State Champ Radio year end 2023
Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time closed out 2023 as the most popular album of the year in the U.S., according to music data tracking firm Luminate. The album’s lead single, “Last Night,” was the year’s most-streamed song by on-demand audio streams, while Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” was the most-heard song on the radio. Total music consumption in the U.S. – as measured in equivalent album units – increased by 12.6% in 2023. (View the U.S. 2023 Luminate Year-End Music Report.)
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See the year’s top 10 albums chart, along with other year-end rankings and overall industry volume numbers, below.
But first, the fine print:
Equivalent album units – for album titles and chart rankings cited below (but not industry volume numbers) – comprise traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album, or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. Album titles and album chart rankings by equivalent album units do not include user-generated content (UGC) streams, but UGC streams are included in Luminate’s industry volume numbers. (UGC streams are not factored into any of Billboard’s weekly charts.)
For the sake of clarity, equivalent album units do not include listening to music on broadcast radio or digital radio broadcasts. All numbers cited in this story are rounded, and reflect U.S. consumption only.
Luminate’s equivalent album unit totals include SEA and TEA for an album’s songs registered before an album’s release, but during the tracking period of Dec. 30, 2022, through Dec. 28, 2023.
Luminate began tracking music sales in 1991 when the company was known as SoundScan. Luminate’s sales, streaming and airplay data is used to compile Billboard’s weekly charts. Luminate’s 2023 tracking year ran from Dec. 30, 2022, through Dec. 28, 2023.
Luminate is an independently operated company and a subsidiary of PME TopCo, a joint venture between Penske Media Corporation and Eldridge. Billboard is an independently operated company owned by PME Holdings, a subsidiary of PME TopCo.
Highlights from Luminate’s 2023 year-end data:
Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time was Luminate’s top album of 2023. It’s the second time Wallen has led the year-end list. He also was tops in 2021 with Dangerous: The Double Album.
On Luminate’s 2023 U.S. year-end top 10 most popular albums ranking, Taylor Swift has five of the top 10 titles – a single-year Luminate-era record.
Total U.S. album consumption increased by 12.6% in 2023.
R&B/hip-hop continues to hold firm as the top U.S. core genre by total album consumption; the world music genre – inclusive of the Korean pop (K-pop) genre – had the largest percentage gain year-over-year.
Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” tallied 1.015 billion U.S. on-demand audio streams in 2023 — the most U.S. on-demand audio streams a song has earned in a calendar year. It is only the second song ever to exceed 1 billion on-demand audio streams in a calendar year.
Yearly U.S. on-demand audio streams surpassed 1 trillion for the second time.
27% of all on-demand audio streams in the U.S. in 2023 were R&B/hip-hop songs, the largest share of any core genre.
Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is the first vinyl album in Luminate history to sell 1 million copies in a calendar year in the U.S.
Swift sold more albums in 2023 than any other act, accounting for 6% of all albums sold, industry-wide.
The top 10-selling CD albums of 2023 were all by Swift or K-pop acts.
Total U.S. album sales grew 5.2% in 2023 – just the second year that album sales grew in the last 10 years.
U.S. vinyl album sales outsold CDs for the third year in a row. 2023 marked the 18th consecutive year vinyl album sales grew in the U.S., and the largest year for vinyl album sales since Luminate began tracking data in 1991.
47.1% of all albums sold in 2023 in the U.S. – across all configurations, physical & digital combined – were vinyl LPs. 57% of all physical albums sold were vinyl.
Total U.S. album sales for the year (physical and digital download purchases combined) grew by 5.2%.
Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) sold 1.975 million in traditional album sales in the U.S. in 2023 – the biggest-selling album of any year since 2015.
One Thing at a Time debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart dated March 18, 2023, and spent 16 nonconsecutive weeks atop the tally. That marked the most weeks at No. 1 for any album since Adele’s blockbuster 21 spent 24 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 in 2011-12. One Thing at a Time is the second Wallen album to be named Luminate’s year-end No. 1 album, after his previous release, Dangerous: The Double Album, in 2021. Wallen is the first artist to have Luminate’s year-end No. 1 album twice in a three-year span since Drake led the year-end ranking in 2018 (with Scorpion) and in 2016 (with Views).
Nearly all of One Thing at a Time’s units earned in 2023 were powered by on-demand streams of its 36 songs. Its collected tracks generated 6.657 billion on-demand streams in the U.S., equaling 92.5% of the album’s total activity for the year (or, 4.962 million SEA units of its total 5.362 million units). One Thing at a Time was also the most-streamed album of 2023.
One Thing at a Time sold 326,000 in traditional album sales in 2023 (making it the No. 13-biggest-selling album of the year). The set also generated 745,000 in individual digital track sales, equaling nearly 75,000 in TEA units.
2023 marks the eighth year in a row in which Luminate’s year-end top album is by a solo male artist. The last time a solo male didn’t finish at No. 1 was in 2015, when Adele’s 25 ruled.
One Thing at a Time’s 5.362 million equivalent album units earned in 2023 is the largest sum for any album measured in a calendar year since 2015, when Adele’s 25 tallied 8.008 million and was the year’s top album.
One Thing at a Time spun off the massive multi-format chart hit “Last Night,” which spent 16 weeks atop the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. The tune also closes 2023 as the most-streamed song by on-demand audio streams.
TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2023 IN U.S., BY TOTAL EQUIVALENT ALBUM UNITS1. Morgan Wallen, One Thing at a Time (5.362 million)2. Taylor Swift, Midnights (3.209 million)3. SZA, SOS (3.172 million)4. Taylor Swift, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (2.872 million)5. Morgan Wallen, Dangerous: The Double Album (2.179 million)6. Taylor Swift, Lover (1.875 million)7. Travis Scott, Utopia (1.782 million)8. Taylor Swift, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (1.775 million)9. Taylor Swift, Folklore (1.612 million)10. Metro Boomin, Heroes & Villains (1.573 million)
Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through Dec. 28, 2023. UGC streams are not included in this chart, but are included in Luminate’s on-demand streaming charts (below).
While Wallen has a pair of titles in the year-end top 10, Taylor Swift looms even larger. Swift has five albums among Luminate’s year-end top 10 – the first time any act has placed that many albums among Luminate’s year-end top 10 since the company began tracking data in 1991. Previously, the most titles any single act had among the year’s top 10 was three, achieved by Garth Brooks in 1993.
