Morgan Wallen has No. 1 album for fifth week despite racial slur controversy
Feb 17, 2021
Washington (US), February 17 : Country music star Morgan Wallen's 2021 studio album titled 'Dangerous: The Double Album' continues to remain No. 1 on the album chart, with no sign of being budged despite the singer's racial slur controversy.
As per Variety, still unchallenged for the top of the Rolling Stone album chart, 'Dangerous' racked up 137,000 album-equivalent units, down only minimally from the 144,200 mark the previous week, which covered a time frame both before and after the singer's recent controversy.
His streams in the latest charting period stood at 122.6 million, down not too much from 135 million last week. Full-album sales actually went up just a little, from 28,400 to 32,000, as some supporters continued to declare they were giving the finger to "cancel culture" by buying or re-purchasing his work.
That effect was also seen on Wallen's previous album 'If I Know Me', which rose from No. 15 to No. 10 on the chart, with 26,500 album units, up from 23,300 last week.
A few days earlier the country music star had broken his silence on the ongoing controversy. The 27-year-old singer on February 11 released a five-minute Instagram video addressing his use of the racial slur. He also urged fans not to defend him as he wants to "take ownership" of the offense.
After the video of using the racial slur surfaced, Wallen was indefinitely suspended from his label and his songs were taken down from the two largest radio station groups iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media, along with SiriusXM, Pandora, and CMT.
The Academy of Country Music also announced that it will halt Wallen's involvement and eligibility at this year's awards show.
Wallen came under fire on February 2 after a video surfaced of him saying the N-word during a night out in Nashville. The actions against the 27-year-old singer have been swift, with his booking agency WME dropping him.
Wallen has a history of having used the N-word on social media, quoting rap lyrics. In 2012, he tweeted a lyric by rapper Meek Mill, "I burn bread I ain't talkin toast n---." (That tweet was deleted from Wallen's account on Wednesday morning.)
