After being caught yelling expletives, including the N-word, Morgan Wallen found himself in one of the fastest downfalls in the modern history of country music.
He was suspended by his record label for an indefinite period and worse, was removed from hundreds of radio stations throughout the country. Even Spotify removed the controversial country artist from at least fourteen playlists – this includes the Hot Country playlist, which boasts more than six million followers.
But in a surprising twist of fate, Morgan Wallen is currently the best-selling artist of 2021.
His second studio album, Dangerous: The Double Album – which was released via Big Loud Records and Republic Records last January 2021 – keeps on dominating.
Ever since it debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200, it never left its spot, snaring it for straight six weeks. This makes Wallen the first male artist to debut and capture the most weeks on the top of the list since Garth Brooks’ 1992 album The Chase – which took the lead for eight nonconsecutive weeks.
But the Dangerous: The Double Album goes beyond the chart success; MRC Data revealed that Wallen’s sophomore album has already earned 93,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending February 18. It also tallied 81,000 streaming equivalent album units and recorded 10,000 pure album sales.
Moreover, MRC Data said that Wallen topped on-demand streaming as well as the album consumption units as a whole. Billboard estimated that Wallen’s catalog has already profited $8.005 million from sales and streams. But what’s more impressive is that over a quarter of Wallen’s 2021 sales came nine days after his controversial video surfaced.
Though the streaming giant has not yet put back Wallen to their renowned country playlist, this has never slowed down the demand for Wallen’s music on Spotify. In fact, his songs “Wasted on You” as well as “Sand In My Boots” are at this time two of the platform’s top 50 most-heavily played songs in the United States.
Morgan Wallen has since apologized for using the “unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur” in a lengthy video statement. The country superstar has also shared that he’s trying to get sober and has decided to go off the grid for a short time.
Wallen also has a message to his fans who have unceasingly been defending him. Though he highly appreciates those who came to his side, he’s asking a favor not to do so. The singer knows he’s wrong, and he’s taking ownership of his mistake.
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