On Luminate’s year-end top 10 albums ranking, Swift is found at No. 2 (Midnights, 3.209 million units), No. 4 (1989 [Taylor’s Version], 2.872 million), No. 6 (Lover, 1.875 million), No. 8 (Speak Now [Taylor’s Version], 1.775 million) and No. 9 (Folklore, 1.612 million). Just two of those albums were released in 2023: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version). Midnights was issued in late 2022, while Folklore bowed in 2020 and Lover arrived in 2019. All of Swift’s catalog in 2023 was buoyed by her stadium-filling The Eras Tour and its film adaptation Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.
Swift also has five of the top 10-selling albums of 2023, five of the year’s top 10-selling vinyl albums and three of the top 10-selling CD albums. She’s also No. 1 on each of the three rankings. (See lists, below.)
TOTAL ALBUM CONSUMPTION INCREASES 12.6%: Equivalent album units increased by 12.6% in 2023, to 1.097 billion (up from 974.9 million in 2022). There were 28 albums that earned at least 1 million equivalent album units in 2023 – up from 19 in 2022.
R&B/HIP-HOP LEADS AMONG GENRES: R&B/hip-hop continues to hold firm as the top genre by total album consumption, with 277.27 million units earned in 2023 – equating to 25.3% of total volume (1.097 billion units) last year across all of Luminate’s core genres measured. R&B/hip-hop consumption increased by 5.9% in 2023 over its volume in 2022 (261.72 million). However, R&B/hip-hop’s share of total consumption decreased from 26.8% in 2022 to 25.3% in 2023. (R&B/hip-hop is an umbrella genre for Luminate that contains most titles categorized as R&B and/or rap.)
2023’s second-largest genre, by total album consumption, was rock with 212.42 million units (up 9.1% from 194.72 million in 2022). Pop music was third, with 135.32 million (up 9.4% from 123.72 million in 2022), country was fourth, with 92.19 million (up 21.8% from 75.69 million in 2022) and Latin was fifth, with 75.26 million (up 21.9% from 61.73 million in 2022).
In terms of the largest percentage gains among Luminate’s core genres, year-over-year, the world music genre had the biggest increase in 2023. The genre’s 34.1% gain last year (29.94 million units vs. 22.32 million in 2022) is inclusive of Korean pop (K-pop) music. (K-pop is one of the many music genres housed within the larger world music core genre.) The second-and-third-largest percentage increases in 2023 among Luminate’s core genres belonged to Latin (up 21.9%, to 75.26 million in 2023, vs. 61.73 million in 2022) and country (up 21.8%, to 92.19 million, vs. 75.69 million in 2022).
TAYLOR SWIFT’S ‘1989 (TAYLOR’S VERSION)’ IS 2023’s TOP-SELLING ALBUM: Taylor Swift’s most recent release, and her fourth re-recorded project, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), was 2023’s top-selling album in the U.S., with 1.975 million copies sold across all configurations (physical and digital combined: CD, vinyl LP, cassette, digital download album). See the top 10-selling albums, below.
TOP 10-SELLING ALBUMS OF 2023 IN U.S. (PHYSICAL & DIGITAL SALES COMBINED)1. Taylor Swift, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (1.975 million)2. Taylor Swift, Midnights (973,000)3. Taylor Swift, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (908,000)4. Travis Scott, Utopia (575,000)5. Stray Kids, 5-STAR (526,000)6. Taylor Swift, Folklore (466,000)7. TOMORROW X TOGETHER, The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION (444,000)8. Taylor Swift, Lover (425,000)9. Olivia Rodrigo, Guts (404,000)10. Stray Kids, ROCK-STAR (229,000)Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through Dec. 28, 2023.
With 1.975 million copies sold, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is the biggest-selling album of any year since 2015, when Adele’s 25 sold 7.441 million copies. An album by Swift has been the year’s top-seller in six of the last 10 years: 1989 (Taylor’s Version) in 2023, Midnights in 2022, Folklore in 2020, Lover in 2019, Reputation in 2017 and 1989 in 2014. She also had the top-seller in 2009 with Fearless. Swift is the only act to have the top-selling album of the year at least seven times since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991.
1989 (Taylor’s Version) was also the top-selling vinyl LP of 2023 (1.014 million sold) and the top-selling CD album of the year (800,000 sold). 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is the first album to sell a million copies on vinyl in a calendar year since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991.
Sales of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) were bolstered by its availability across 15 physical configurations: five color vinyl variants, eight CD editions and two cassette albums. Further, of the five vinyl variants, Target carried a color edition that includes one bonus track (“Sweeter Than Fiction”). The set was also issued in two download editions – a standard 21-song version and a deluxe 22-track edition which adds a re-recorded version of the album’s “Bad Blood,” featuring Kendrick Lamar.
Swift, like many acts, leaned into creating additional versions of an album for purchase by superfans. All of the top 10-selling albums of 2023 were aided by their availability across multiple iterations, including many that contained collectible branded merchandise or color vinyl.
Swift by far sold the most albums of any act in 2023 in the U.S., as her collected catalog sold 6.172 million copies (across all configurations, physical and digital combined). Her sales accounted for 6% of all album sales last year across all albums by all artists. The second-biggest selling act, in terms of album sales in 2023, was K-pop group Stray Kids with 1.205 million copies sold.
TOTAL U.S. ALBUM SALES INCREASE BY 5.2%: Total U.S. album sales increased by 5.2% in 2023 to 105.32 million copies sold (up from 100.09 million in 2022). 2023 marked just the second year album sales increased in the last 10 years, following 2021. Album sales declined in every year from 2012-20, and again in 2022, as fans increasingly adopt streaming services as a means to consume music.
Total U.S. physical album sales (CD, vinyl LP, cassette, etc.) increased by 8.9% to 87 million in 2023 (up from 79.89 million in 2022). Digital album sales declined by 9.3% to 18.32 million in 2023 (down from 20.2 million in 2022).
VINYL REIGNS: For the third consecutive year, and the third year since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991, vinyl albums outsold CD albums in the U.S. Vinyl once again is the leading configuration for album purchases for the third year in a row.
Vinyl was the dominant configuration for album purchases in the U.S. up until the early 1980s. After that, cassettes took hold until the early 1990s, when the CD configuration blossomed and remained king until 2021, when vinyl retook the top slot.
49.61 million vinyl albums were sold in 2023 (up 14.2% from 43.46 million in 2022). 2023 marked the 18th consecutive year vinyl album sales grew in the U.S., and the largest year for vinyl album sales since Luminate began tracking data in 1991.
