For the past several years, country music’s streaming boom has been one of the biggest stories in the industry, as superstars like Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, and Zach Bryan have helped turn country into music’s hottest genre.
That dominance was once again reflected on the charts this year. By the first week of December, country albums took up 34 spots for the Top 200 best-selling albums of the year, according to data from Luminate. That’s a 30 percent increase from last year, when 25 albums made the list. It’s a 79 percent bump from 2022, when 19 country albums made the Top 200. Country still came in third to hip-hop and pop this year, with rap taking up 55 spots while pop took 41. But rap dropped 19 percent from last year, and pop stayed stagnant.
Eleven different country albums garnered at least a billion streams this year, up from nine a year ago, and from five back in 2022. As country has caught fire, it’s lured in the rest of the music business too, with coastal labels signing upcoming artists out of Nashville. Meanwhile, Post Malone and Beyoncé both made country pivots this year with F-1 Trillion and Cowboy Carter. The albums were the fourth and fifth best-selling country albums of the year, respectively. Both are up for Best Country Album at the upcoming Grammys alongside more traditional country stars Kacey Musgraves, Lainey Wilson, and Chris Stapleton.
Malone’s record in particular represents a rebound after his 2023 album Austin performed poorly compared to his usual chart-toppers, finishing last year with about 666 millions teams. F-1 Trillion doubled that, garnering 1.706 billion streams while lead single “I Had Some Help” featuring Wallen was one of the biggest songs of the year. More country albums from pop stars are on the horizon for 2025, with Lana Del Rey’s The Right Person Will Stay coming out in May. She’ll be pushing the album at Stagecoach in April as well.
Country’s hot streak extends into singles too. Shaboozey‘s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” tied the record for most time atop Billboard’s Hot 100 chart last week, taking Number One for 19 consecutive weeks. “Bar Song” is now tied with Lil Nas X’s fellow country smash (or country-adjacent, at least) “Old Town Road.” Wallen’s “Last Night” meanwhile, sits at third after spending 16 non-consecutive weeks at Number One last year.
Country’s rise has been a subject of discussion among critics, some of whom have pondered if it was a foreshadowing of the changing political landscape in the U.S., with Trump’s reelection to the presidency. Country insiders who spoke to Rolling Stone last year attributed the bump both to older country fans embracing streaming since the pandemic, and to the streaming platforms bringing forward a new crop of stars who found strong fanbases outside of the traditional country radio system.
“It’s inevitable,” Mandelyn Monchick, who manages Lainey Wilson, told Rolling Stone last year. “It’s about accessibility, and streaming is most accessible. Country is cooler than it’s ever been and more people depend on streaming platforms, but people’s tastes are changing and broadening.”
From Rolling Stone US
