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It’s a historic week for Morgan Wallen on the Billboard charts, as his new album One Thing at a Time tops the Billboard 200 with the year’s best single-week tally, while also storming the Billboard Hot 100.
The album — Wallen’s first new set since coming under national fire for using a racial slur in January 2021 — moves 501,000 equivalent album units in its debut frame, the biggest single-week number for any album since Taylor Swift’s Midnights posted 1,578,000 units in Nov. 2022, and also the biggest for any country album of the streaming era since Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version) moved 605,000 units in Nov. 2021. One Thing also takes over the Billboard Hot 100, notching a record 36 entries on the chart, including his first No. 1 in “Last Night.”
What achievement of Wallen’s week is his biggest? And how did he get quite this big? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.
1. Morgan Wallen’s 498.28 million on-demand official streams for One Thing at a Time this week marks the most streams ever for a country album in a single week — and the biggest streaming week for any album so far in 2023 — while Wallen also becomes the first artist of any genre to notch over 30 Hot 100 hits in the same week. Which of the two achievements is more notable to you?
Jason Lipshutz: The latter, for sure. While debuting with a half-million equivalent album units and nearly half a billion streams demonstrates the commercial stardom that Morgan Wallen has undoubtedly possessed for the past three years, surpassing artists like Drake and Taylor Swift and setting a Hot 100 record by sending all 36 songs from One Thing at a Time onto the chart is truly astonishing stuff. Sure, part of that historic feat can simply be chalked up to the album’s enormous track list, but the fact that there was nary a straggler from the 112-minute project, and that every single song charted in order to gobble up over one-third of the entire Hot 100, showcases listener investment in One Thing at a Time, and in Wallen himself.
Joe Lynch: Without underselling either feat, I would say the former. It’s an uphill battle for any album to notch a half-million copies or a half-billion streams in 2023, and country albums that move this fast in their first week are basically unheard of – until now.
Melinda Newman: The best-ever streaming week for a country album is the most notable, because the numbers are huge no matter what genre. In terms of on-demand official streams, One Thing at a Time‘s 498.28 million is the fifth-largest streaming week ever for any album, so Wallen’s feat shows he is not only leading country artists, but is at the top for all artists (except Taylor Swift, who is her own genre at this point). Also notable is his notching over 30 Hot 100 hits in the same week, meaning one-third of the Hot 100 chart belongs to Wallen. It’s one thing to put out that many tracks, it’s another thing to have fans literally not be able to get enough of what he’s releasing.
Jessica Nicholson: His achievement of becoming the first artist of any genre to earn over 30 Hot 100 hits in the same week is more notable. His 30-track previous album, 2021’s Dangerous: The Double Album was the best-selling album of 2022 and spent 10 weeks atop the Billboard 200, and still topped out at 19 Hot 100 entries in its debut week.
Andrew Unterberger: The Hot 100 entries are the most impressive thing to me — especially that they’re led by a No. 1 in “Last Night,” which is the first country No. 1 by an unaccompanied male solo artist on that chart since Eddie Rabbit’s “I Love a Rainy Night” in 1981. Simply put, it’s been a really long time since we had a male country star performing at this commercial level.
2. Though Wallen’s prior set Dangerous: The Double Album was already one of the biggest albums of the decade, One Thing nearly doubles that set’s first-week numbers (265,000) with its massive showing. What do you think is the biggest reason the set lands with such a larger debut?
Jason Lipshutz: Although the controversy that embroiled Wallen in the weeks following the January 2021 release of Dangerous: The Double Album may have limited his visibility on platforms like primetime television and Grammy ballots, make no mistake: Wallen is much, much bigger than he was when Dangerous was released. The evidence was rampant leading up to the release of One Thing at a Time, from the arena shows Wallen played last year, to the stadium gigs he scheduled this year, from the re-embrace of country radio (he scored three Country Airplay No. 1s in 2022) to the streaming numbers that few other country artists could even fathom. Everything was teed up for Wallen’s Dangerous follow-up to outpace its predecessor and score the biggest album debut of 2023, and One Thing at a Time delivered.
Joe Lynch: When an artist scores a career-launching blockbuster album that soars on the charts for well over a year (a rarity, certainly), it’s only reasonable to expect the follow-up to do better – think Adele’s 25 following 21. In addition to pulling in long-time fans, you have the more recent ones ponying up, too.
Melinda Newman: He was a star then, he’s a superstar now. His fans simply can’t get enough of him and they are extremely avid about wanting to show their support. There is nothing passive about their fandom. Plus, his fan base has grown considerably since Dangerous: The Double Album, so there are new fans eager to show their love as well. He is at the stage of his career where he has the Midas touch. He also has become an arena, if not stadium, headliner since Dangerous came out and has increased his audience through touring. His fans feel great kinship with him not only as an artist but as a person.
Jessica Nicholson: One Thing at a Time slightly exceeds the number of tracks of his previous album, which only added to its potential streaming numbers. Meanwhile, just over a month after the release of Dangerous: The Double Album in January 2021, Wallen’s music was pulled from terrestrial radio and top streaming playlists, as he was dropped from his touring agency and also suspended from his label for a brief period, due to the TMZ-released video of Wallen uttering a racial slur outside of his home in Nashville. Additionally, in 2021, tours were still slowly coming back and Wallen didn’t do a full-fledged tour that year. But now, Wallen’s music is back on country radio and streaming playlists. He also wrapped an arena tour in 2022 and is prepping for a world tour to launch this week, which will include a mix of stadiums and arenas.
Andrew Unterberger: While the headlines and narratives of Morgan Wallen’s career have seen some stomach-churning lows over the past half-decade, the commercial returns have just been one long, uninterrupted upward trajectory since his 2018 breakthrough. The biggest reason One Thing is doing bigger numbers than Dangerous is simply that it’s come two years later in his timeline, with millions of new fans jumping on board in the meantime (and remarkably few exiting).
