20 Cigarettes (song)

For other uses, see 20 Cigarettes.

"20 Cigarettes"
Single by Morgan Wallen
from the album I'm the Problem
Released	October 20, 2025
Genre	Country pop
Length	2:40
Label	Big Loud Republic Mercury
Songwriters	Blake Pendergrass Chase McGill Josh Miller Chris LaCorte
Producer	Joey Moi
Morgan Wallen singles chronology
"I Got Better" (2025) "20 Cigarettes" (2025)
Lyric video
"20 Cigarettes" on YouTube

"20 Cigarettes" is a song by American country music singer Morgan Wallen, originally released on May 16, 2025 from his fourth studio album I'm the Problem . Written by Blake Pendergrass, Chase McGill, Josh Miller, and Chris LaCorte, and produced by Joey Moi, the track will be serviced to country radio as the album's seventh single on October 20, 2025. ^[1]

Composition

The song uses an electric guitar and opens with a sparser instrumental. A bass line and percussion are introduced during the second verse, before the bass is featured in an instrumental break in the bridge. ^[2] The story begins with the protagonist possessing 20 cigarettes and hanging out at a bar in Demonbreun, an area of Nashville, Tennessee, on a summer evening. He catches the attention of a woman, who leaves her friends to meet him. ^{[2] [3]} They start talking, smoking, drinking and flirting with each other. They leave Demonbreun in the night, driving out of the city in his truck and singing "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver. ^[2] They have sex in the truck bed and share their last cigarette, before the woman later disappears. ^{[2] [3]}

Critical reception

Billboard ranked "20 Cigarettes" as the 16th best song from I'm the Problem and commented the song's story was "smartly told". ^[3] Reviewing I'm the Problem for Paste , Hattie Lindert responded negatively to the song, regarding it as among the "rompier, lighter fare" that "seem slightly stale amid a slew of sour-grapes songs" and adding, "For what it's worth, even '20 Cigarettes' is both a clear and inferior rehash of the bossa-nova-inflected sound that buoyed Wallen's unexpected 2021 hit '7 Summers'". ^[4]

Charts

Chart performance for "20 Cigarettes"

Chart (2025)	Peak position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100) [5]	33
Global 200 ( Billboard ) [6]	60
US Billboard Hot 100 [7]	20
US Country Airplay ( Billboard ) [8]	59
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [9]	8

Certifications

Certifications for "20 Cigarettes"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [10]	Gold	40,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "20 Cigarettes"

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	October 20, 2025	Country radio	Big Loud Republic Mercury	[1]

References

1. U.S. Radio Updater on X: ".@MorganWallen’s “20 Cigarettes” will officially impact US Country Radio on October 20th as the 6th country-format single from ‘I’m The Problem’ (via @BigLoud). It marks the 7th radio single overall from the album. https://t.co/JRZcqVaz4K" / X
2. Innes, Daisy (May 16, 2025). "'20 Cigarettes' by Morgan Wallen - Lyrics and Meaning". Holler. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
3. Newman, Melinda; Nicholson, Jessica (May 16, 2025). "Morgan Wallen's 'I'm the Problem': All 37 Tracks Ranked". Billboard . Retrieved May 28, 2025.
4. "Morgan Wallen Loses Sight of His Own Idiosyncrasies on I'm The Problem". Paste . Retrieved May 28, 2025.
5. "Morgan Wallen Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
6. "Morgan Wallen Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
7. "Morgan Wallen Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
8. "Morgan Wallen Chart History (Country Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
9. "Morgan Wallen Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
10. "Canadian single certifications – Morgan Wallen – 20 Cigarettes". Music Canada . Retrieved August 25, 2025.