Country Dominates Spotify, Apple Year-End Charts—But Right-Wing Anthems From Jason Aldean, Oliver Anthony Aren’t Near The Top

Topline

Country music capped off its blockbuster year by dominating 2023 year-end music charts—thanks largely to hits by Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs—but some songs that became viral hits championed by the right wing failed to make a dent in the rankings.

Key Facts

Surprising Fact

Though Taylor Swift was crowned the most-streamed artist of the year by both Apple Music and Spotify, Wallen outperformed Swift on several year-end charts. Wallen has 11 of the 100 most-streamed songs on U.S. Apple Music this year, while Swift has three. He also has five of the 50 most-streamed songs on U.S. Spotify in 2023, ahead of Swift’s three. Wallen’s eight entries on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart eclipse Swift’s four. Wallen’s album “One Thing at at a Time” also topped the Billboard 200 year-end albums chart, edging out Swift’s “Midnights,” which ranks No. 2. Wallen’s 2021 release, “Dangerous: The Double Album,” also ranked No. 5 on Billboard’s year-end albums chart.

Key Background

Country music saw unprecedented success on the charts this year, dominating the Billboard singles and albums charts and setting plenty of charts records. Four country songs topped the Hot 100 this year, more than any other year other than 1975, when five country songs reached the chart’s summit. Wallen’s “Last Night” spent 16 weeks atop the Hot 100, the longest reign for a solo song and the second-longest overall. Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town,” Anthony’s “Rich Men North of Richmond” and Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves’ “I Remember Everything” also topped the chart, with the latter two debuting at No. 1. Though Combs’ “Fast Car” never reached the top of the Hot 100, it spent eight weeks at No. 2. In March, after Wallen released his album “One Thing at a Time,” 25 of the top 50 songs on the Hot 100 were country songs, the most in the chart’s history (a feat that was repeated in September after Zach Bryan released his self-titled album). Country songs secured the top three spots on the Hot 100 for the first time in July, when Aldean, Wallen and Combs’ songs reigned. Billboard reported in July country music consumption had risen more than 20% year-over-year, with Wallen alone accounting for 40% of that growth.

Tangent

Aldean and Anthony’s chart-toppers, which were championed by right-wing audiences, were largely propelled by controversy. Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” came under fire for its lyrics about gun rights, which some considered to be encouraging violence. The lyrics dare people who “cuss out a cop, spit in his face / stomp on the flag and light it up” to “see how far you make it down the road,” suggesting residents of a small town would violently retaliate. The music video also attracted controversy and was pulled from Country Music Television because of its setting at the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, which was the site of race riots in 1946 and a lynching in 1927. State Rep. Justin Jones (D-Tenn.) called it a “heinous song calling for racist violence.” Aldean denied the video had racial implications, stating it was meant to portray “the lawlessness and the disrespect for cops and, you know, just trashing cities and burning — I’m just not cool with that.” Anthony’s song “Rich Men North of Richmond” debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in August, making him the first artist to debut atop the chart with no prior chart history. Anthony’s hit, which contains lyrics criticizing people “milking welfare,” Washington elites and high taxation, was promoted by right-wing commentators like Matt Walsh and Ben Shapiro and was played at a Republican presidential debate. Anthony, however, slammed right-wing media for championing the song, stating he is politically “dead center” and wrote the song about both Democratic and Republican politicians. “I wrote that song about those people,” Anthony said after the song played at the Republican debate. “It’s aggravating seeing people on conservative news try to identify with me like I’m one of them.”

Further Reading

Taylor Swift Named Apple Music’s Artist of the Year; Morgan Wallen Tops Global Songs Chart (Variety)

Morgan Wallen Is the No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 Artist of 2023 & ‘Last Night’ Is Top Song (Billboard)

Country Music Consumption Is Way Up in 2023 — and Morgan Wallen Is Leading the Charge (Billboard)