3. Despite running a lengthy 36 tracks, One Thing mostly finds Wallen staying in his radio country lane in terms of sonics and subject matter, with just a handful of obvious detours into different sounds and themes. Are there any tracks that tread new-ish territory that you’d like to hear him explore further?
Jason Lipshutz: The strongest passages of One Thing at a Time focus less on expanding Wallen’s repertoire and more on streamlining his proven approach with sturdier refrains and lyrical detail. A song like “Single Than She Was,” for instance, doesn’t try to reinvent Wallen’s wheel — it’s another song about meeting a pretty girl at a bar, after all — but the vocal delivery, songwriting and titular hook are all a little more thoughtful than those similar themes presented elsewhere on the album, and become memorable amidst and towering track list.
Joe Lynch: Sonically…. eh. “Ain’t That Some” finds him straying into half-rap territory, and the results are not enjoyable to my ears. Lyrically, sure: For someone who made headlines for all the wrong reasons after a drunken night out and then said he toured “mostly” sober, it might be interesting to hear him explore that struggle/journey (whatever you want to call it) in song.
Melinda Newman: The album brings in his hip-hop, rock and traditional country influences, but all in fairly subtle ways and to varying degrees of success. The title track, which is the new single, is heavily pop influenced and is one of the catchiest songs Wallen has ever recorded, so it’s fun to see him veer in that direction so capably without abandoning his vocal twang. Conversely, “Everything I Love” is more old-school, ‘80s country than Wallen has usually recorded. By and large, the hip-hop-influenced tracks are among the album’s weakest, except for the insinuating “Sunrise.”
Jessica Nicholson: He explores some deeper lyrical themes on the new album — mortality on “Dyin’ Man,” forgiveness on “Don’t Think Jesus.” An ode to his mother, “Thought You Should Know,” landed Wallen a three-week Country Airplay No. 1, proving that fans will also relate to more family-centric material from him.
Andrew Unterberger: Like the title track on Dangerous, the title track on One Thing points compellingly towards a poppier, almost ’80s-sounding pocket for Wallen — still with the kind of clever wordplay and oft-weary outlook that fans have come to associated with his biggest hits. Along with the similarly breezy “Single Than She Was,” it’s a much-needed respite from some of the draggier material found throughout the set’s 36 tracks.
4. Though Wallen is far from the only major breakout country star of the streaming era, he is by far the best-performing. What’s something that you think sets him apart from the rest of the Nashville pack for modern audiences?
Jason Lipshutz: The combination of Wallen’s rugged vocals, knack for pop-adjacent hooks and self-styled outlaw (read: controversy-courting) persona has certainly helped turn him into a stadium headliner. Yet I believe the main reason he is now at the top of the genre is due to his understanding of streaming — staying prolific with his single releases, stacking his album track lists to pile up listens and chart records, and bringing country music, which abided by the rules of terrestrial radio long after pop and hip-hop had pivoted towards digital platforms, into a new era of the industry. In both his music and the way it’s released, Wallen carries himself like a new-school star.
Joe Lynch: The hefty tracklists help, but I think it’s selling him short to say “he only does better because his albums have more songs.” I can’t imagine most country A-listers’ fans embracing and returning to 30-plus track albums. Unlike most, Wallen seems commercial and authentically country at the same time. Sure, he flirts with sounds outside of the genre, but he feels and sounds grittier than the bro country singers who dominated for years, while still singing about a lot of their favorite themes (heartbreak, booze, God and mama).
Melinda Newman: The sheer output is the obvious answer, but he also seems extremely relatable to his audience and truly like one of them. When the industry temporarily “canceled” him after he was caught on video using a racial slur two years ago, many of his fans rallied around him and not just forgave him, but were proud to stand by him. Country audiences are notoriously loyal, but this was an unprecedented show of support that felt like it was as much for the man as for the music.
Jessica Nicholson: While several country artists have released multi-part albums, the majority of them have involved various parts of the album releasing over weeks and months, rather than all at once. As Wallen releases his prolific music simultaneously, it allows him to super-serve fervent fans. Several male artists are turning to songs that chronicle their lives—from getting married, settling down and raising children. Though Wallen is himself a father, his music, for the most part, seems to center on a hip-hop-tinged brand of country with a party-love-loss-whiskey rebound cycle that younger audiences are gravitating toward — with only a few key moments on the album, such as “Don’t Think Jesus” and “Dyin’ Man,” that venture outside the lines. He also has a down-to-earth, “everyman” image that audiences seem to relate with.
Andrew Unterberger: I think more than anything with Morgan Wallen, it’s the messiness that fans gravitate towards. At a time when the genre can seem smotheringly buttoned-up, and most of his peers in mainstream country stardom seem to have their s–t pretty well together both inside and outside of their music, Wallen’s cracks are almost always visible and/or audible. Sometimes that can be endearing, and other times it can be extremely off-putting — but it appears that whatever backlash his bad behavior and poor decision-making attracts from the non-country world just results in his fanbase doubling down on support of him. It’s not shocking: Most of the country community loves a (perceived) underdog, and they really don’t love being told what to do or think by folks on the outside.
5. Wallen is putting up pop star numbers currently, but he still doesn’t have a ton of pop world crossover success. Is that something you think he’ll try for in the next year or two, or do you think he sees himself better served simply staying as the biggest star in country?
Jason Lipshutz: Wallen will likely score a pop crossover in the future — I mean, if you’re a fledgling non-country artist who doesn’t care about a little controversy, why wouldn’t you want him hopping on one of your tracks and boosting its profile? But that day is still a little far off, because I’d guess that, outside of the country community, the reverberations of Wallen’s past transgressions still echo too loudly. For now, Wallen seems perfectly content ruling country music and letting his influence take hold of the pop charts, even as he’s not making pop music himself. He’s the king of his format currently, and we’ll see in the coming years where his ambitions lead.