TOP 10-SELLING VINYL ALBUMS OF 2023 IN U.S.1. Taylor Swift, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (1.014 million)2. Taylor Swift, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (510,000)3. Taylor Swift, Midnights (492,000)4. Travis Scott, Utopia (373,000)5. Taylor Swift, Folklore (308,000)6. Olivia Rodrigo, Guts (267,000)7. Taylor Swift, Lover (256,000)8. Lana Del Rey, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (215,000)9. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours (206,000)10. Lana Del Rey, Born to Die (192,000)Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through Dec. 28, 2023.
The top-selling vinyl album of 2023 is Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) with 1.014 million sold. That marks the largest yearly sales total for a vinyl album, and the first vinyl set to sell a million in a calendar year, since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991. The effort also scored the largest sales week for a vinyl set since 1991 when it debuted with 693,000 copies sold in its first week.
Swift closed 2023 with five of the top 10-selling vinyl albums. Further, her catalog of albums sold 3.484 million copies on vinyl in 2023 – the most of any artist. (Lana Del Rey was the second-biggest selling act on vinyl in 2023, with 646,000 sold.) Swift’s vinyl sales accounted for 7% of the industry’s total vinyl album sales in 2023.
Vinyl album sales comprised 47.1% of all album sales in the U.S. in 2023 (49.61 million of 105.32 million). Vinyl LPs accounted for 57% of all physical album sold last year (49.61 million of 87 million). Both sums are Luminate-era records for vinyl’s share of the album sales market in the U.S.
In 2023 a total of 99 albums each sold at least 50,000 copies on vinyl – up from 88 in 2022. Comparatively, 65 albums on the CD configuration sold at least 50,000 copies in 2023 (up from 56 in 2022).
CD ALBUM SALES INCREASE, SWIFT & K-POP DOMINATE: 36.83 million CD albums were sold in 2023 (up 2.7% compared to 35.87 million in 2022), making it the second-most popular configuration for album purchases.
The top 10-selling CD albums of 2023 are comprised entirely of releases by Swift and K-pop artists. All profit from their availability across multiple collectible editions for superfans.
Swift sold the most CD albums in 2023, with 1.985 million copies sold across her entire catalog of titles. Stray Kids wrap as the No. 2-seller on CD, with 1.188 million sold. Swift’s CD sales represented 5.4% of all CD albums sold in 2023, industry-wide.
TOP 10-SELLING CD ALBUMS OF 2023 IN U.S.1. Taylor Swift, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (800,000)2. Stray Kids, 5-STAR (520,000)3. TOMORROW X TOGETHER, The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION (442,000)4. Stray Kids, ROCK-STAR (381,000)5. NewJeans, 2nd EP Get Up (332,000)6. TWICE, Ready to Be (303,000)7. SEVENTEEN, SEVENTEEN 10th Mini Album Fml (288,000)8. Taylor Swift, Midnights (276,000)9. Taylor Swift, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (267,000)10. Jung Kook, Golden (244,000)Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through Dec. 28, 2023.
Digital album sales were the third-most popular configuration in 2023 for album purchases, and the category dropped by 9.3% to 18.32 million (down from 20.2 million in 2022). The top-selling digital album of 2023 was Swift’s Midnights, with 201,000 downloads sold. Swift additionally was the top-selling artist in terms of digital albums in 2023, with 667,000 downloads sold. Morgan Wallen was the second-biggest-selling artist in terms of download albums, with 187,000 sold. Swift’s digital sales presented 3.6% of all download albums sold, industry-wide.
CASSETTE SALES STEADY: After cassette album sales jumped 28% in 2022, the niche configuration mostly stayed steady in 2023, slipping just 0.75%. In 2023, a total of 436,400 cassette albums were sold – a sliver less than the 439,700 sold in 2022. Cassettes were the leading album configuration for purchases from the early 1980s until the early 1990s. Today, cassette tapes are frequently sold exclusively on an artist’s webstore and in collectible editions. In 2023, the Billboard 200 chart saw No. 1 albums that boasted a cassette configuration from Blink-182’s One More Time, Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts and Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version), Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and Midnights (which first led the list in 2022).
TOTAL STREAMING INCREASES 14.6%, ON-DEMAND AUDIO UP 12.7%: Total U.S. on-demand song streams (audio and video combined, inclusive of UGC streams) increased by 14.6% to 1.453 trillion in 2023 (up from 1.268 trillion in 2022). Yearly on-demand audio streams (again, inclusive of UGC) surpassed 1 trillion for a second time, with 1.249 trillion (up 12.7% from 1.108 trillion in 2022).
On-demand audio streams comprised 86% of all on-demand streams in 2023, with the remainder generated by on-demand video.
The R&B/hip-hop genre accounted for the most on-demand streams (audio and video combined, inclusive of UGC) in 2023, among Luminate’s core genres, with 26.6% of the year’s volume (387.09 billion of 1.453 trillion).
Rock had the second-largest share of on-demand song streams (audio and video combined, inclusive of UGC) in 2023, with 16.2% of volume (235.11 billion of 1.453 trillion). Pop was third with 12.6% (182.63 billion of 1.453 trillion), Latin was fourth with 8.3% (120.18 billion of 1.453 trillion) country was fifth with 7.8% (113.09 billion of 1.453 trillion).
As for year-over-year growth in total on-demand streams (audio and video combined, inclusive of UGC) among Luminate’s core genres, world music had the largest percentage growth, increasing by 33.3% to 35.97 billion, as compared to 26.98 billion in 2022. The respective second- and third-biggest increases, by percentage, belonged to the genres of dance/electronic (23.2% to 54.37 billion, up from 44.14 billion in 2022) and country (22.2% to 113.09 billion, up from 92.52 billion in 2022).
Looking just at on-demand audio streams for 2023 (inclusive of UGC), R&B/hip-hop was tops with 27% of volume (337.21 billion of 1.249 trillion). Rock (17%; 211.72 billion of 1.249 trillion), pop (11.8%; 147.11 billion of 1.249 trillion), country (8.5%; 106.28 billion of 1.249 trillion) and Latin (8%; 99.71 billion of 1.249 trillion) were Nos. 2-5 for 2023, respectively, as they were in 2022 and 2021.
The genres that saw the largest percentage growth in year-over-year on-demand audio streams (inclusive of UGC) were world music (up 26.2% to 27.52 billion, up from 21.8 billion in 2022), Latin (up 24.1% to 99.71 billion, up from 80.34 billion in 2022) and country (up 23.7% to 106.28 billion, up from 85.91 billion in 2022).
Note: UGC streams are included in Luminate’s industry streaming on-demand volume numbers and its year-end streaming song charts. UGC streams are not factored into any of Billboard’s weekly charts.
