Morgan Wallen has Spotify's song of the summer: What that says about country's pop revival

Spotify recently named Morgan Wallen's soulful country ballad "Last Night" as the "Song of the Summer" for 2023.

The moment is noteworthy on multiple levels.

Foremost, it highlights a recent trend of roughly one in five songs on Billboard's Hot 100 chart featuring country artists. This follows one in four songs on Billboard's 2022 all-genre, year-end Hot 100 chart featuring country artists (a number up from one in seven in 2020).

Currently, Oliver Anthony's "Rich Men North Of Richmond" reigns supreme on top of Billboard's pop singles chart, with Luke Combs' cover of Tracy Chapman's 1989 folk-rock anthem "Fast Car" and Wallen's ballad both comfortably entrenched in the top 5.

June 2023 also marked the first time in 42 years that two country singles — Combs' and Wallen's — were America's No. 1 and No. 2 singles on Billboard's Hot 100.

Jason Aldean's "Try That In A Small Town," was Billboard's Hot 100 chart-topper only three weeks prior to Anthony's current success.

In a news release, the streaming platform noted that their top 20 songs of the summer included "Fast Car," Zach Bryan's 2022 breakout single "Something in the Orange," plus two other Wallen ballads — "Wasted on You" and "You Proof."

"It's been an incredible summer on the road and connecting with my fans. I appreciate all the love and support for my music, and it's a huge honor to have 'Last Night' be the top song on Spotify's U.S. Songs of Summer list," said Wallen in a prepared statement.

Wallen has also recently been certified by the Recording Industry Association of America as the most successful country artist by digital single certifications in the organization's history.

Wallen's recent success is tied to the fact that album "One Thing At A Time" contains 36 tracks.

"Dangerous" won album of the year at from the Academy of Country Music in 2022 primarily because it was streamed over 5 billion times. Everyone from rap superstar Drake to upstart country crooner Zach Bryan have released playlist-style mega "albums" in the past five years.

"['One Thing At A Time'] is definitely an album meant for those who have leaned in, hardcore, to what [Morgan] is doing," stated Seth England, the co-founder and CEO of Wallen's label, Big Loud Records, in a March 2023 Tennessean feature.

By 2024, streaming could account for nine out of every 10 dollars earned from sales of recordings in America's music industry.

Country's crossover growth is similar to the genre's comfort on open-format radio in the mid-1970s.

The success of Mexican-American country star Freddy Fender's cover of the country classic "Before The Next Teardrop Falls," John Denver's "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" and Glen Campbell's "Rhinestone Cowboy" was followed by Debby Boone's 10-week Billboard chart-topping run with "You Light Up My Life" in 1977.

In the '80s, Kenny Rogers found success with "Lady" and Dolly Parton duet "Islands In The Stream" — Parton had her own "9 to 5." Acts including the Bellamy Brothers, Exile, C.W. McCall, Anne Murray and Starland Vocal Band also topped charts during this era.

As for country's women in this era? Insofar as pop crossover access, the numbers are similar to those of five decades prior.

Currently, 25% of Spotify's "Hot Country" playlist features female artists. Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association award winners Kelsea Ballerini, Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce, Carrie Underwood and Lainey Wilson are joined by upstarts Kassi Ashton, Gabby Barrett, Priscilla Block, Ella Langley, Megan Moroney, Jessi Murph, Shaylen, Alana Springsteen and Tigirlily Gold.

Country's domestic boom is not a global trend, though.

The world's favorite summer song was "Ella Baila Sola" by reggaeton artists Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma.

Latin music also comprised a portion equal to country of the Top 20 U.S. list, as tracks by Bad Bunny, Grupo Frontera, Yng Lvcas, Peso Pluma and Fuerza Regida were successful. As well, Taylor Swift's beloved albums and global tours joined with material by Pink Pantheress, Olivia Rodrigo, Ice Spice and SZA, plus "Barbie" soundtrack anthems as summer 2023 streaming success stories.

Wallen is completing the North American leg of his One Night At A Time global tour.

He's also a top nominee — alongside fellow Big Loud artist and tour-mate HARDY, Combs, Jelly Roll and Wilson — for the inaugural, fan-voted People's Choice Country Music Awards airing on NBC and Peacock and emanating from the Grand Ole Opry on Sept. 28.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Morgan Wallen's 'Last Night' is Spotify's song of the summer