Joe Lynch: Nah — I think it would be, if anything, a misstep, given that part of his appeal is that he seems less polished than some of his country compatriots who make more obvious overtures in the pop world. I could, however, see him notching a hit song akin to what Kid Rock did with Sheryl Crow on “Picture” – a one-off ballad that’s lyrically in his lane but easily serviced to the sonics of AC radio.
Melinda Newman: He is getting crossover play for “Last Night,” and given that pop powerhouse Republic is the label partner with Big Loud, the goal is, undoubtedly, to get him more and more crossover success. It will be interesting to see if pop audiences have any issues with his past or, like most country fans, care mainly about the music. It feels like Wallen is going to keep getting bigger and bigger in country, and also in crossing over.
Jessica Nicholson: Given that he has yet to win male artist/vocalist of the year and entertainer of the year at either of country music’s two most-lauded awards shows (though he was nominated for EOY at the 2022 CMA Awards and won album of the year at the 2022 ACM Awards), he is probably better served by remaining one of the biggest stars in country music for the for the next couple of years. With his juggernaut sales and touring success, he seems a likely winner in the male artist/vocalist and entertainer categories at some point.
Andrew Unterberger: I think Wallen’s team has been wise to not court too much affection from the pop world thus far — his country base is large enough that he (clearly) doesn’t need additional audiences to put up historic numbers, and the more attention Wallen receives from outside of Nashville, the more incidents like his past racial slur usage will be re-attached to his larger narrative. But the biggest artists (and the labels/teams that support them) are always looking to get bigger, and eventually the allure of something like a Grammys performance or a Drake duet will get tough to turn down. (And though it’s mostly a footnote in his career at this point, his Lil Durk collab from late 2021 suggests that the larger music world will be there and willing to open up to him if/when he chooses to walk through that door.)
Morgan Wallen makes history on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, claiming the survey’s top nine positions. He soars past his prior record, as he monopolized the top three in two prior weeks, in February and December.
Wallen’s 90% share of the Hot Country Songs top 10 is also a new record, besting his six in the top 10 for a week in January 2021. Both of his last two albums have sparked those sums in their debut chart weeks: his latest LP One Thing at a Time and Dangerous: The Double Album.
Released March 3, Wallen’s 36-track One Thing at a Time launches as his second No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200, with the largest streaming week ever for a country album, as well as the biggest week by equivalent album units (501,000 March 3-9, according to Luminate) for any album, among all genres, in 2023.
Meanwhile, the LP’s “Last Night” becomes Wallen’s first No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. He also holds five of the chart’s top 10 – becoming the first core country act to own half the tier in a single week.
Additionally, Wallen rewrites the record for the most songs simultaneously charted on the Hot 100, as he sends 36 songs onto the survey – the entirety of One Thing at a Time. Of those 36 songs, 27 are debuts, also a new one-week record.
On both the Billboard 200 and Hot 100, Wallen’s triumphs mark notable milestones for country. Wallen is the first male artist with back-to-back country No. 1s on the Billboard 200 since 2019, when Thomas Rhett notched his second in a row with Center Point Road, following 2017’s Life Changes. Plus, One Thing at a Time logs the largest week for any country album by a male artist since the Billboard 200 began tracking titles by equivalent album units in December 2014.
On the Hot 100, “Last Night” is the first No. 1 on both that chart and Hot Country Songs by a solo male unaccompanied by any other acts in over 42 years, since Eddie Rabbitt’s “I Love a Rainy Night” ruled Hot Country Songs for a week in January 1981 and the Hot 100 for two weeks that February-March.
One Thing at a Time opens as Wallen’s third No. 1 on Top Country Albums. 2018’s If I Know Me reigned for two weeks in 2020 and Dangerous: The Double Album dominated for a record 97 weeks, as it’s supplanted at the summit by One Thing at a Time.
“Last Night,” meanwhile, leads the streaming-, airplay- and sales-fueled Hot Country Songs chart for a fifth week, having become his seventh No. 1.
Here’s a rundown of Wallen’s unprecedented nine tracks in the latest Hot Country Songs top 10:
No. 1, “Last Night,” thanks to 47.5 million streams (up 59), 10.8 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 81%) and 18,000 sold (up 12%) March 3-9
No. 2, “Thought You Should Know” (after it led for a week upon its debut in May 2022)
No. 3, “You Proof” (after it ruled for 19 weeks, starting with its debut in May 2022)
No. 4, “Thinkin’ Bout Me” (debut)
No. 5, “One Thing at a Time” (after it debuted at its No. 2 high in December)
No. 6, “Ain’t That Some” (debut)
No. 7 “Everything I Love” (first week in top 10, after it debuted in February)
No. 8, “Man Made a Bar,” featuring Eric Church (debut)
No. 9, “I Wrote the Book” (a new high, after it debuted at No. 10 in February)
Notably, Bailey Zimmerman’s “Rock and a Hard Place” ranks at No. 10 on Hot Country Songs, the only non-Wallen tune in the top 10. It places at No. 3 on Country Airplay (30.1 million in audience, up 8%) and drew 15.5 million streams (up 5%) in the tracking week.
Of the 36 cuts on One Thing at a Time, 35 rank on the latest (50-position) Hot Country Songs chart, a new one-week record. The previous high? Wallen’s 27 on the Jan. 23, 2021, survey, when Dangerous made its chart start. The only song from One Thing at a Time not on the latest list is “Don’t Think Jesus,” which debuted at No. 1 in April 2022 and spent 20 weeks on the tally through September.
With four new top 10s on the newest Hot Country Songs chart, Wallen has logged 12 from One Thing at a Time: the nine currently in the region, as well as “Jesus,” “Tennessee Fan” (now at No. 29) and “Days That End in Why” (No. 34). He ups his career count to 23 top 10s, a run that began with the No. 5-peaking “Up Down,” featuring Florida Georgia Line. Dating to his first week in the top 10 (May 12, 2018), Wallen’s 23 top 10s are the most among all acts, outpacing Luke Combs (16 in that span) and Kane Brown and Rhett (11 each).