‘LAST NIGHT’ SURPASSED 1 BILLION ON-DEMAND AUDIO STREAMS: Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” was the most-streamed song of 2023 in the U.S. by on-demand audio streams (inclusive of UGC), with 1.015 billion – the most U.S. on-demand audio streams a song has earned in a calendar year.
“Last Night” is the second song to surpass 1 billion on-demand audio streams in a calendar year in the U.S., following Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” (featuring Billy Ray Cyrus), which cleared 1.002 billion in 2019.
See the top 10 most-streamed songs, by on-demand audio, below.
TOP 10 MOST STREAMED SONGS OF 2023 IN U.S., ON DEMAND AUDIO1. Morgan Wallen, “Last Night” (1.015 billion)2. SZA, “Kill Bill” (802.60 million)3. Zach Bryan, “Something in the Orange” (656.07 million)4. Miley Cyrus, “Flowers” (634.42 million)5. SZA, “Snooze” (550.83 million)6. The Weeknd, “Die for You” (539.29 million)7. Eslabon Armado x Peso Pluma, “Ella Baila Sola” (526.34 million)8. Luke Combs, “Fast Car” (525.51 million)9. Morgan Wallen, “You Proof” (517.58 million)10. Taylor Swift, “Cruel Summer” (507.78 million)Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through Dec. 28, 2023. Includes UGC streams.
DIGITAL TRACK SALES DECLINE FOR 11TH YEAR IN A ROW: Digital track sales declined for an 11th consecutive year, falling 11.9% to 133.88 million in 2023 (down from 151.9 million in 2022). The top-selling digital song of 2023 was Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” with 497,000 downloads sold. It was the second year in a row that no song sold more than a half-million downloads. Prior to 2022, it last happened in the early days of downloading, in 2004 (the first full year of the iTunes Store, which launched in mid-2003). Further, 2023 marks the second year in a row that no song sold 1 million copies. Before 2022, the industry last had a year without a million-selling download in 2005.
TOP 10-SELLING DIGITAL SONGS OF 2023 IN U.S.1. Jason Aldean, “Try That in a Small Town” (497,000)2. Miley Cyrus, “Flowers” (428,000)3. Oliver Anthony Music, “Rich Men North of Richmond” (358,000)4. Morgan Wallen, “Last Night” (302,000)5. Jimin, “Like Crazy” (296,000)6. Luke Combs, “Fast Car” (251,000)7. Jung Kook featuring Latto, “Seven” (228,000)8. Jelly Roll, “Need a Favor” (181,000)9. Jung Kook, “Standing Next to You” (163,000)10. Rema & Selena Gomez, “Calm Down” (159,000)Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022 through Dec. 28, 2023.
CYRUS’ ‘FLOWERS’ BLOOMED ON RADIO: Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” was tops on radio in 2023, with 3.919 billion audience impressions earned across all monitored radio stations in the U.S. Audience impressions are measured by cross-referencing plays with Nielsen Audio audience data – i.e., a play of a song on a top-rated New York station at 8 a.m. on a Monday has more listeners (audience) than an overnight weekend play in a smaller city.
TOP 10 RADIO SONGS OF 2023 IN U.S. (BASED ON AUDIENCE IMPRESSIONS)1. Miley Cyrus, “Flowers” (3.919 billion)2. Rema & Selena Gomez, “Calm Down” (3.643 billion)3. Metro Boomin, The Weeknd & 21 Savage, “Creepin’” (3.529 billion)4. The Weeknd, “Die for You” (2.628 billion)5. SZA, “Kill Bill” (2.623 billion)6. Taylor Swift, “Anti-Hero” (2.491 billion)7. David Guetta & Bebe Rexha, “I’m Good (Blue)” (2.448 billion)8. Morgan Wallen, “Last Night” (2.435 billion)9. Luke Combs, “Fast Car” (2.358 billion)10. Harry Styles, “As It Was” (2.199 billion)Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through Dec. 28, 2023.
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Multi-genre superstar Kanye West is Billboard’s Top Gospel Artist of 2023, marking three straight years that he claims the top honor. He’s the first act to be the year-end Top Gospel Artist in three years since 2017, when Tamela Mann claimed her third triumph.
On the Billboard charts dated Sept. 11, 2021, Donda started with a bang. It debuted in the penthouse on the all-genre weekly Billboard 200 plus Top Gospel Albums and Top Christian Albums with 309,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S., according to Luminate.
Explore All of Billboard’s 2023 Year-End Charts
It marked West’s 10th Billboard 200 leader and his second No. 1 on Top Gospel Albums (as well as Top Christian Albums).
Donda followed his first spiritual LP, Jesus Is King, which crowned both lists as well, plus the Billboard 200. King started with 264,000 weekly units in November 2019, which was a record at the time on the two faith-based lists.
On the Top Gospel Albums year-end tallies, Donda is No. 1 and Jesus Is King is No. 5.
Also, Donda has ranked at either No. 1 or No. 2 on the weekly Top Gospel Albums chart so far this year. Jesus Is King has also remained strong, holding in the Top Gospel Albums top 10 throughout 2023.
Since Top Gospel Albums launched in 1983, Donda is the longest running No. 1 (over 100 weeks), and Jesus Is King is second (over 65 frames).
Billboard’s top duo/group of 2023 and No. 2 among all acts is the Atlanta-based worship collective Maverick City Music. The popular act repeats from 2022 in the rankings.
Old Church Basement, the collaborative project with Christian act Elevation Worship, ranks as the Top Gospel Albums No. 2 LP of 2023. The set, which opened at No. 1 on Top Gospel Albums in May 2021 with 19,000 units and spent 17 frames at the summit, has been in the top five for all of 2023.
The Nos. 4, 6 and 10 albums of 2023 are also from Maverick City Music. At No. 4 is Kingdom: Book One, a collaboration with gospel star Kirk Franklin. The LP opened at its No. 2 peak in July 2022 with 8,000 units. Maverick City, Vol. 3: Part One is the No. 6 set of 2023; and No. 8 is Move Your Heart with Upperroom.
Maverick City Music finished 2023 with the release of The Maverick Way Complete: Complete Vol. 2 with Chandler Moore and Naomi Raine. It arrived atop the weekly Top Gospel Albums list dated Nov. 11 (which places it within the 2024 chart year) with 11,000 equivalent album units. Concurrently, it also crowned the weekly Top Christian Albums chart.
Also, the year-end No. 1 on Hot Gospel Songs is “Jireh,” a collaboration from Elevation Worship and Maverick City Music featuring Chandler Moore and Naomi Raine. The song debuted at No. 1 in April 2021 and has spent the sum of 2023 in the top three.
