Morgan Wallen’s “One Thing at a Time” was already a chart monster. The album, released last March, spent its first 12 weeks at No. 1, then notched another four by the fall, and two more early this year. Thanks to consistently huge streaming numbers, it was the most popular album of 2023.
Now Wallen has another feather in his cap. “One Thing” has hit No. 1 for the 19th time, breaking Billboard’s record for most weeks at the top for a country album — surpassing Garth Brooks’s 1991 classic “Ropin’ the Wind,” which had era-defining country hits like “Shameless,” “What She’s Doing Now” and “The River.” (At least 11 non-country albums have logged more weeks at No. 1 in the 68-year history of Billboard’s all-genre chart, including Adele’s “21,” with 24 weeks, and the “West Side Story” soundtrack, with 54.)
In its latest week, Wallen’s “One Thing” had the equivalent of 68,000 sales in the United States, including 90 million streams and 2,000 copies sold as a complete album, according to the tracking service Luminate.
That is a modest take for a No. 1 album, but it was enough in an otherwise slow week. With Ariana Grande’s long-awaited new album “Eternal Sunshine” already posting big numbers, and sure hits by Beyoncé and Taylor Swift on the way in coming weeks, this might seem Wallen’s last shot at the top. But it also seemed that way last June, when he posted his 15th week at No. 1. Or in October, for his 16th.
Also this week, Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” climbs to No. 2, a new peak; released a year and a half ago, the folk-pop-y “Stick Season” — with banjo, mandolin and catchy hooks — went to No. 3 last summer and has been bubbling through the Top 10 for months.
“Vultures 1,” by Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) and Ty Dolla Sign, holds at No. 3; fans continue to wait for the promised release of a second volume. SZA’s “SOS” is No. 4 and Drake’s “For All the Dogs” is No. 5.