Willie Nelson announced on Tuesday (March 14) he’s bringing back the Outlaw Music Festival in 2023 for a string of dates this summer.
The annual festival, which serves as a celebration of Nelson’s life and legacy, will see the country rocker bringing friends and family on the road to celebrate his upcoming 90th birthday. Guests will include Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, The Avett Brothers, John Fogerty, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Whiskey Myers, Gov’t Mule, Marcus King, Margo Price, Trampled By Turtles, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Kathleen Edwards, Flatland Cavalry, Kurt Vile And The Violators, Brittney Spencer and Particle Kid.
“I can’t wait to be on the road with the amazing group of artists joining us on this year’s Outlaw Music Festival Tour,” Nelson said in a press release. “It is always a great day of music and fun with family, friends and the incredible fans, and even more special this year in celebration of my 90th birthday.”
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The Outlaw Music Festival will kick off in Somerset, Wash. on June 23, making additional stops in Dallas, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Cleveland and more before concluding in Cinncinati on Aug. 30. Fans looking to get tickets can do so through a Citi cardmember presale beginning Tuesday, March 14, at 10 a.m. local time until Thursday, March 16, at 10 p.m. local time. General onsale starts on Friday, March 17, at 10 a.m. local time via OutlawMusicFestival.com.
See the full tour announcement and the day-by-day lineups for Outlaw Music Festival below.
Friday, June 23, 2023Somerset, WI – Somerset Amphitheater
Willie Nelson & Family
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Trampled By Turtles
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
Particle Kid
Saturday, June 24, 2023East Troy, WI – Alpine Valley Music Theatre
Willie Nelson & Family
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Trampled By Turtles
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
Particle Kid
Sunday, June 25, 2023St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Willie Nelson & Family
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Trampled By Turtles
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
Particle Kid
Thursday, June 29, 2023Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
Willie Nelson & Family
Margo Price
Flatland Cavalry
Particle Kid
Friday, June 30, 2023 Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
Willie Nelson & Family
Whiskey Myers
Flatland Cavalry
Brittney Spencer
Particle Kid
Sunday, July 2, 2023The Woodlands, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Willie Nelson & Family
Whiskey Myers
Brittney Spencer
Particle Kid
More To Be Announced
Friday, July 28, 2023Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion
Willie Nelson & Family
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Kurt Vile and The Violators
Kathleen Edwards
Particle Kid
Saturday, July 29, 2023Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
Willie Nelson & Family
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Gov’t Mule
Kathleen Edwards
Particle Kid
Sunday, July 30, 2023Darien, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater
Willie Nelson & Family
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Gov’t Mule
Kathleen Edwards
Particle Kid
Wednesday, August 2, 2023Gilford, NH – Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
Willie Nelson & Family
The Avett Brothers
Kathleen Edwards
Flatland Cavalry
Particle Kid
Friday, August 4, 2023Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium
Willie Nelson & Family
The Avett Brothers
Marcus King
Flatland Cavalry
Kathleen Edwards
Particle Kid
Saturday, August 5, 2023Philadelphia, PA – TD Pavilion at The Mann
Willie Nelson & Family
The Avett Brothers
Marcus King
Kathleen Edwards
Flatland Cavalry
Particle Kid
Sunday, August 6, 2023Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
Willie Nelson & Family
The Avett Brothers
Marcus King
Kathleen Edwards
Flatland Cavalry
Particle Kid
Friday, August 11, 2023Cleveland, OH – Blossom Music Center
Willie Nelson & Family
John Fogerty
Kathleen Edwards
Flatland Cavalry
Particle Kid
Saturday, August 12, 2023Pittsburgh, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake
Willie Nelson & Family
John Fogerty
Flatland Cavalry
Kathleen Edwards
Particle Kid
Sunday, August 13, 2023Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
Willie Nelson & Family
John Fogerty
Gov’t Mule
Kathleen Edwards
Particle Kid
The CMT Music Awards have revealed additions to the 2023 performers lineup, welcoming Blake Shelton, Carly Pearce, Cody Johnson, Keith Urban, Lainey Wilson and CMT Music Awards co-host Kelsea Ballerini.
They will join previously announced performers Carrie Underwood, as well as CMT Music Awards co-host Kane Brown and his wife, Katelyn Brown.
The CMT Music Awards will take place at Moody Center in Austin on Sunday, April 2, airing live on CBS and streaming live and on-demand on Paramount+.
Wilson leads this year’s nominees, earning four nods: video of the year (HARDY featuring Wilson, with “Wait in the Truck”), female video of the year (“Heart Like a Truck”), collaborative video of the year (“Wait in the Truck”) and CMT performance of the year (for her “Never Say Never” performance with Cole Swindell on the 2022 CMT Music Awards).
Following Wilson with three nominations each are Johnson, Brown and first-time nominee Jelly Roll. Johnson is nominated for video of the year (“Human”), male video of the year (“Human”) and CMT performance of the year (“‘Til You Can’t” from the 2022 CMT Music Awards). Kane and Katelyn Brown’s clip for “Thank God” is up for video of the year and collaborative video of the year, while Brown’s “Like I Love Country Music” is up for male video of the year. Jelly Roll is up for male video of the year and breakthrough male video of the year for “Son of a Sinner.” He’s also nominated for CMT digital-first performance of the year, for his performance of “Son of a Sinner” at CMT All Access.
Ballerini is up for video of the year and female video of the year, both for her “HEARTFIRST” visual. Pearce is nominated for two honors: female video of the year (“What He Didn’t Do”) and CMT performance of the year, for her collaboration with LeAnn Rimes and Ashley McBryde on Rimes’ “One Way Ticket,” from CMT Crossroads: LeAnn Rimes & Friends. Shelton’s “No Body” video is up for video of the year, while Keith Urban is nominated for video of the year (“Wild Hearts”) as well as CMT performance of the year (“Wild Hearts,” from the 2022 CMT Music Awards).
