Morgan Wallen Returns to No. 1 With the Year’s Biggest Debut

Two years after being momentarily shunned by the music industry — but not most listeners — for using racist language, the pop-country singer Morgan Wallen has another blockbuster album on his hands: “One Thing at a Time,” his third LP, debuts at No. 1 this week on the Billboard chart with the largest sales of the year so far.

“One Thing at a Time” moved the equivalent of 501,000 units since its release on March 3, including sales, streams and downloads, according to the tracking service Luminate, making it the most successful debut since Taylor Swift’s “Midnights” sold 1.6 million last fall. Wallen’s total included 498 million plays on streaming services across the album’s 36 tracks — enough for fifth ever on the weekly streaming list and the most for an album not by Swift or Drake.

The continued commercial dominance for Wallen, 29, a native of eastern Tennessee, comes after the bumpy ride that surrounded the release of his previous album, “Dangerous,” but never adversely affected engagement with his music. Anointed as country’s next mega-headliner and crossover hope, Wallen had an instant smash with “Dangerous” in January 2021, but saw his industry promotion paused after he was caught on video casually using a racial slur amid what he said later was “hour 72 of a 72-hour bender.”

Still, “Dangerous” racked up 10 weeks at No. 1 and still sits at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 — its 110th nonconsecutive week in the Top 10. (The only album with more appearances there is the original cast recording of “My Fair Lady” with 173, according to Billboard.)

Like “Dangerous,” which featured 30 tracks on its original version, “One Thing at a Time” is notable for its length, coming in at nearly two hours across its 36 vaguely regretful drinking and love songs, giving listeners on streaming services plenty to choose from.

A move more commonly associated with rap releases, the seemingly endless album targeted at digital audiences has become a common industry tactic, with only four No. 1 albums in the last 12 months coming in at fewer than 12 songs, Billboard noted. “One Thing at a Time” has more songs than any chart-topper except the “Encanto” soundtrack in that same time frame. Just 24,000 units of the Wallen album’s equivalent sales total were physical copies of its two-disc CD, with more than 75 percent of listener activity coming from streaming.

Riding the album-release momentum, Wallen’s single “Last Night” hit No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart on Monday, up from No. 5. This week, songs from “One Thing at a Time” occupy half of the Hot 100’s Top 10, a first for a country singer.

On the album chart, SZA’s former No. 1 “SOS” holds at No. 2 with 82,000 units after 10 nonconsecutive weeks on top; Karol G’s “Mañana Será Bonito,” which was No. 1 last week, falls to No. 3 with 60,000 units; Kali Uchis’s “Red Moon in Venus” arrives at No. 4 with 55,000 units; and Swift’s “Midnights” is No. 5 with 48,000.

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