Morgan Wallen Placed At No. 8, Just Behind His “What I Want” Co-Singer, Tate McRae
Looking back at 2025, Morgan Wallen‘s album I’m The Problem, as well as its supporting stadium tour, was a significant highlight.
The 37-track triple album saw Morgan have 36 of its 37 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 all at the same time, with the 37th track having been in the Hot 100 the year before.
Now, with 2025 in the rearview mirror, the editorial staff of Billboard is releasing its annual list compiling the “Greatest Pop Stars” of the past year.
It’s no surprise then that Morgan Wallen is on the list, coming in at No. 8.
RELATED: Ella Langley Fills In For Tate McRae For Performance Of Morgan Wallen’s “What I Want”
Who All Is On The List?
As of Wednesday, Jan. 28, the Billboard staff has made its way through over half of the countdown, with 10-4 of the Greatest Pop Stars of 2025 list already released.
Honorable mentions saw newcomer Addison Rae and pop fixture Ariana Grande listed, with Rookie of the Year going to British pop artist Olivia Dean and Comeback of the Year going to rap duo Clipse.
Controversial rapper Tyler, The Creator came in at No. 10, followed by rapper and singer Doechii at No. 9.
Morgan Wallen then landed at No. 8, with Billboard‘s Jessica Nicholson writing of the country artist’s album I’m The Problem, “The album again proved Wallen’s ability to create music with genre-spanning, timeless appeal, pulses of R&B, rock and hip-hop interlaced through his core country sound.”
Continuing, the writeup looked to his successes on the charts, with the album having 13 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1, adding:
“After landing at No. 2 on Billboard’s charts-based all-genre top artists list in 2024, [Morgan Wallen] ended 2025 ringing the bell as the recipient of the top artist of the year honor, becoming the first male country artist in over 30 years to accomplish that feat.”
In both 1992 and 1993, Garth Brooks was the Top Artist of the Year.
Further, the Morgan Wallen Foundation’s work of donating musical instruments to schools was also noted.
The Billboard writeup on Wallen concludes with the following, “Wallen ends 2025 at the center of the enduringly triumphant confluence of country, pop and hip-hop sounds — while forging his reputation as a charming, energetic performer who is redefining what mainstream success looks like for a country artist on a global scale.”
After Wallen, Canadian pop star Tate McRae was ranked No. 7, with her inclusion on Morgan Wallen’s song “What I Want” being of note, as it was consistently one of the most listened to tracks from I’m The Problem.
No. 6 went to the cast of the Netflix film KPop Demon Hunters and No. 5 went to Sabrina Carpenter.
So far, the list has only revealed up to No. 4, with rapper Kendrick Lamar, who performed at the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show, earning that spot.
This is a developing story.
Revisit Morgan Wallen’s “What I Want,” featuring Tate McRae, here:
RELATED: Who Are The McArthurs? Morgan Wallen, Tim McGraw, Eric Church, And HARDY Hint At Collaboration