Gospel icon CeCe Winans is the leading woman of 2023, ruling the year-end Top Gospel Artists – Female tally, and No. 3 on the overall Top Gospel Artists recap. Her hit “Goodness of God” led Gospel Airplay for four weeks starting on the Feb. 18-dated tally, giving Winans her fourth leader. It’s No. 5 on the year-end Gospel Airplay Songs roundup. Plus, it’s the leading track of the year on Gospel Digital Song Sales.
The No. 1 Gospel Airplay Song of 2023 is Erica Campbell’s “Feel Alright (Blessed),” which dominated the weekly version of the chart for two frames beginning July 29, 2023. Campbell, who has tallied three Gospel Airplay chart-toppers so far, comes in as the that chart’s leading artist of the year. In the top female category, Campbell finishes fourth. Billboard’s Top New Gospel artist of the year is the Hampton Roads, Va.-based choir Voices of Fire, which is led by Bishop Ezekiel Williams, who is Pharrell Williams’ uncle. Voices of Fire’s “Joy (Unspeakable)” featuring Pharrell Williams peaked at No. 7 on Hot Gospel Songs in July.
Billboard’s year-end music recaps represent aggregated metrics for each artist, title, label and music contributor on the weekly charts from Nov. 19, 2022, through Oct. 21, 2023. Rankings for Luminate-based recaps reflect equivalent album units, airplay, sales or streaming during the weeks that the titles appeared on a respective chart during the tracking year. Any activity registered before or after a title’s chart run isn’t considered in these rankings. That methodology detail, and the November-October time period, account for some of the difference between these lists and the calendar-year recaps that are independently compiled by Luminate.
Just as he did in 2021 and 2022, 30-year-old singer-songwriter Morgan Wallen is Billboard’s Top Country Artist. Concurrently, the Sneedville, Tenn.-born star is Billboard’s Top Country Artist – Male. He also wraps the year with No. 1 placings on the year-end recaps for Hot Country Songs, Hot Country Songs Artists, Country Airplay Artists, Country Airplay Songs, Country Digital Song Sales Artists, Country Streaming Songs, Country Streaming Songs Artists, Top Country Albums Artists and Top Country Albums.
Wallen won the day in plenty of categories in 2023, and if there’s one area where he added to his portfolio, it’s pop radio, where the country star is officially a crossover artist now on the strength of “Last Night,” which reached No. 5 on both Pop Airplay and Adult Pop Airplay.
Explore All of Billboard’s 2023 Year-End Charts
“Last Night,” which is the leading song of the year on the streaming-, airplay and sales based Hot Country Songs chart as well as the top Country Airplay track of the year, also became Wallen’s first song to top the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. It’s also the year-end No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs recap.
In March, “Last Night” — which was authored by John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin and Ryan Vojtesak — blasted from 5-1 on the Hot 100, marking the artist’s first leader on the all-format list. “Last Night” is from his 36-track album, One Thing at a Time, released March 3.
When “Last Night” led the Hot 100 for its first week on the March 18 dated tally, it was also stationed atop Hot Country Songs.
It marked the first track to lead both tallies since Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” on the charts dated Nov. 27, 2021 – and the first by a solo male unaccompanied by any other acts in more than 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.
“Last Night” dominated Hot Country Songs for 25 frames commencing in February, becoming the fourth-longest-ruling title since the chart was launched in 1958. The longest is Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line’s crossover smash, “Meant to Be,” which spent a whopping 50 weeks in the penthouse beginning in December 2017.
“Last Night” is also the year-end No. 1 on Country Airplay Songs. It dominated the weekly chart for eight weeks starting in May, giving the artist his ninth of 10 No. 1s. He added his 10th in October with “Thinkin’ Bout Me.”
Wallen’s One Thing at a Time album, which houses 36 songs, opened atop Top Country Albums as well as 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 in the tracking week of March 3-9, according to Luminate) for any album, among all genres.
The artist made history that week by taking over Hot Country Songs with an unprecedented nine tracks in that week’s top 10.
One Thing at a Time is both No. 1 on the year-end Top Country Albums recap and the all-genre Billboard 200 Albums roundup.
Swift Leads Women: On the strength of her release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), Taylor Swift is country music’s top woman of 2023. Speak Now is the No. 4 LP on the Top Country Albums list of the year.
Released July 7, the set — the third of Swift’s planned six re-recorded albums — arrived with 716,000 equivalent album units earned, with 507,000 in traditional album sales.
With Speak Now, Swift earned her eighth No. 1 on Top Country Albums. Also that week, Swift lobbed seven songs into the Hot Country Songs top 10.
Megan Moroney Shines: Singer-songwriter Megan Moroney, who hails from Savannah, Ga., scored her first top 10 on the weekly Top Country Albums chart in May when her first entry, Lucky, arrived at its No. 10 peak with 18,000 equivalent album units.
The set marked the first top 10 debut for a woman’s first title on the chart since Gabby Barrett’s debut LP Goldmine arrived at No. 4 in July 2020.
Moroney, a graduate of the University of Georgia, also claimed her first top 10 on Country Airplay as well as Hot Country Songs with rookie appearance “Tennessee Orange,” which hit No. 4 on Country Airplay and No. 10 on Hot Country Songs.
There’s no doubt that 2023 was a huge year for country music.
In July, country songs filled the top three rankings on the Hot 100: Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” topped the list, followed by Wallen’s “Last Night,” with Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” at No. 3.
It marked the first time that country hits occupied the Hot 100’s top three spots in a single week, dating to the chart’s inception in August 1958.
A little controversy also hovered over one of country music’s top stars. Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” created a stir when its video was pulled from rotation by CMT after just three days on the air, creating a firestorm of media coverage.
Aldean addressed the polarized response to the video during his Highway Desperado Tour stop July 21 at Cincinnati’s Riverbend Music Center. “It’s been a long week and I’ve seen a lot of stuff suggesting I’m this, suggesting I’m that,” he told the crowd. “I feel like everybody’s entitled to their opinion. You can think something all you want to; it doesn’t mean it’s true. What I am is a proud American. I’m proud to be from here … I love my country, I love my family, and I will do anything to protect that, I can tell you that right now.”
The contention didn’t hurt sales. “Try That in a Small Town” is the No. 1 title for 2023 on Country Digital Song Sales. On the July 29 dated tally, “Small Town” hit No. 1 with 228,000 sold. It became Aldean’s first Hot 100 leader while also reigning on Hot Country Songs for two weeks, becoming the artist’s 10th No. 1 on the latter list.
