We have all been in those crowded TSA checkpoints…
It’s one of those unfortunate, but unavoidable parts of travel that no one looks forward to. But for one guy in the Nashville airport this week, TSA became the place to be after an impromptu meet up with Morgan Wallen.
Ironically the dad, (also the father of a former University Tennessee lineman) who was diligently attempting to get his bags through all of the variable conveyors and screenings, was singing Morgan’s “Chasing You” song from his debut album, when a man beside him began singing along with him… quite well I might add. Maybe even like he’d heard the song a few times…
Turns out, it was Morgan himself, trying to go a little incognito in a hooded sweatshirt.
I can imagine that Morgan probably gave this guy a wink, and that the dad was probably stunned upon seeing him in the flesh at that precise moment. His daughter was even able to snag a sneaky selfie with the “Whiskey Glasses” singer.
With his new album topping the charts and breaking streaming records, it’s easy to guess why Morgan is grinning from ear-to-ear in the picture.
Morgan Wallen’s ‘One Thing At A Time’ Debuts At #1
One Thing At A Time is the #1 album in all of music this week.
According to Billboard, Morgan Wallen’s new behemoth of a 36-song third studio album earned a #1 debut on the Billboard Top 200 All-Genre chart after moving a monster 501,000 equivalent album units in the United States (ending March 9th).
It’s the biggest week for any album so far in 2023, in addition to being the biggest since Taylor Swift’s Midnights debut with 1.578 million in 2022, and also the largest week for a country album since Taylor’s Red (Taylor’s Version) opened with 604,500 units in 2021.
Needless to say, this album is already proving to be bigger than his record-breaking 2021 Dangerous album (which also debuted at #1 on Billboard), and will only continue to break more of (mostly) his own records, at this point, as the weeks and months go on.
Luminate says that 76% of all units moved were based on streaming numbers, with 498.28 million on-demand streams in the U.S. for the first week.
This makes it the fifth-largest streaming week ever for any album ever, and the biggest all-time for a country album, which Spotify already confirmed last week.
He’s also the first artist ever to have 36 songs simultaneously charting on the Hot 100.
And of course, it goes without saying, but having an enormous 36-song tracklist certainly helps pad those numbers — though, it’s also very obvious that millions of people all over the world are listening, and Morgan is a bonafide superstar.
He’s putting up unprecedented numbers for a country artist in the modern era of music, to say the very least, and this new album already promises to be even bigger than his aforementioned sophomore record.
Even though it’s early, it already feels like it’s going to easily be one of the biggest projects in all of music for this decade.
I mean, if you’re up there with Drake and Taylor Swift, you’re clearly doing somethin’ right, and it’s all working for Morgan right now.
And while I’m still kind of making my way through the album, there’s quite a few really solid country songs on the tracklist, including Morgan’s awesome duet with his musical hero Eric Church on “Man Made A Bar”:
