2023 was a big year for the music industry, filled with a wide array of music being released by some of our favorite artists, and many new talents who’ve made some big impacts. Here is a look back at the top music artists of 2023.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift had one of the most successful years of her career in 2023. The Eras Tour sold out massive stadiums throughout the U.S. and the world, bringing economic boosts to each city she performed in. The re-releases of her albums Speak Now and 1989 had Swifties in a frenzy, and had many of her most popular songs back on the charts. 2023 also marked a major milestone for Swift financially as she became a billionaire. Her new relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has also boosted her already massive popularity in the media.
Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo’s sophomore album GUTS was a huge hit last year with the song “Vampire” hitting No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Rodrigo’s fame has only increased with the release of this latest album. She first gained popularity on the Disney Channel sitcom Bizaardvark, followed by High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. She then released her debut album SOUR, which included hits like “Good 4 U”, “Deja Vu”, “brutal”, and “Driver’s License”. Following the release of GUTS, Olivia Rodrigo also appeared on the soundtrack for the movie The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbird & Snakes with the song “Can’t Catch Me Now.”
Morgan Wallen
Morgan Wallen’s latest album One Thing At A Time became a smash hit not only on the country charts but also on the pop charts. All 36 songs on the album charted within the Billboard Hot 100, with the album as a whole charting at No.1 on the Billboard 200 for 17 consecutive weeks, which broke multiple records. His song “Last Night” became his first song to reach No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with 4 other songs from the album securing spots within the top 10 on the chart.
The Weeknd
The Weeknd had another successful year, releasing other artists for his show The Idol on HBO. Many of his songs from years past remained on the charts throughout the year, with his song “Die For You” featuring Ariana Grande reaching No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 nearly 7 years after its initial release. The Weeknd appeared on the song “Creepin” with Metro Boomin and 21 Savage, which peaked at No.3 on the Billboard Hot 100. He also secured the spot as the #1 artist on Spotify, and had multiple songs pass one and two billion streams.
Metro Boomin
Metro Boomin had massive success in 2023 with the soundtrack for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, in which he worked with many top artists such as Lil Wayne, A$AP Rocky, Lil Uzi Vert, 21 Savage, and JID just to name a few. METRO BOOMIN PRESENTS SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE reached No.1 on the Billboard Soundtracks and Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.
Drake
Drake had yet another great year, with the release of his album For All The Dogs, which saw all of its songs charting in the top half of the Billboard Hot 100, with songs “First Person Shooter” featuring J. Cole and “Slime You Out” featuring SZA both reaching the No.1 spot. The album as a whole secured the No.1 spot on the Billboard 200.
Tate McRae
Although her album THINK LATER debuted late into the year, Tate McRae had a major hit with the album’s lead single “Greedy”, which reached No.3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album as a whole debuted at No.4 on the Billboard 200. Tate McRae also made the Billboard Artist 100 where she reached No.5 spot on the chart. She also appeared in the music video for the song “Bad Idea Right?” by friend and fellow pop star Olivia Rodrigo.
Dua Lipa
Dua Lipa had a comeback year in 2023. She appeared on the soundtrack for the Barbie movie with the song “Dance The Night” which peaked at No.6 and has amassed over 650 million streams to date on Spotify alone. She also released Houdini, the lead single for her upcoming album, which debuted at No.11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
David Kushner
Up-and-coming artist David Kushner took over the internet by storm with his breakthrough single “Daylight”, which has already been used on TikTok over 2 million times. The song started out at No.12 on the Billboard Global 200 and peaked at No.33 on the Billboard Hot 100. Daylight has also gained nearly 866 million streams on Spotify.
Zach Bryan
Country music singer-songwriter Zach Bryan released his self-titled album, Zach Bryan, this year and it reached No.1 on the Billboard 200. The song “I Remember Everything” featuring Kacey Musgraves reached No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100. His song “Something in the Orange”, the second single from his third studio album American Heartbreak, peaked at No.10 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Were there any artists I missed? Any you would like me to cover in future articles? Let me know in the comments!