Meanwhile, the No. 2 Hot Country Songs title of 2023 is Luke Combs’ version of Chapman’s Hot 100 top 10 from 1987, “Fast Car.”
Combs’ update of “Fast Car” led Hot Country Songs for its first of four weeks on the Sept. 30 dated survey giving the artist his sixth No. 1. Here’s what Combs told Billboard when he heard the news: “What an awesome way to end the ride for ‘Fast Car’,” said the artist. “It has been so cool to see everyone enjoying this song over the past few months, whether it was people who were hearing the song for the first time or people [for whom] it brought back memories of Tracy’s timeless recording. I’m just glad this song got another life because it deserves to be around forever; it will always be one of my favorites. I’m glad we got to park Tracy’s song at the top of the Hot Country Songs chart, where it should be.”
Billboard’s year-end music recaps represent aggregated metrics for each artist, title, label and music contributor on the weekly charts from Nov. 19, 2022, through Oct. 21, 2023. Rankings for Luminate-based recaps reflect equivalent album units, airplay, sales or streaming during the weeks that the titles appeared on a respective chart during the tracking year. Any activity registered before or after a title’s chart run isn’t considered in these rankings. That methodology detail, and the November-October time period, account for some of the difference between these lists and the calendar-year recaps that are independently compiled by Luminate.
Singer-songwriter Lauren Daigle is Billboard’s Top Christian Artist of 2023, plus the top female Christian Artist of the year.
“It’s been an incredible year,” Daigle tells Billboard after hearing that she earned the top honor. “New creative collaborators, a new producer, new writers and most of all new friends. Our fans on the road have been so incredible and we can feel their love and their energy every single night, and for me that connection (to our music) is inspiring. I am so unbelievably grateful to them, to be able to do what I love and look forward to so much more in ’24.”
Explore All of Billboard’s 2023 Year-End Charts
In 2023, we saw new music from Lauren Daigle for the first time since 2018. On May 12, Daigle released a 10-song self-titled album with the promise that the deluxe version with 10 more tracks would come later. The LP paired the 32-year-old Daigle with new producer Mike Elizondo and was also her first through Atlantic Records, which her longtime label, Centricity, formed a partnership with in January.
The new set was her first new music since Look Up Child, which opened at the Top Christian Albums summit in September 2018 and proceeded to ring up a record 102 frames at No. 1. It was bolstered by the crossover smash “You Say,” which dominated Hot Christian Songs for an also unprecedented 132 weeks starting in July 2018.
On Christian Airplay, “You Say” reigned for 18 weeks. It also crossed over, crowning Adult Contemporary for two weeks.
Plus, “You Say” is the No. 1 track of 2023 on Christian Streaming Songs.
Look Up Child remains strong, placing as the No. 2 LP of 2023 on Top Christian Albums, second only to Kanye West’s Donda, which is the lead LP of the year on the Top Christian Albums and Top Gospel Albums tallies.
Daigle’s self-titled set launched at No. 1 on Top Christian Albums list dated May 27 with 25,000 equivalent album units, including 20,000 in album sales, in the May 12-18 tracking frame, according to Luminate. It marked Daigle’s fourth leader on the list.
Daigle returned to the Top Christian Albums penthouse on the May 16-dated survey. Her self-titled set, made available as a deluxe version, added 13 tunes to the original 10-song album.
After the deluxe edition was released Sept. 8, the set (with both versions combined into one chart listing) rebounded 5-1. It earned 13,000 equivalent album units (up 388%), with 8,000 in album sales. On the all-genre Billboard 200, it re-entered at No. 79, after it opened at its No. 21 high in May.
Daigle’s 2023 self-titled album finishes in the top 10. It’s No. 7 on the Top Christian Albums year-end ranking.
Meanwhile, lead single from Lauren Daigle, “Thank God I Do,” is No. 2 on the Hot Christian Songs year-end chart.
“Thank God I Do” became her fifth chart-topper on Christian Airplay, where it dominated for a week in July. On Hot Christian Songs, it awarded Daigle with her sixth No. 1, dominating for its first time in May.
Daigle is the only artist to date who has banked two Hot Christian Songs No. 1s that dominated for 20-weeks or more: “You Say” and “Thank God I Do.”
“Thank God I Do” is also tops on the year-end Christian Digital Song Sales tally.
Brandon Lake Leads: Singer-songwriter Brandon Lake wins a major category for the first time, crowning Billboard’s Top Christian Artists – Male roundup.
To say that Lake had a big year is quite the understatement, as he leads as the top Christian Airplay and Hot Christian Songs artist this year.
Lake’s hit “Gratitude” is the top song of 2023 on Hot Christian Songs. It gave Lake his second No. 1 in February and his first where he’s unaccompanied. Lake co-authored “Gratitude” with Dante Bowe and Benjamin Hastings, while Jacob Sooter produced it.
The artist added his third leader (among five top 10s) when “Praise You Anywhere” hit the Hot Christian Songs pinnacle in November.
On Christian Airplay, Lake added his second No. 1 and fourth top 10 this year. “Gratitude” led the list in March and “Praise You Anywhere” hit No. 3 on Oct. 7.
Elevation Worship Gets High Praise: 2023 marks the first time that Elevation Worship, the music collective based in Charlotte, N.C., leads Billboard’s Top Christian Artists – Duo/Group recap. The act places second in the overall Top Christian Artists category.
On the charts dated Jan. 21, the act earned its second leader on Hot Christian Songs and its third on Christian Airplay as “Same God” topped both surveys.
“Same God” is the No. 12 song of the year on Hot Christian Songs and No. 14 on Christian Airplay.
In June, Can You Imagine?, which includes eight songs, was co-produced by the collective’s frontman Chris Brown along with Steven Furtick. The LP was recorded in front of a live audience at Elevation Church in Charlotte Jan. 13.
Can You Imagine? awarded Elevation Worship with its seventh No. 1 among 13 top 10s on Top Christian Albums.
‘This Is’ Phil Wickham: No. 1 on the year-end Top Christian Airplay Songs tally is is Phil Wickham’s “This is Our God,” which led for two frames staring on the June 3-dated chart. It gave Wickham his fourth chart-topper among 10 top 10s.
The 39-year-old singer-songwriter from San Diego co-penned the song with Pat Barrett, Steven Furtick and Brandon Lake. It was produced by Jonathan Smith.
Wickham places as the No. 5 Top Christian Artists overall and No. 2 in the male category.
