23 Billboard Chart Feats for 2023: Taylor Swift, SZA, Peso Pluma & More

The singer-songwriter had logged no prior chart entries when his viral hit “Rich Men North of Richmond” roared in atop the Hot 100 in August, making him the first act with no previous chart history ever to open at No. 1.

“I mean, there’s no question that I don’t deserve any bit of any of this,” the Farmville, Va., native subsequently told Billboard. “There’s a gazillion, billion, trillion other people out there that are posting music that in my mind is better than mine. I’d had a decent online following before ‘Richmond’ was ever written. To just be … out in the woods with a laptop and a microphone and a guitar … that’s really saying something.”

When Luke Combs’ cover of Chapman’s “Fast Car” reached No. 1 on Country Airplay in July, it became the first song with a Black woman as its sole writer to top the chart. (It marked only the second time in the survey’s nearly 34-year history that a Black songwriter led as the only writer on a track, with the first also via a remake: In 1990, Dan Seals’ remake of Sam Cooke’s “Good Times,” penned solely by Cooke, reigned.)

“I never expected to find myself on the country charts, but I’m honored to be there,” Chapman told Billboard in an exclusive statement at the time. “I’m happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced ‘Fast Car.’”

The genre cornerstone notched his 10th Gospel Airplay No. 1 in September with “All Things,” tying Tamela Mann for the most leaders since the list launched in 2005.

In March, he made history as he spent a 100th week at No. 1 on the Gospel Songwriters chart, becoming the first creative to reach the triple-digit milestone on a songwriters survey, since Billboard began such rankings in 2019. “As a songwriter, there are few things more gratifying than seeing your work connect with people on a deep level,” he told Billboard. “I am grateful beyond words to those that love my music for their support and to everyone who has played a part in bringing my music to life.”

Lee landed a sleighful of historic chart feats with the December coronation of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” on the Hot 100 – including wrapping the longest wait for a song to reign: 65 years after its 1958 release, and three days shy of 63 years after its 1960 Hot 100 debut.

Lee, 79, reminisced to Billboard on Dec. 4 about recording the song, when she was 13, after learning of its ascent to the top of the Hot 100 at last, from Universal Music Group Nashville chair/CEO Cindy Mabe. “The producer cut the air way down in the studio,” Lee recalled. “He had a big Christmas tree and everyone was there — the Anita Kerr Singers and the ‘A-team’ [of Nashville studio musicians], as we called them. It was like a little touch of magic kind of sprinkled in, and it turned out to be magic. It really did.”

Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma’s “Ella Baila Sola” hit No. 4 on the Hot 100 in May, becoming the first regional Mexican top 10 in the chart’s 65-year history.

Plus, Peso Pluma’s Génesis earned 73,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending June 29, according to Luminate, the biggest week for a regional Mexican album since the all-genre Billboard 200 began ranking titles by units in December 2014.

David Guetta and Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue)” held the No. 1 spot on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs for 55 weeks through October. With Rexha and Florida Georgia Line’s “Meant to Be” having topped Hot Country Songs for a record 50 weeks in 2017-18, she stands as the only act with songs that have led both lists for 50 or more frames.

“I’ve been blessed to have hit songs in different genres throughout my career,” Rexha, who co-wrote both hits, told Billboard. “Finding this kind of success within both the dance/electronic and country charts is something I’m really proud of. To have my music resonate with so many people and top charts across multiple genres is amazing and means a lot to me, as I’ve never wanted to be put in a box.”

Swift triumphs at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Artists chart for 2023. Among her most recent chart honors, with her total of No. 1s on the Billboard 200 having risen to 13 (her lucky number) with the debut of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) in November, she extended her record for the most among women in the chart’s history, which dates to 1956.

Plus, when Swift’s “Cruel Summer” hit No. 1 on Pop Airplay in August, she scored sole possession of the most leaders, 12, in that chart’s archives (which date to 1992), surpassing the 11 each for Maroon 5, Katy Perry and Rihanna.

Wallen’s crossover smash “Last Night” leads the 2023 year-end Hot 100 Songs recap. The single, which hit the top 10 on Pop Airplay and Adult Pop Airplay and commanded Country Airplay for eight weeks, dominated the Hot 100 for 16 weeks beginning in March – the most for a noncollaboration in the chart’s 65-year history.

Meanwhile, parent LP One Thing at a Time, rules the 2023 Billboard 200 Albums round-up.

“I’m expecting to see more [country] songs … at pop radio because I think people have seen that a singer with a very Southern voice by himself without a feature can still have a No. 1 Billboard hit,” “Last Night” co-writer Charlie Handsome told Billboard. “Morgan’s leading the way for what country music is now and what it’s becoming.”