LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 23: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Morgan Wallen performs onstage during the … [+]
Looking at the lists of the most popular songs and albums in the United States in 2023, one thing is clear: the year belonged to one musician. While several major stars performed well, landing successful albums and even more famous songs, no one could compete with Morgan Wallen.
The country artist appears at No. 1 on the lists of the most popular songs and albums in America last year. Wallen was unbeatable, according to Luminate’s year-end report, which makes it plain just how massive the controversial musician’s year really was.
Wallen earned the most-consumed album of 2023 in the U.S. with his comeback set One Thing at a Time. According to Luminate, that lengthy project moved 5.362 million equivalent units. That sum includes pure sales as well as millions of equivalent units from streaming activity.
One Thing at a Time was easily the biggest album of 2023 in America. No other title made it to four million equivalent copies, let alone five million, so Wallen is truly in a league of his own in this regard. The No. 2 release, Taylor Swift’s Midnights, just barely passed 3.2 million units.
Wallen actually appears twice on the list of the top 10 most-consumed albums in the U.S. last year. His previous release, Dangerous: The Double Album, was still going strong, years after it was first made available. That title shifted another 2.179 million units in 2023, enough to help it land at No. 5 on the ranking.
As if earning the top-performing album wasn’t enough of a show of dominance for one year, Wallen also claims the most-consumed song. The biggest single in America in 2023 was his own “Last Night.” That cut, which spent 16 nonconsecutive frames atop the Hot 100, shifted 8.284 million units. That’s nearly two million copies more than the runner-up, Miley Cyrus’s “Flowers.”
Wallen’s massive 2023 was far from guaranteed, as One Thing at a Time was the musician’s first new album following a controversy that saw the country artist espousing racist language. America showed the singer that millions were ready to move on from the moment, as they purchased—and especially streamed—his full-length and its singles to the top of the charts.
