Topline
Morgan Wallen’s One Night at a Time has spent a total of 14 weeks at No. 1 so far and SZA’s SOS has spent eight, signaling a victory for country and R&B.
Key Facts
Wallen released his junior album, One Thing at a Time, on March 3 and has held the top spot on the Billboard 200 list for 14 out of the 26 weeks of 2023, as of the week ending in July 1.
Signed to Republic Records, Wallen’s album surpassed Drake’s Views as the record company’s album with the most weeks spent at No. 1, according to Billboard—Views held out for 13 weeks in 2016.
It’s the second album with the most weeks in the No. 1 spot within the past decade following Adele’s 21, which stayed at the top for a consecutive 24 weeks between 2011 and 2012.
Wallen’s album broke another record, becoming the the second country album in over 30 years with the longest running stint at No. 1, three weeks behind Billy Ray Cyrus’ Some Gave All, which had a 17 week run in 1992.
Sza’s SOS spent eight weeks at the No. 1 spot between the week ending in January 7 and the week ending in March 4.SOS was released on December 9, 2022, and the 23-song album posted 318,000 album units in the U.S. in its first week.
It’s the first R&B/Hip Hip album to spend its first seven weeks at No. 1 following Whitney Houston’s Whitney in 1987, according to Billboard.
Big Number
501,000. That’s how many units One This at a Time sold in its debut week, according to Luminate. It’s the largest sales week for any country album, topping Taylor Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version), which sold 369,000 units in its first week in 2021.
Key Background
With a 36-song tracklist, One Thing at a Time has the second most songs on any No. 1 Billboard 200 album within the last 12 months, something Billboard reports is an advantage in terms of streaming numbers. In its debut week, the album garnered 498.28 million streams, making it the fifth-largest streaming week for any album. Wallen’s single “Last Night” has also reigned in success, holding the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 100 for 12 weeks. Wallen began the U.S. leg of his world tour in April in Milwaukee and broke the attendance record, bringing in 39,609 fans at the MLB American Family Field.
Tangent
Four other albums have held the top spot on the charts so far this year. Tomorrow X Together’s The Name Chapter: Temptation, Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito, Taylor Swift’s Midnights and Stray Kids 5-Star each went No. 1 for one week in 2023. However, Midnights spent five weeks at No. 1 in 2022 after its debut in November of the same year.
Surprising Fact
Spotify reports global streaming of country music grew by over 60% between 2019 and 2022.
Country Music Goes No. 1 And 2 On Music Charts—First Time In 40 Years (Forbes)
Billboard 200 (Billboard)
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