by the audience.

"I just feel like every time I get on stage there's a different kind of energy than there was the night before because you've got new people, and ... a lot of people that have never even heard you or heard of you before, so I feel like for me it's really not hard," said Wallen. "I don't have to fabricate it, or I don't have to make my own energy. It seems like it comes naturally especially just with all the new places that I get to play."

In addition to working on his first album and his upcoming shows, Wallen recently released a music video for his song, "The Way I Talk." The track's lyrics talk about Wallen's upbringing and how it shaped who he is. It's his first music video, and he brought his sister and friends to appear in it.

The Nashville-filmed video shows Wallen and the others hanging out together and having fun along with cutaways of Wallen singing and a few actors and actresses.

Wallen said he didn't have a game plan for this video, but he wanted to avoid some cliches found in country music videos.

"I didn't want to integrate a love story or have big jacked up trucks ... I kind of wanted to stay away from that because I wanted people to see me and how my friends ... just have a good time, and I wanted to show my personality in the video and not take myself too seriously," he said. "I didn't want people be like 'Oh this guy he thinks he's something crazy.' I just wanted people to see that I'm just like everybody else, and that was my main goal with the video."

While working and living in Nashville has helped Wallen gain success, it's tested him and taught him several lessons. He's learned the importance of staying true to himself and staying focused.

"For me, it's kind of a crazy town, and everybody likes to party ... and it's part of the networking of the whole process too, which I understand. But for me, there's been times when I've kind of strayed away from my beliefs. Not to an extreme but it's really important for me to stick to my faith and to stay grounded and not to get so caught up in everything but to just stay who you are," said Wallen.

Morgan Wallen

With: Florida Georgia Line, Chris Lane, Dustin Lynch

When: 7 p.m. Saturday, April 29

Where: Thompson-Boiling Arena

Tickets: $29.75-$69.75

Fast Facts

What's one of your favorite places to eat while on the road?: I really like In and Out. I shouldn't like it, but I do.

What is one movie that's made you cry?: "Old Yeller"

What has been one of your favorite songs to cover?: I like singing "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins.

What's one thing you try to do everyday?: Pray.