Fans who turned out to Morgan Wallen's Friday night (July 17) performance in Baltimore, Md. got a sneak peek into the singer's next era.

He gave the debut performance of a new song called "Been By Now," which is due for release as a single next Friday (July 24.) Presumably, that means the singer is ready to start rolling out new music for his next album project.

Watch Morgan Wallen Debut a New Single, "Been By Now," Onstage

Wallen's wistful "Been By Now" is about calling it quits on a relationship that's been in the will-they-or-won't-they stage for far too long.

"If it was meant to be, we'd have been by now / We wouldn't have to keep trying to work things out / Yeah baby, we're a breeze when the lights go down / It wouldn't be so hard when we ain't in the dark," Wallen sings in the chorus.

The singer's debut performance was set against a pulsing, broody, mid-tempo musical backdrop.

Wallen has been teasing the song on social media, and his most recent post — shared right before his Baltimore concert — shows what "Been By Now" would sound like as a piano ballad.

When is Morgan Wallen Releasing His Next Album?

The upcoming release of "Been By Now" is undoubtedly a good sign that Wallen's got a timeline in mind for his next record.

But fans eager for new Wallen, right now might need to be patient. He hasn't confirmed that this song is attached to a new album. And even if it is, remember: "Lies Lies Lies," the leading single off Wallen's I'm the Problem, came out nearly a year before the full album. So there's likely to be some buildup to any longer project's release date.

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Wallen has released four studio albums to date, each of them between two to three years apart (not counting deluxe versions.) If he keeps that pattern going, that would put his next album's release in the first half of 2027.

It's also a fairly secure bet that any project Wallen releases will be long. Each album he's put out so far has had a bigger track list than the last, and his most recent release — I'm the Problem — contains a hefty 37 tracks.

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Country music's top artists are modern hitmakers and influencers. Most of the singers found below are actively putting hits to country radio or streaming services but a few are included because their recent legacy is just so strong.

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Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes

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