For the first week of 2023, it seemed people were still in the Christmas spirit, as the song “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey was the number-one song. But in the two following weeks, the Swifties took over, and “Anti-Hero” became number one. This track was on Taylor Swift’s album “Midnights,” her first album with all new songs since the release of “evermore” in 2020. While fans had conflicting opinions, “Anti-Hero” still made the charts.
By the end of January, a third song had come to the top: “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus. This song was a massive commercial success and was positively reviewed by critics. The song stayed at the top for six consecutive weeks, only being replaced for two weeks before eventually coming back for another two.
There were some one-week wonders such as “Seven,” by Jungkook featuring Latto and “First Person Shooter” by Drake featuring J. Cole. “Seven” entered the charts in over 50 territories and is both Jungkook and Latto’s first number one. “First Person Shooter” became a breakthrough for both Drake and J. Cole when it entered the charts, tying Drake with Michael Jackson for the most number–one singles by a male artist and becoming J. Cole’s first time having a number–one song.
Some re-records and remakes were able to stay at the top for a week: “Die for You” by The Weeknd with the newly featured Ariana Grande and “Cruel Summer” by Swift. Only Swift can make a song with the word “summer” in the title the number-one song for three weeks in November. However, there was a break in between for another Swift song, “Is It Over Now?” These two songs marked the 10th and 11th consecutive number-one songs of her career.
Many country songs hit number one for a week, such as “Try That in a Small Town” by Jason Aldean, “Rich Men North of Richmond” by Oliver Anthony Music, and “I Remember Everything” by Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves. But one country song topped the charts for 16 non-consecutive weeks: “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen.
“Last Night” was the first male solo country song since 1981 to become number one. The last country song to reach number one was in 2021 with Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault).” Wallen’s first number-one song has the most ever weeks at the top for a non-collaboration country single and is tied for the second most of all time.
Multiple mainstream artists made the list, such as Olivia Rodrigo with “Vampire” and Doja Cat with “Paint the Town Red.” These are two very popular pop artists. One very popular R&B artist made the list twice. This artist was SZA, with “Kill Bill” and a feature on Drake’s “Slime You Out.” The song “Kill Bill” was released in December of 2022, but didn’t hit number one until the week of April 29 in 2023, becoming SZA’s first number-one song.
People were not ready to jump in the holiday season when December started, as “Lovin On Me” by Jack Harlow was at the top. But by the next week, it seems people will be finishing the year the same as it started, in the holiday spirit. As of December, Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” is number one. “All I Want for Christmas is You” is sneaking in at number two for the week and could potentially surpass “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”