Morgan Wallen triples up at No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100, Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 charts (dated March 18), ruling as the top musical act with both the No. 1 song and album in the United States for the first time.
Released on March 3, Wallen’s 36-track album One Thing at a Time launches as his second No. 1 on the Billboard 200, with the largest streaming week ever for a country album, as well as the biggest week by equivalent album units (501,000 from March 3-9, according to Luminate) for any album, among all genres, in 2023.
Meanwhile, the LP’s “Last Night” becomes Wallen’s first No. 1 on the Hot 100. He also claims five of the chart’s top 10, becoming the first core country act with half the tier in a single week. Three cuts reach the region for the first time: “Thought You Should Know,” up 13-7; “Thinkin’ Bout Me,” new at No. 9; and the set’s title track, which charges 51-10. They join “Last Night” and “You Proof,” Wallen’s former top five hit which rebounds 21-8.
Additionally, Wallen rewrites the record for the most songs simultaneously charted on the Hot 100, as he sends 36 songs onto the survey – the entirety of One Thing at a Time. Of those 36 songs, 27 are debuts, also a new one-week record.
As Wallen rules the Artist 100 for an eighth total week, he becomes the 14th artist, and first core country act, to triple up at No. 1 on the Artist 100, Hot 100 and Billboard 200 charts simultaneously. The last artist to accomplish the feat was Taylor Swift in December, when Midnights and “Anti-Hero” led the Billboard 200 and Hot 100, respectively.
Most Weeks Simultaneously Leading the Artist 100, Hot 100 & Billboard 200 Charts:16, Drake15, Taylor Swift9, Adele5, The Weeknd2, Ariana Grande2, Ed Sheeran2, Harry Styles1, Beyoncé1, Justin Bieber1, BTS1, Camila Cabello1, Future1, Kendrick Lamar1, Morgan Wallen
The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.
In other highlights on the latest Artist 100, two acts re-enter the chart and score their first appearances in the top 10: Kali Uchis, at No. 6, as Red Moon in Venus becomes her first top 10 on the Billboard 200, arriving at No. 4, and De La Soul, as the hip-hop pioneers return at No. 10, led by their No. 15 Billboard 200 re-entry for 3 Feet High and Rising (as the set surpasses its prior No. 24 peak in 1989), after the act’s catalog became available on streaming and digital retail platforms for the first time.
Garth Brooks put forth a call for unity to radio programmers at Country Radio Seminar during a Monday (March 13) session, asking them to use their platform for good.
“How divided is this nation right now and who on the planet has a single voice to cover this entire nation? You do,” he said, in a session moderated by CRS executive director RJ Curtis. “Think about what you say when you open your mouth on those airwaves. Think about the music you play. Do the people listening to your station feel better about the future than they did [before]?”
He continued with a dire warning if cooler, more unified heads don’t prevail. “You’ve got a big voice. This country needs a big voice spreading the most important thing and that’s love. People, I’m telling you, with the Internet, people, if it keeps going the way it is civil war is waiting for this country again. It will be here before your children grow up,” he said. “Those are real voices behind those real microphones talking to those real people [at radio]. Unify them. Find that common ground. Amplify our similarities instead of our differences.”
He also gave programmers a tough love pep talk as terrestrial radio finds itself competing streaming.
“You guys have convinced yourselves for some reason you are the victim of streaming. You have convinced yourself that your time is coming to an end,” he said. “People, I am promising you radio’s time is not coming to an end. What radio has that streaming will never have is discovery. I can’t ask for anything new on Alexa. Alexa doesn’t know how to play anything new. You guys get to play it all and we get to hear if first through you.”
He then went on to tell an anecdote that flies in the face of the popularity of on-demand listening about turning to terrestrial radio while working on his truck and, as the hours go by, hearing a new song repeatedly that he grows fonder of each time he hears it until it becomes his favorite song. “If I had the option of going ‘next,’ I would never have heard the song. That’s a gift you have. Do not take it lightly,” he said. “You guys will forever be discovery. That’s the coolest part of this business.”
The purpose for Brooks’ appearance was to tout the Garth Brooks “No Fences” Award, which was announced in November and will be handed out at CRS starting in 2024. The award will honor someone in the country music community who has “defied traditional standards and practices, positively changed the face of the industry, and established higher standards for measuring success,” as well as raised country music’s profile on a national level for a sustained duration.
Curtis and Brooks looked back to the superstar’s first visit to CRS in February 1989, when his first single, “Much Too Young (to Feel This Damn Old),” was struggling at radio. Brooks and his team, including managers Bob Doyle and Pam Lewis, roamed the halls greeting programmers and handing out buttons, now collector’s items, with the song title on them.
By the time he returned to CRS a year later in 1990 to debut “Friends in Low Places” at a luncheon, he’d scored four top 10s, including No. 1s with “If Tomorrow Never Comes” and “The Dance.”
While much of the conversation was looking back on those early days, Brooks also gave hints at what is coming up for him, including his new Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace that begins in May.
While he didn’t give a timetable for when his long awaited bar/entertainment space, Friends in Low Places, would open in Nashville, he said he “owed” Nashville the bar for all the town has given him. He also added, “If there was ever a song that described Lower Broadway…,” to strong audience laughter.
He also alluded to another attraction—“it’s not a museum because I’m not dead”—that will house his archives and will feature interactive exhibits, spanning his entire career. “We’re very fortunate that we own every bit of music that we’ve ever played. We own every frame of footage… we own everything we’ve ever done,” he said. In addition to static displays, he brought up that fans will be able to take photos with his record-breaking seven CMA entertainer of the year awards and with his nine diamond RIAA awards, the most of any artist, for sales of 10 million or more for an album or song. “It’s coming, that’s where the archives live,” he said.
