Morgan Wallen, Gabby Barrett and Luke Combs Dominate Mid-Year Country Music Charts
Wallen’s ‘Dangerous’ is the most-consumed album of 2021 so far.
Morgan Wallen, Gabby Barrett, Luke Combs
A just-released mid-year music report from MRC Data proves that people are consuming music at a steady pace and finds Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs and Gabby Barrett among country music’s most popular artists of 2021 so far.
MRC Data’s 2021 mid-year report highlights overall music consumption and reports that consumption is up 13.5% over the same time period in 2020. The increase is attributed to audio streaming growth and an increase in vinyl record sales.
The report also showcases the top country albums, songs, and radio songs, which is where Wallen, Combs and Barrett come in.
Morgan Wallen’s sophomore effort, Dangerous: The Double Album reigns as the overall top album of the year and country album of the year so far with 2.108 million album equivalents and 241,000 album sales. Despite industry backlash following his use of the n-word, Dangerous outpaced projects released by Olivia Rodrigo, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift and more.
The top country albums chart also includes Combs’ What You See Is What You Get (No.2), Taylor Swift’s Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (No.3), Combs’ This One’s For You (No. 4) and Wallen’s If I Know Me (No.5).
Combs has the top country song of the year so far, calculated by song sales and streaming, with “Forever After All.” Wallen’s “Wasted On You” follows at No.2, Barrett’s “The Good Ones” ranks third, Chris Stapleton’s “Starting Over” is No.4 and Wallen’s “Sand in My Boots” lands at No.5.
Barrett dominated the top radio songs rankings with her breakout hit, “I Hope.” The track, which hit No.1 at country radio and later found success within other radio formats, ranks No.1 on the top radio songs list with an audience of 1,041,533,800 and 353,000 spins. Thomas Rhett follows with “What’s Your Country Song,” which has an audience of 711,307,700 and 245,000 spins. Also on the list was Parmalee and Blanco Brown’s “Just The Way” (No.3), Luke Combs’ “Better Together” (No.4) and Luke Bryan’s “Down To One” (No.5).
MRC Data’s 2021 Mid-Year Charts can be viewed HERE.
Lauren Jo Black, a University of Central Florida graduate, has immersed herself in the world of country music for over 15 years. In 2008, she co-founded CountryMusicIsLove, eventually selling it to a major record label in 2015. Following the rebranding of the website to Sounds Like Nashville, Black served as Editor-in-Chief for two and a half years. Currently, she assumes the role of Editor-in-Chief at Country Now and oversees Country Now’s content and digital footprint. Her extensive experience also encompasses her previous role as a Country Music Expert Writer for Answers.com and her work being featured on Forbes.com. She’s been spotlighted among Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. Black also spent time in front of the camera as host of Country Now Live, which brought live music directly to fans in 2021 when the majority of concerts were halted due to the pandemic. During this time, she hosted 24 weeks of live concerts via Country Now Live on Twitch with special guests such as Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Jordan Davis, Brett Young, and Jon Pardi. Over the course of her career, she has had the privilege of conducting interviews with some of the industry’s most prominent stars, including Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, and many others. Lauren Jo Black is a longtime member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.
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