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Morgan Wallen Notches First Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 with ‘Last Night’
The track is the first shared Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs leader by an unaccompanied male artist since Eddie Rabbitt’s “I Love a Rainy Night” in 1981.
Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” leaps from No. 5 to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the country star’s first leader on the list. The song, which hit its prior No. 3 high four weeks ago, and debuted five weeks ago, is from his new 36-track album, One Thing at a Time. Released March 3, the set launches as Wallen’s second No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, with the largest streaming week ever for a country album, as well as the biggest week by equivalent album units for any album, among all genres, in 2023.
Wallen also claims five of the Hot 100’s top 10 – becoming the first core country act to stake out half the top 10 in a single week, as well as only the sixth act overall ever to achieve the feat. All five songs are from One Thing at a Time, including three in the region for the first time: “Thought You Should Know,” up 13-7; “Thinkin’ Bout Me,” new at No. 9; and the set’s title track, which charges 51-10. They join “Last Night” and “You Proof,” Wallen’s former top five hit which rebounds 21-8.
The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data. All charts (dated March 18, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (March 14). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Here’s a look at the Hot 100 coronation for “Last Night.” Released on Big Loud / Mercury / Republic Records, the song becomes the 1,147th No. 1 since the chart began in August 1958.
Streams, airplay & sales: “Last Night” drew 47.5 million streams (up 59%, good for the Hot 100’s top Streaming Gainer award) and 10.8 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 81%) and sold 18,000 (up 12%) March 3-9.
The track jumps 3-1 on the all-genre Streaming Songs chart, where, as on the Hot 100, it becomes Wallen’s first leader. It flies 41-29 on the Country Airplay chart and, being promoted to pop radio, climbs 34-32 on Pop Airplay and debuts at No. 40 on Adult Pop Airplay.
Historic Hot 100 & Hot Country Songs No. 1s: As “Last Night” leads the Hot Country Songs chart, which uses the same methodology as the Hot 100, for a fifth week, it becomes just the 20th song to have topped both tallies. It’s the first since Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” on the charts dated Nov. 27, 2021 – and the first by a solo male unaccompanied by any other acts in over 42 years, since Eddie Rabbitt’s “I Love a Rainy Night” ruled Hot Country Songs for a week in January 1981 and the Hot 100 for two weeks that February-March.
Songs to Have Hit No. 1 on Both the Hot 100 & Hot Country Songs Charts:
“Last Night,” Morgan Wallen, 2023
“All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),” Taylor Swift, 2021
“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” Taylor Swift, 2012
“Amazed,” Lonestar, 1999-2000
“Islands in the Stream,” Kenny Rogers, duet with Dolly Parton, 1983
“I Love a Rainy Night,” Eddie Rabbitt, 1981
“9 to 5,” Dolly Parton, 1981
“Lady,” Kenny Rogers, 1980
“Southern Nights,” Glen Campbell, 1977
“Convoy,” C.W. McCall, 1975-76
“I’m Sorry,” John Denver, 1975
“Rhinestone Cowboy,” Glen Campbell, 1975
“Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” John Denver, 1975
“Before the Next Teardrop Falls,” Freddy Fender, 1975
“(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song,” B.J. Thomas, 1975
“The Most Beautiful Girl,” Charlie Rich, 1973
“Honey,” Bobby Goldsboro, 1968
“Big Bad John,” Jimmy Dean, 1961
“El Paso,” Marty Robbins, 1959-60
“The Battle of New Orleans,” Johnny Horton, 1959
Of the 20 songs listed above, 12 were concentrated in 1973-83. Meanwhile, Glen Campbell, John Denver, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers and Swift are the only acts with two songs each that have crowned both the Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs charts.
Big week for Big Loud, Mercury & Republic: Big Loud Records achieves its first Hot 100 No. 1 with Wallen’s “Last Night.” The Nashville-based label formed in 2011.
Mercury Records tops the Hot 100 for the first time since Taio Cruz’s “Break Your Heart” ruled for a week in March 2010. The label, whose history dates to 1945, first led over 64 years ago, with The Platters’ “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” in January 1959.
Republic Records, meanwhile, succeeds itself atop the Hot 100, a week after The Weeknd and Ariana Grande’s “Die for You” surged to No. 1. Republic, which began in 1995, wrapped at No. 1 on the 2022 Hot 100 Labels recap and has earned the distinction in nine of the last 11 years.