Billboard’s year-end music recaps represent aggregated metrics for each artist, title, label and music contributor on the weekly charts from Nov. 19, 2022, through Oct. 21, 2023. Rankings for Luminate-based recaps reflect equivalent album units, airplay, sales or streaming during the weeks that the titles appeared on a respective chart during the tracking year. Any activity registered before or after a title’s chart run isn’t considered in these rankings. That methodology detail, and the November-October time period, account for some of the difference between these lists and the calendar-year recaps that are independently compiled by Luminate.
It’s taken a decade, but for the first time, a country artist is No. 1 on Billboard’s year-end Streaming Songs Artists chart.
… and a country song is No. 1 on the year-end Streaming Songs chart.
… and the top 10s of both rankings are chock full of both country artists and songs.
Point is, 2023 was a banner year for country on the streaming charts. And that’s after 2022’s year-end Streaming Songs Artists tally featured a country artist in the top 10 for the very first time in Morgan Wallen.
Oh, right, the No. 1 artist and song of 2023. It’s Wallen.
Explore All of Billboard’s 2023 Year-End Charts
After breaking through as the first act releasing music primarily in the country genre to appear in the Streaming Songs Artists survey’s top 10 at No. 4 in 2022, Wallen leads it in 2023, while his “Last Night” crowns the songs-based list, also marking the first time a country tune ranks atop that chart; both year-end recaps began in 2013, the same year Streaming Songs became a weekly Billboard chart.
“Last Night” was the only song of Wallen’s to reach No. 1 on the weekly Streaming Songs list. But it was far and away the year’s biggest song there, reigning for 19 weeks beginning in March. Barring a return to No. 1, the song concludes its run one week short of the record for most frames atop Streaming Songs, held by Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus.
It was so comparatively massive, in fact, that the next-closest songs released in 2023 in terms of overall weeks at No. 1 were Zach Bryan’s “I Remember Everything” featuring Kacey Musgraves, and Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers.” Currently, both boast four weeks apiece atop the survey.
Streaming was, as a result, a critical component of “Last Night” and its sizable run at No. 1 on the weekly multimetric Billboard Hot 100, reigning for 16 weeks.
But though “Last Night” was Wallen’s only No. 1 of the year, the weekly Streaming Songs tally was dotted with the 30-year-old’s tracks in 2023, both via his monster 2023 LP One Thing at a Time and from previous releases. In all, Wallen appears six times on the 75-song-deep year-end Streaming Songs ranking, with “Last Night” followed by “You Proof” at No. 6.
Country’s hold on Streaming Songs wasn’t limited to Wallen, either. Four of the top 10 on Streaming Songs Artists in 2023 largely released music in the country genre, while a fifth, Taylor Swift, appeared on the weekly survey with country songs a few times via her Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) re-recording. Compare that number to 2022, when six country acts made the entire 25-position Streaming Songs Artists year-end list, Wallen the only one of the group in the top 10.
Joining Wallen in the top 10 are three acts who were part of that group of six last year. Zach Bryan ranks at No. 5, followed by Luke Combs at No. 6 and Bailey Zimmerman rounding out the club at No. 9.
Bryan’s “Something in the Orange,” originally released in 2022 as part of the album American Heartbreak, soared to new heights in 2023 (it was No. 12 on the year-end 2022 Streaming Songs tally), rising to No. 3 the year-end survey. Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” also reaches the top 10 at No. 7, giving country four of the top 10.
Give a shoutout to other genres, too. R&B was well presented by SZA, who ranks at No. 2 on the year-end artists ranking while her “Kill Bill” is the No. 2 song. It became her first No. 1 on the weekly chart (four weeks beginning in December 2022) and helps SZA to her best-ever ranks on either year-end list. Her previous best on Streaming Songs as a lead artist had been “Good Days” in 2021 (No. 29), the same year she appeared at a then-career-best No. 22 on the artists rundown.
And while Bad Bunny didn’t quite retain the dominance he enjoyed in 2022 as the No. 1 on Streaming Songs Artists (chalk that up in part to his latest album, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, only having come out in October, eligible for the 2024 year-end rankings), not only did he still appear at a respectable No. 15 – Latin music was also represented in the top 10 thanks to Peso Pluma, whose meteoric rise caps off with a No. 7 placement. Concurrently, his collaboration with Eslabon Armado, “Ella Baila Sola,” ranks at No. 9 on the year-end Streaming Songs ranking.
Billboard’s year-end music recaps represent aggregated metrics for each artist, title, label and music contributor on the weekly charts from Nov. 19, 2022, through Oct. 21, 2023. Rankings for Luminate-based recaps reflect equivalent album units, airplay, sales or streaming during the weeks that the titles appeared on a respective chart during the tracking year. Any activity registered before or after a title’s chart run isn’t considered in these rankings. That methodology detail, and the November-October time period, account for some of the difference between these lists and the calendar-year recaps that are independently compiled by Luminate.
When Bad Bunny dropped his debut album, X100PRE, in 2019, he established a league of his own: The Puerto Rican’s winning chapter endures effortlessly as he caps 2023 as Billboard’s Top Latin Artist for a record fifth consecutive year. No other artist has been the year-end Top Latin Artist five times since the category began in 2011.
Benito jubilantly navigates through a championship he now owns for half a decade. Only one other artist has pulled a back-to-back winning streak since the category launched in 2011: Romeo Santos, who took home the first-place trophy in 2014 and 2015.
Explore All of Billboard’s 2023 Year-End Charts
Unsurprisingly, Benito also echoes his past four years of achievements on the albums front: Thanks to Un Verano Sin Ti’s stronghold, the album wraps at No. 1 on the year-end Top Latin Albums chart for a second consecutive year. Adding to his blockbuster year — with seven awards at the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards, including Artist of the Year, Tour of the Year and Global 200 Latin Artist of the Year — Benito also boasts four songs on the year-end Hot Latin Songs rundown, including “Un X100to” with Grupo Frontera at No. 3. His first foray into regional Mexican music became the second regional Mexican track to break the weekly top 10 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Regional Mexican music, however, also fired up the fruitful Latin music narrative. The genre had a sizzling year, unlocking achievements and making notable contributions across Billboard charts with compositions by artists who married the traditional color of the format with unconventional aesthetics. The result is eight regional Mexican acts on the year-end Top Latin Artists chart, with six of them in the top 10.
