MORE THAN ONE THING AT A TIME: WALLEN, COMBS AND BRYAN KEEP IT COMIN'

Over the last three years, country’s biggest breakouts have had something in common: They’ve released music at a phenomenal pace. Chart-toppers Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs delivered an onslaught of new material from 2020 through 2022, using deluxe packages and double albums to keep the faithful fed. It's a tactic borrowed from hip-hop’s mixtapes that has been adopted by pop royalty like Taylor Swift as well as country’s new class of superstars.

Wallen, Combs and Zach Bryan will combine for seven slots on the next HITS Top 50—Wallen and Combs will have three albums apiece on the chart; together, Wallen’s three LPs have moved nearly 13m units in the U.S., Combs’ trio totals 11.7m in activity and Bryan’s American Heartbreak is at 1.4m units.

With the arrival of Combs' fourth studio set, Gettin’ Old (River House/Columbia Nashville), on 3/24, fans got 18 new songs less than a year after the summer 2022 release of his 12-track Growin’ Up. Gettin' Old is projected to bow in the vicinity of 100k. Back in November 2021, Combs delivered a deluxe version of his #1 album What You See Is What You Get, expanding the project to 23 songs.

Wallen just upped the ante by following up his blockbuster Dangerous: The Double Album (Big Loud/Mercury/Republic) with the record-setting, 36-track One Thing at a Time. The two projects offer a total of 66 Wallen tunes.

Meanwhile, Warner’s Bryan has become a festival and arena headliner by delivering a steady stream of compelling new music. His major-label debut, American Heartbreak, arrived in May 2020 with 34 songs, only to be followed two months later by a nine-track EP, Summertime Blues. Bryan gifted fans a Christmas treat with a 24-track live album at the end of 2022, and he's been teasing new music on his socials this year.

Artists who flood the market with product, however, are taking a risk if it doesn't resonate with fans. But where Wallen, Combs and Bryan are concerned, all metrics point to their mastery of supply and demand when it comes to the current audience. How much is enough for content-hungry consumers? Stay tuned.