Morgan Wallen’s new album dominates Billboard with ‘What I Want’ featuring Tate McRae at No. 1

Despite mixed initial reception from Tate McRae’s fans, her collab with Morgan Wallen, 'What I Want,' tops Billboard.

Morgan Wallen’s latest track, What I Want, featuring Tate McRae, has made a huge splash by debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The pop ballad, which sees Wallen and McRae harmonizing about an on-again, off-again relationship, helped propel Wallen’s new album, I’m The Problem, to the top of the Billboard 200 as well. The album’s success marks a major milestone for the country artist, whose release garnered 31.2 million streams in its opening week and claimed the largest debut of 2025 with 493,000 units earned, surpassing The Weeknd’s January album launch.

What I Want marks Wallen’s fourth Hot 100 No. 1 hit, while it is McRae’s first time at the top, following her successful track “Greedy” that peaked at No. 3 earlier this year. The song is part of Wallen’s two-hour-long album, which also features other chart-toppers like Just in Case and I’m The Problem. The overwhelming success of the album comes on the back of record-breaking numbers for streaming, where it leads the year with 462.63 million on-demand streams.

-Instagram.

Despite the massive success of What I Want, Tate McRae’s collaboration with Wallen was initially met with a lukewarm response from some of her fans. When McRae hinted at the pairing with Wallen on Instagram, the news quickly drew attention, with social media reactions questioning her decision to team up with a controversial figure like Wallen.

this might not be a career suicide but this is reputation suicide https://t.co/xICpZWIGzl

— anshi ! ANGIE DAY (@httpxsour) April 15, 2025

His past run-ins with the law and controversies over his use of racial slurs and reckless behavior have raised eyebrows, with some fans expressing their disappointment over the collaboration.

tate mcrae when we said we wanted more collabs we meant with olivia rodrigo & that finished tyla scrap, NOT m*rgan w*llen. pic.twitter.com/ZmFnRsYFWa

— ash (@2H4NDS) April 15, 2025

While the collaboration may have sparked some backlash, it has done little to dampen the chart success of What I Want, further cementing Wallen's place at the top of the Billboard charts this year.