Morgan Wallen has the first country genre No. 1 on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart by a solo man, as “Last Night” shoots to the top of the March 18-dated survey.
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It’s also just the third country track to reach No. 1 in total since the chart launched in 2013.
“Night” accumulated 47.5 million official U.S. streams in the March 3-9 tracking week, according to Luminate. That’s a 59% boost over the previous frame (30 million Feb. 24-March 2), assisted by the release of Wallen’s new album One Thing at a Time, on which “Night” is featured.
Wallen’s first Streaming Songs No. 1 follows a previous high of No. 3, achieved twice. “Wasted on You” debuted at No. 3 on the Jan. 23, 2021, ranking and “Don’t Think Jesus” did the same on the April 30, 2022, tally, while “Night” itself previously peaked at No. 3 Feb. 18.
“Night” is the third country song in Streaming Songs’ 10-year history to reach No. 1. First was Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),” which crowned the Nov. 27, 2021, chart, followed by Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” which scored its first week atop the ranking on Jan. 7.
In all, Wallen boasts 30 entries on the March 18-dated Streaming Songs, most of which come from One Day at a Time. As such, Wallen breaks Drake’s record for the most simultaneous appearances on Streaming Songs in one week. That’s a mark he had held since the July 14, 2018, survey, when 28 songs on which he was either the lead artist or featured ranked upon the release of his album Scorpion.
Most Simultaneous Appearances, Streaming Songs:30, Morgan Wallen (March 18, 2023)28, Drake (July 14, 2018)23, Bad Bunny (May 21, 2022)22, Kanye West (Sept. 11, 2021)22, Drake (July 21, 2018)21, Lil Baby (Oct. 29, 2022)21, Drake (Sept. 18, 2021)21, Drake (April 8, 2017)20, Taylor Swift (Nov. 5, 2022)20, Drake (May 21, 2016)
Four of those songs reach the top 10, with “Night” followed by “Thinkin’ Bout Me,” which earned 21.4 million streams. And of the 30, 29 are from Time, with the other, “Wasted on You” (No. 44, 13.1 million streams), from Wallen’s previous album, Dangerous: The Double Album.
Concurrently, as previously reported, “Night” reaches No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Time rules the Billboard 200.
Wade Jessen, an exacting and encyclopedic country music figure who oversaw the Billboard country charts for two decades, was announced March 13 as a 2023 inductee into the Country Radio Hall of Fame.
Jessen joined Billboard in December 1994, handling the genre’s charts during a difficult period of transition for the industry in which the introduction of streaming technology changed the way consumers experienced music. His work with Billboard included oversight of the Christian, gospel and bluegrass charts, and he played a role in the development of the groundbreaking Hot Country Songs chart — which blends airplay, sales and streaming data — reflecting significant changes in consumer behavior in 2012. Jessen died shortly after his 20th anniversary with the company, suffering a heart attack on March 5, 2015, less than a week after that year’s Country Radio Seminar concluded.
The Billboard charts job was the final entry on Jessen’s résumé, though it was hardly the only significant span in his work history. He held an on-air role in two different stints at KSOP Salt Lake City before taking the music director position at historic WSM-AM Nashville, the home of the Grand Ole Opry, in 1987. Even after he shifted to the chart position, Jessen continued to keep his radio voice in working condition, imparting his knowledge on SiriusXM’s classic country channel, Willie’s Roadhouse.
Jessen was one of six new members announced on the first day of this year’s Country Radio Seminar by Kelsea Ballerini along with the Hall of Fame’s co-chairs, consultant Joel Raab and Audacy/Detroit vp of programming Tim Roberts.
Joining Jessen as off-air inductees are Pam Green, Charlie Morgan and John Willyard. Newly announced on-air members are Trish Biondo and Dollar Bill Lawson.
Green came to prominence during a 13-year run as music director at WHN New York, a station that was among the genre’s first to employ research to connect with the nation’s most diverse local audience. She held a position with Raab’s consultancy and served as United Stations Radio Networks senior director of artist relations, continuing in the post after the company was absorbed by Westwood One. Along the way, she became one of country’s first female music directors.
Clockwise from top left: Trish Biondo, John Willyard, Charlie Morgan, Pam Green and Dollar Bill Lawson.
Courtesy of CRS
Morgan has a lengthy history with Country Radio Broadcasters, where he served as board president. He is the current board chairman for the Country Music Association. Morgan’s tenure was spent primarily in Indianapolis, where he worked on-air at WFMS, rising to program director for the station and country sister WGRL, en route to becoming vp/market manager for the Susquehanna cluster, now part of the Cumulus chain. Morgan shifted to rival Emmis/Indianapolis, including country WHLK, in 2009, adding stints at Emmis/New York and Apple Music, where he is global head of radio and music programming.
Willyard sets a precedent as the first inductee recognized primarily for voice acting and imaging. Boosted by 2012 Hall of Fame inductee Rusty Walker, Willyard became the central voice for more than 100 country stations, maintaining a similarly sized client list for more than 30 years. He has also handled the voiceover work for the Country Music Association Awards for two decades.
Biondo built her Hall of Fame credentials primarily at WUSN Chicago, beginning in research and promotion during college, segueing to board operator and eventually handling the microphone and the music director position. She spent 14 years in mornings before taking on the midday role. She also spent an early portion of her career in Nashville as an intern at MTM Records.
Lawson received the Tom Rivers Humanitarian Award during the opening-day ceremonies at CRS 2019 and returned to the winners circle this year for his work on-air in Birmingham, Ala. He spent 18 years at WZZK, with a decade in the a.m. daypart, and has held the same morning-drive role at WDXB since 2002.
This year’s class will be officially inducted during a dinner ceremony at the Virgin Hotel Nashville on July 10.
Before Leo Brooks and Andrew Millsaps teamed up to form the new country duo Neon Union, their careers were on decidedly contrasting paths.
