Canceled Country Music Star Turned No. 1

By Ellie Nees

Many people are familiar with the name, Morgan Wallen; however, some may have a negative association with the name. Two years ago, the Nashville music scene had almost cut ties with country music star Morgan Wallen. In February of 2021, Wallen was caught on a Ring camera drunkenly saying the N-word to a friend. When TMZ released the footage, both fans and people who were unfamiliar with the artist went insane. Wallen was now under the impression that he was going to be canceled. His record label at the time, Big Loud Records, almost dropped him from the company. He received many death threats from both fans and those unfamiliar with the singer before the controversy. Wallen has issued many apology videos and acknowledged that his drunken mistake could cost him his future.

At the time of the controversy, his album, “Dangerous,” managed to stay at the top of the Billboard charts. Fans of Wallen remained loyal, and his followers on Facebook, Instagram, and Spotify increased at the height of the controversy. Greg Thompson, president of Big Loud Management, was asked how this happened, “There’s only one explanation. The music is that good.” 

Seven weeks after the incident, his Dangerous album remained at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart. His sales and streams went up, so how does that work? Wallen’s numbers have soared, his newest album, “One Thing At a Time,” reaching 12.3 billion streams in less than a month. He has broken many chart records surpassing Bruce Springsteen. The country star is playing sold-out arenas and winning awards such as “ACM Album of The Year,” “iHeartRadio’s Country Artist of the Year,” and many more. “Last Night,” a new song off Wallen’s new 36-song album, is now the number 1 authentic country song to achieve the Billboard No. 1 spot. “Last Night” has been in Billboard’s Top 10 charts for consecutive 10 weeks after its release, 2 of which were No. 1. 

So where is the country star now? He remains in the top 100 Billboard charts, for consecutive weeks at a time. He currently holds the record for the most weeks at No. 1 among core country acts with 11 on the Artist 100. The Artist 100 ranks the top 100 artists each week based on a variety of important music consumption criteria, including album and track sales, radio airplay, and streaming. While continuing his sold-out arena World Tour in support of his most recent album, “One Thing At a Time,” Wallen is defeating a number of top-tier performers.

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