After the success of Flowers fans expected Miley Cyrus’ album Endless Summer Vacation would also reach the number 1 position. They came out cheated. Morgan Wallen has now been in first place in the American album chart for twelve consecutive weeks. Who is he and why don’t we hear much about him here?
Wallen is a big name in the United States, but does not ring many bells outside of it. That’s in the genre of the singer: he makes country music. There is a large market for this in the US (and Canada). But the rest of the world is less keen on it, the crossover successes like Shania Twain aside.
But even by American country standards, Wallen scores unusually well. His album One Thing At A Time at twelve weeks, is the country album that has held the top spot for the longest time in over thirty years. It is only the second album in the history of the US chart to reach number one for so long immediately after its release. Only Stevie Wonder did that for a week longer.
Wallen also broke the record for most songs by an artist on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. One Thing At A Time has no fewer than 36 songs. They were all in the Billboard Hot 100 in the week after the album was released. The single Last Night has topped the list for nine weeks.
Started at The Voice and riot about racist language
Wallen’s success does not come entirely out of the blue. The singer already participated in 2014 The Voice. He didn’t make it to the live shows, but he did make contacts in the music industry. They would later help him to market his own music.
His first album was released in 2018, with which he immediately conquered the country charts in the United States. With his second album, the double album Dangeroushe made the transition to the general US charts.
For a moment, his early success seemed to be over, when a video surfaced in which he used a racist word in front of his friends. Several radio stations stopped playing his music and award shows decided not to nominate him anymore. In addition, his label timed him out. But sales of his records only swelled around the controversy.
Wallen went through the dust in multiple videos on social media and an interview. “I have used an unacceptable and inappropriate racist word and would like to take it back. There is no excuse for using this kind of language. I want to apologize and I promise to get well soon,” he said.
Is Europe ready for Morgan Wallen?
With his new album, the singer is breaking records and filling arenas in his home country. Now it may also be time to look beyond the border. In Canada he already has two number 1 albums to his name and is Last Night currently a big hit.
Australia and New Zealand have now also tacked on his catchy melodies, the unmistakable country sob in his voice and the rap-like pace of verses.
Whether it is the music that people in Europe also warm to, remains to be seen. But it is clear that Wallen’s career has been baked for the time being.
2:582023-06-12 03:03:00
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