Millsaps focused on writing songs and performing around his native North Carolina, at one point winning the MerleFest Chris Austin Song Contest and performing his original music during the roots music festival MerleFest.
Meanwhile, the bilingual, Miami-based Brooks spent years honing his talents playing bass on tour with Pitbull and Lauryn Hill. He also co-wrote Pitbull’s “Echa Pa’lla (Manos Pa’ribba),” which earned a Latin Grammy for best urban performance, and contributed to songs, including “Que Lo Que” (recorded by Sensato featuring Pitbull, Papayo and El Chevo) from the Grammy-winning project Dale. Along the way, he also played bass for artists including Mary J. Blige, Nas and John Legend.
But country music was a strong influence when he visited family on the Honduran island of Roatan. “The main music on the island was classic country and reggae music. My dad gave me a guitar and taught me to play George Jones and Hank Williams,” Brooks tells Billboard via Zoom.
When Pitbull realized Brooks’ own music had a country vibe, he connected him with “Freedom Is a Highway” hitmaker, songwriter and exec Jimmie Allen, who felt it was a match for Millsaps’ burly voice and energetic stage presence.
Millsaps and Brooks formed Neon Union and Allen subsequently signed them to his management and production company JAB Entertainment, which Allen launched with John Marks and Aaron Benward. They also collaborated with Allen on “Livin’ Man,” from the latter’s 2021 album Bettie James Gold Edition. In June, they inked a label deal with Red Street Records (led by Rascal Flatts member Jay DeMarcus), and landed their first entry on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart when “Bout Damn Time,” written by HARDY, Tyler Hubbard, Jordan Schmidt and Hunter Phelps, reached No. 60 on the chart.
“We want to kick the doors down and make a little noise,” Millsaps says of the song, which pays homage to the “farm tan crew” and “the ball cap boys with a six-inch lift.”
Brooks says of the song, “It represents everybody. We want everyone to be at our party.”
Neon Union is also one of a handful of multi-racial acts who have tried their luck in Nashville over the years, including duo Malchak & Rucker, who notched five songs on Billboard’s Country Songs chart in the 1980s, followed by trio The Farm with their 2011 top 20 hit “Home Sweet Home,” and more recently, the duos Exit 216 and 2 Lane Summer.
Neon Union talked to Billboard about their career journey, working together, touring with Allen — and Brooks’ impromptu wedding performance with George Strait.
Jimmie Allen brought the two of you together. What was that like?
Millsaps: I started playing in the bars during college Later, I had a job interview in Nashville and was staying at a hotel downtown. I randomly met Jimmie on an elevator at that hotel and we connected on social media. I didn’t think anything of it, but about six months later, I was playing at [Nashville music event] Whiskey Jam and saw him again. He liked my music, we exchanged numbers — and maybe two weeks later, he called and asked if I had ever thought about being in a duo, and introduced me to Leo.
Brooks: I played with Pitbull for 12 years, and was his musical director on tour, but I was the only one in the back of the bus listening to George Jones. Pitbull told Jimmie about me because I wanted to do my own thing, musically.
Millsaps: We briefly met over FaceTime. Leo flew into Nashville and we met at Jimmie’s house. Jimmie was like, “You guys have to be sure you want to do this.” We got some beers and hung out that evening and just clicked right away.
Brooks: It’s like a movie — so randomly put together, but we just get along so well.
How long after you met did you start recording together?
Millsaps: The next morning we were recording together. There were some nerves — I hadn’t even been in a full-fledged Nashville session at the time.
Brooks: I was just hoping this guy could sing. He did, and I was like, “Wow, OK.”
Millsaps: We started recording scratch vocals and cold chills just went over everybody. It sounded so good.
How did your deal with Red Street Records come about?
Millsaps: We started that day with a writing session and wound up with a record deal. We wrote a song and Leo had a flight scheduled that night. Then Aaron [Benward] called me up. He said, “Jay DeMarcus wants you to come by Red Street Records, like right now.” Leo canceled his flight and we drove over there and met in the conference room. We played like two songs and Jay said, “I want y’all to know I’ll have your record deal on the table by tomorrow.”
Brooks: Everyone over there, it’s just a great team of people.
Not only did Jimmie bring you two together to form Neon Union, but you were on his Down Home Tour last year.
Millsaps: Jimmie has been so supportive to us and getting us on that tour early. We didn’t really have any music out at the time. We got to meet a lot of folks in radio while we were on the road with Jimmie, which was great to give them that initial connection on the road — and then later as we put out this song, they remembered us.
What has being on radio tour been like for you?
Brooks: It’s a lot of travelling but we’re used to it. When I was with Pitbull, I was gone for months and home for a couple of days and then right back out. Here, we’ll travel for six days and then we’re home for a day or so. But it’s great having each other through all of it. You’re not just sitting by yourself in an airport, ever. We goof off and have fun. It is a lot of early mornings though — people will say, “See you bright and early.” Instead, we say, “See you dark and early.”
Leo, your first gig out of high school was playing with Lauryn Hill’s band. How did that happen?
Brooks: I picked up bass in high school, and I got the gig through one of my friends in Miami. He was auditioning for drums and she asked him if he knew a bass player. That’s when I came in and she loved it. I used to have a big old afro with a green bass [guitar]. The work with Pitbull came through the same drummer. I was always in New York and wanted to be closer to family in Miami, so I auditioned and met Pit and we became like brothers. I was just learning from him because Pit works hard and it’s nonstop. I would send him music for like seven years before I landed a song.
You are also bilingual. Would the two of you ever release a bilingual or Spanish-language song?
Brooks: Pitbull told me the other night, he was like, “We gotta do a song in Spanish.”
Millsaps: We also have already done another song, that we haven’t released yet, with Jimmie [Allen] and Pitbull, too, so that was sweet. You hear this country guy from Mayberry going, “Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Worldwide.” I was like, “Did I just get to say that?”