Victorious ‘Voice’ vocalist: Wallen notches the first Hot 100 No. 1 for a contestant from NBC’s The Voice, which has run for 23 seasons, dating to its April 2011 premiere. (Its latest season began March 6.) He competed in the series’ sixth season, in 2014, and was eliminated in playoff rounds. “I didn’t feel like I was the best I could have been,” Wallen told Billboard in reflection of his run on the show. (He first hit Billboard’s charts in November 2016, by then signed to Big Loud.) “So, I practiced harder and really tried to make my voice second nature.”
Wallen with 5 of top 10: Wallen stockpiles half the Hot 100’s top 10, with “Last Night” at No. 1 followed by “Thought You Should Know” (13-7); “You Proof” (21-8, after hitting No. 5 last October); “Thinkin’ Bout Me” (No. 9 debut); and “One Thing at a Time,” the new LP’s title cut (51-10).
Wallen ups his career count of Hot 100 top 10s from five to eight, thanks to “Thought” (33.4 million in radio airplay audience; 20.5 million streams, up 56%), “Thinkin’ ” (20.7 million streams, 7,700 sold in its first week) and “Thing” (21.4 million streams, up 156%; 6.7 million in airplay audience, up 87%). “Thought” led the Country Airplay chart for three weeks beginning in February, becoming Wallen’s eighth and most recent No. 1, while “Thing” is now being promoted to country radio and soars 36-25 on Country Airplay.
“Proof” drew 21.8 million streams (up 58%) and 20 million in airplay audience in the tracking week. The song topped Country Airplay for a record 10 weeks in October-January.
Wallen becomes the first core country act to log at least half the Hot 100’s top 10 in a single week, and only the sixth act overall to achieve the feat. (Drake has posted three such weeks and The Beatles, who inaugurated the exclusive club in 1964, two.)
Acts With 5 or More of Hot 100’s Top 10 in a Single Week:
10, Taylor Swift, Nov. 5, 2022
9, Drake, Sept. 18, 2021
8, Drake, Nov. 19, 2022
7, 21 Savage, Nov. 19, 2022
7, Drake, July 14, 2018
5, Juice WRLD, July 25, 2020
5, Morgan Wallen, March 18, 2023
5, The Beatles, April 11, 1964
5, The Beatles, April 4, 1964
Save the ‘last’ for best: Occasionally, “last” shall be first on the Hot 100. Wallen’s “Last Night” is just the fifth song with “last” in its title to lead the list. Here’s a recap:
“Last Night,” Morgan Wallen, one week to-date, March 18, 2023
“Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” Katy Perry, two weeks, beginning Aug. 27, 2011
“Save the Best for Last,” Vanessa Williams, five weeks, beginning March 21, 1992
“Last Train to Clarksville,” The Monkees, one week, Nov. 5, 1966
“Save the Last Dance for Me,” The Drifters, No. 1 for three weeks, beginning Oct. 17, 1960
We love reign-y “night”s: “Last Night” also marks the first “night”-titled Hot 100 No. 1 since Maroon 5’s “One More Night,” which led for nine weeks in 2012. Wallen scores the 30th such No. 1 (including variations “nights,” “midnight” and “tonight” in song titles).
As for the five songs in the latest Hot 100’s top 10 not by Wallen, Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” leads them at No. 2, where it holds after spending its first six weeks on the chart at No. 1. It commands the Radio Songs chart for a fourth week, up 4% to 105.8 million in audience, the highest weekly total since The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” drew 114.6 million (May 23, 2020).
SZA’s “Kill Bill” keeps at No. 3 on the Hot 100 after seven weeks at its No. 2 high. It tops Billboard’s multi-metric Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot R&B Songs charts for a 12th week each.
The Weeknd and Grande’s “Die for You” drops to No. 4 on the Hot 100 from No. 1, with 79.5 million in radio reach (down 2%), 28.2 million streams (down 13%) and 2,600 sold (down 81%); PinkPantheress and Ice Spice’s “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2” slips 4-5, after hitting No. 3, as it takes top Airplay Gainer honors (20.7 million in audience, up 72%); and Metro Boomin, The Weeknd and 21 Savage’s “Creepin’ ” is steady at No. 6, after reaching No. 3.
Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram and all charts (dated March 18), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (March 14).
Source: billboard.com