Peso Pluma, Mexico’s breakout artist, commands the movement. The Zapopan-born singer-songwriter gave a different voice to the underdog format, which has been historically marginalized in the mainstream world. Born Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija, Pluma modernized the culture with a different level of regional diversity, thus crosses the finish line atop the 2023 year-end Top Latin Artist – New survey. When his album Génesis launched at No. 3 on the all-genre Billboard 200 in July, Pluma made history, achieving the highest charting regional Mexican album ever. Plus, it marked the biggest week, by units earned, for a regional Mexican album ever (dating back to when the tally began ranking by units in December of 2014). On the weekly Top Latin Albums chart, it set spent 15 weeks at No. 1, leading to a bronze medal on the year-end Top Latin Albums ranking.
Eslabon Armado also became a strong regional Mexican player on the charts in 2023, tracing its successes to global achievements. The group’s “Ella Baila Sola” with Pluma, which comfortably rests at No. 1 on the year-end Hot Latin Songs chart, became the first regional Mexican song to dominate the Billboard Global 200 chart (for six weeks). Further, as it scored a top 10 entry on the Hot 100, it became the first regional Mexican tune to achieve the feat in the chart’s 65-year-old history. “We didn’t expect for the song to make so much noise!” Pedro Tovar, lead singer for Eslabon, told Billboard. The group can thank TikTok for helping the song gain traction, the track quickly became a viral hit on the app two days after Tovar previewed it on his Instagram account stories.
In the female realm, Karol G repeats as the only woman to make it to the year-end Top Latin Artists ranking, closing the year at No. 3. While her Mañana Será Bonito album takes the runner-up slot on the year-end Top Latin Albums chart.
Karol G Unmatched: Karol G has become a staple of Latin music since she first broke into Billboard charts in 2016. Although her career-spanning trek is somewhat short, her outsized impact makes her the only Latin woman to snatch a spot on the top 25 of the overall year-end Top Artists list, at No. 23 (the only Latin female artist on the all-genre overall survey), while finishing at No. 6 on the Top Artists-Female ranking. Plus, she snags the highest honor for a woman on the year-end Top Latin Artists tally for a fifth consecutive year, restating her 2021 finale, at No. 3. The Colombian has placed 29 songs on the multimetric Hot Latin Songs chart during the year-end eligibility period, including “TQG,” with Shakira: The song’s No. 4 finish is the highest charting title by a female artist on the year-end Hot Latin Songs chart. The team-up, which also earned both Colombians their first Global 200 No. 1, stems from Karol G’s No. 1 album Mañana Será Bonito, the first all-Spanish-language leader by a woman in the history of the Billboard 200, which dates to 1956.
Shakira’s Radio Support: The year-end radio tallies see Shakira return in a big way, thanks to a strong push across stations throughout the year, most notably at the pop format. The Colombian becomes the only artist to place three songs in the top 10 on the year-end Latin Airplay Songs chart, starting with “TQG” with Karol G at No. 1. “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53”, her partnership with Argentinian Bizarrap, caused plenty of social media chatter about its content, enough to take the pair to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to perform the song in March. The track’s radio uptick puts it at No. 2 on the year-end radio ranking, while “Monotonía” with Ozuna closes at No. 4. Both songs ruled Latin Airplay for four weeks in 2023, the second-most after Frontera & Bad Bunny’s “Uno X100to” (six weeks atop).
Fresh Faces, New Rewards: Grupo Frontera: Despite placing the highest charting song for a regional Mexican group on the Hot 100 with Bunny’s push (“Un X100to,” No. 5 high in May), the Edinburgh, Texas-based group buoyed its success on cumbia hits “No Se Va” and “Bebe Dame,” with Fuerza Regida. With the latter the group claims a No. 5 finish on the year-end Hot Latin Songs chart and a No. 16 high on the year-end Latin Airplay Songs. The ensemble has become a heavyweight at the format, taking the No. 2 on both, the year-end Top Latin Artist-New and the year-end Latin Airplay-Artists rundown.
Yng Lvcas: Mexico’s trap and reggaetón interpreter Yng Lvcas made his first appearance on a Billboard albums chart when LPM debuted at No. 8 on Top Latin Albums in April, picking up his first top 10 there. The set’s cut “La Bebe,” with Peso Pluma, flourished swiftly on TikTok reaching global audiences with a No. 2 high on both Global charts in April. The song’s staggering popularity gives the 24-year-old a silver medal on the year-end Hot Latin Songs chart and a No. 3 finish on Top Latin Artists-New.
Bizarrap: Aside from his “Vol. 53” with Shakira taking center stage, the popular Latin producer spins another entry on the year-end Latin Airplay Songs chart: “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52” with Quevedo at No. 20. The partnership with the Spaniard rapper earned him a first top 10 on Hot Latin Songs in Nov. 2022. Further, Bizarrap unveiled three more “Music Sessions” on the multimetric tally, enough to become the only Argentinian to score an entry on the year-end Hot Latin Songs Artist recap, at No. 13. All in all, Bizarrap’s bona fides speak for themselves, and nabbing the No. 4 slot on the year-end Top Latin Artists-New is proof.
Young Miko: Puerto Rican Young Miko’s career has been rising with enough velocity that she’s scored four entries on Hot Latin Songs since the top 20 “Classy 101” with Feid in July. The Puerto Rican is the only Latin rhythm female newcomer to conquer the year-end Hot Latin Songs, with the collab at No. 19. Further, the song gives her a top 40 finale on year-end Latin Streaming Songs (at No. 37).
‘Here I Am,’ Says Tropical: Despite a slow takeoff in 2023, Tropical music saw a growth during the year, picking up where it left off with its ever-growing audience. Bachata, especially, made a high-water mark across charts, with songs on the format racking up a spot on Tropical Airplay: Manuel Turizo, Rosalía, Shakira, Ozuna, Prince Royce, Tommy Torres, Chayanne, even Justin Timberlake with his Romeo Santos collab, “Sin Fin,” secured a spot on the list. One artist, however, made a significant achievement among the bachata craze: Luis Figueroa, whose song “Bandido” became the first salsa track to crown Tropical Airplay among the five tropical tunes that notched their first weeks at No. 1 in 2023. The Puerto Rican is the only newcomer to secure two entries on the year-end Tropical Airplay Songs: “La Luz,” at No. 15 and “Fiesta Contigo” at No. 17.
Billboard’s year-end music recaps represent aggregated metrics for each artist, title, label and music contributor on the weekly charts from Nov. 19, 2022, through Oct. 21, 2023. Rankings for Luminate-based recaps reflect equivalent album units, airplay, sales or streaming during the weeks that the titles appeared on a respective chart during the tracking year. Any activity registered before or after a title’s chart run isn’t considered in these rankings. That methodology detail, and the November-October time period, account for some of the difference between these lists and the calendar-year recaps that are independently compiled by Luminate.