Where are you at in the album-making process?
Millsaps: We are starting to release new music by the end of March and just cut some songs with [producer] Dann Huff. We’re looking at releasing an EP this summer and hopefully a full-length in the fall. We’ve been out on the road playing so much that people are like, “Where’s your music?” We’ve got it coming.
What was the first concert you ever went to?
Millsaps: Kenny Chesney when Keith Urban was opening for him.
Brooks: Mine was No Doubt.
What did your parents do growing up?
Millsaps: My mom was a teacher and my dad owns a flooring cover store. I was third-generation coming up through a floor-covering business, and that’s what I started doing in Nashville at first. It’s still in my blood — I still look down everywhere I go. [Laughs.]
Brooks: My dad was a car painter and did body work as well, he had his own body shop. My mom was a nursing assistant.
If you could see any artist perform, who would it be?
Brooks: Metallica, for me.
Millsaps: I’ll say George Strait because I haven’t seen him in concert yet.
Brooks: I did play with him one time. There was a wedding I was doing and they were like, “George Strait is going to come here.” I was like, “Yeah, right” — but then he walks into this little party house in West Palm Beach, Florida. I was playing bass guitar and he came up and sang “Troubadour.”
Millsaps: Dang, I’m so jealous. That’s, like, one of my favorite songs.
Carrie Underwood offered fans a “birthday surprise” with her new song, while Tim McGraw offers a reflective new track. Megan Moroney heads to the honkytonk, and newcomer Tony Evans, Jr. delves into heartbreak on his smooth four-song EP.
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Carrie Underwood, “Out of That Truck”
Underwood released a “birthday surprise” in celebration of her 40th birthday on March 10, with this track she wrote with David Garcia and Lydia Vaughn. She muses that her former flame will have quite the challenge trying to erase the memory of their relationship — thanks to all the traces of herself left behind in her ex-lover’s stick-shift Chevy, from the scent of her shampoo on the headrest to a strawberry wine stain on the seat.
Thematically, the song shares DNA with one of Underwood’s previous releases, “Ghost Story” — though here, Underwood’s penetrating vocals are framed by free-spirited, ‘90s country-soaked instrumentals. A radio hit contender for sure, and another in a recent canon of songs about reminders of old relationships that linger in pickups, following Tim McGraw’s “7500 OBO” and Dylan Scott’s “New Truck.”
Tim McGraw, “Standing Room Only”
With 29 No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay hits to his credit, including “Just to See You Smile” and “Something Like That,” McGraw has based his career on sturdy, timeless songcraft.
Along the way, he’s more than proven his prowess at uplifting and reflective songs such as “Humble and Kind,” and “Thought About You.” His latest muses on living life in a way that one’s funeral would be a “standing room only” affair, filled with those lives had been indelibly impacted. The song’s message is similar to McGraw’s Grammy-winning track “Live Like You Were Dying,” with his warm, accessible voice wrapping around a meteoric chorus and a message with an eye on mortality and legacy.
Parker McCollum, “Speed”
Texas native McCollum is poised to add to his arsenal of radio hits like “Pretty Heart” and “To Be Loved By You” with this ode to living life in the fast lane, complete with blistering guitar work paired with McCollum’s urgent vocal. He tips his hat to his hometown of Conroe in his new track, and acknowledges a youthful, hard-charging musician’s wanderlust and ambition.
“I remember shakin’ my head when my old man told me/ ‘Boy, one of these days you won’t always be so hung up on speed,’” he sings. McCollum teamed with Ryan Beaver for this track, which marks a first taste of McCollum’s upcoming album Never Enough, out May 12 via MCA Nashville.
Tony Evans Jr., Starless
Indie country artist Tony Evans Jr. offers a succinct, four song EP with Starless, produced by Ron Fair with distribution by The Orchard. The collection of tracks center around heartbreak and regret, elevating Evans’s warm, burnished vocal. The set includes the shimmering, harmonica-laced “If You’re Ever in Georgia,” and the uplifting “Need Somebody.” “Kids We Never Had” is the standout cut, as Evans muses about a relationship that never stood the test of time and what could have been, all in exquisite detail.
Gabe Lee, “Eveline”
Four years after releasing his debut single, “Eveline,” Gabe Lee reconceptualizes the song with a slightly more uptempo beat, propulsive banjo lines and sprightly fiddle. Lee’s evocative voice effectively sells this sparsely dreamy update to this song of regret, over the things he’s had to leave behind in a small town.
Thompson Square, “Without You”
Thompson Square’s Keifer and Shawna Thompson have previously released more than a dozen country radio singles and earned two No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay hits with “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not” and “If I Didn’t Have You.” Their latest release is a summer-ready track, featuring propulsive, banjo-fueled instrumentation that lends it an early Keith Urban vibe. Keifer’s gritty vocal is soothed by Shawna’s piercing, pure voice. Together they forge coolly cozy harmonies that perfectly set up this song, which explores who each would be with and without the other tackling life alongside them. Though the couple didn’t write the track (Anthony Olympia, Tim Nichols and Brent Rupard did), they certainly make it their own.
Megan Moroney, “Lucky”
Following her breakthrough single “Tennessee Orange” and the subsequent “I’m Not Pretty,” Moroney is gearing up for the release of her debut album Lucky (out May 5). The opening guitar riff has shades of the opening to Alan Jackson’s “Chattahoochee,” while the song overall feels a little bit Shania and full-on honkytonk, in a manner that would have sounded right at home on ‘90s country radio. Lyrically, it’s chock-full of quirky lines such as “Tonight my only ambition is to make a bad decision/ ’Cause me, my phone, and the neon’s buzzin’” as she makes it clear to her ex-lover that he’s lucky she’s drinking that night. Moroney wrote the song with Ben Williams, Casey Smith and David “Messy” Mescon.