A whole lot of history. It’s safe to say that 2025 was another incredible year for country music. Despite country radio still being lightyears behind the current trends, nearly all corners of the genre had their chance to shine, whether online, at awards shows or on the charts. Of course, Morgan Wallen continued his dominance, not only being named Billboard’s Top Artist of 2025, all-genre but also being crowned the highest-selling artist in country music history by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) earlier this week. Even more meaningful, for longtime fans of the independent and alternative country scene, 2025 was one of the most stacked years to date. With Turnpike Troubadours, Colter Wall, Charley Crockett, Tyler Childers, Whiskey Myers, Colby Acuff and more releasing stellar, career-defining albums throughout the year, it’s safe to say that country fans of every shape and size received their fair share of projects to chew on. This isn’t even mentioning Eric Church’s experimental gem of an album, Evangeline vs. The Machine, Kip Moore’s return to form on the sprawling, Solitary Tracks or even Lainey Wilson’s continued success and status as country music’s “it girl” en route to her CMA Entertainer of the Year win last month. Ultimately, 2025 will be a year many country fans will look back on fondly. With that being said, as the year begins to draw to a close in the following weeks, it’s time to look ahead to 2026. And judging by the early slate of albums, it looks like we’re in for another great year in the genre. Even ignoring all the stellar releases both in the mainstream and the independent scene, 2025 was a year chock full of long-time records being broken throughout the year. From Zach Bryan breaking the U.S. concert-attendance record to Morgan Wallen becoming the highest-selling country artist of all time, here are five notable records broken by country artists throughout 2025. Concerts Zach Bryan Breaks The U.S. Concert-Attendance Record From the moment Zach Bryan announced his September 27th show at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor back in February, music journalists and fans of the “Something in the Orange” singer quickly picked up on the fact that he had a real shot at history with the show. This, of course, was due to the fact that Michigan Stadium, also known as the Big House, is the largest stadium in America, and the third-largest stadium in the world, with an official capacity of 107,601 – although it’s hosted events with up to 115,000 before. Because of this, Bryan was all but primed to break the King himself, George Strait’s record of 110,905 fans in attendance at his June 2024 concert at Texas A&M University’s Kyle Field, in College Station, Texas. And when Bryan stepped on stage, along with the likes of John Mayer, Joshua Slone and Ryan Bingham and the Texas Gentlemen, he officially broke the record, performing to a crowd of 112,408 people. Sales Morgan Wallen Becomes The Highest-Selling Country Artist For years, it seemed as if Garth Brooks‘ status as the highest-selling country artist would never be beaten. With nine diamond-certified albums, an additional 31 platinum certifications and 32 gold records to boot, the “Friends in Low Places” singer has sold a staggering 162.5 million units throughout his career as of today. Like any statistic/record, as it is with sports, they’re meant to be broken, however. And Luke Combs did just that back in October. Grabbing a hefty 34 certifications, Combs would surpass Brooks by only one million units (163.5), in turn, receiving diamond certifications for hits such as “Beautiful Crazy,” “When It Rains It Pours” and “Hurricane.” Though it was an incredible accomplishment for Combs, anyone who has been paying attention to chart success and streaming numbers knew that it was inevitable that reigning Billboard Artist of the Year and all-around superstar, Morgan Wallen, was bound to smash this record and then some. And he did just that on December 16th. Not only did the Tennessee native become the highest-selling country artist of all time according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), but he was also crowned the third-highest-selling artist in history, all-genre. Receiving a mind-blowing 80 new certifications last week, Wallen has now sold over 240 million units in his career, third only to global superstars Taylor Swift (247.5 million) and Drake (331.5 million). Additionally, he has now sold the second-most singles by any artist in history and has totaled an incredible 26 million albums sold. Notably, Wallen is also now the first country artist in history to own five separate certified-Diamond songs with “Heartless” (10x platinum), “Whiskey Glasses” (13x platinum), “Chasin’ You” (10x platinum), “Wasted On You” (12x Platinum) and “Last Night” (12x platinum), all selling over 10 million units. Carrie Underwood Becomes The Highest-Selling Female Country Artist Though it was undoubtedly overshadowed by Morgan Wallen breaking the all-time record, Carrie Underwood made her mark on the genre’s history back in October by officially becoming the highest-selling female country artist of all time, selling over 95 million units and passing Shania Twain’s previous record of 61.5 million. This came immediately after Underwood received 14 brand new certifications from the RIAA, including career staples such as “Jesus, Take The Wheel,” “Last Name,” “All American Girl” and “Temporary Home” all receiving certifications ranging from platinum to 3x platinum. Notably, “Before He Cheats” became just the 17th country song in history (at the time) to sell over 10 million units and earn a diamond certification. Reflecting on the accomplishment, she would thank the fans for their continued support of her music over the past two decades and note how blessed she feels upon obtaining the record. “Accomplishments like this are more than I would have ever dared to dream of when I was starting out. I owe everything to the fans, who have literally voted for me from the beginning of my career and have showed up and given me so much love for over 20 years. I feel truly blessed.” A legendary run. Charts Morgan Wallen Charts Most Songs In A Single Week On The Billboard Hot 100 When it was first revealed that Morgan Wallen’s I’m The Problem would contain a staggering 37 songs, it seemed as if all cards were on the table in terms of potential records set to be broken. And, of course, we already know that it helped him become the highest-selling country artist of all time. However, before that, I’m The Problem helped Wallen break his own record on Billboard that he set just two years prior upon the release of One Thing At A Time. With 36/37 songs on I’m The Problem as well as his collaboration with Post Malone, “I Had Some Help,” all charting on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, Wallen broke his own record of 36 songs charted on the chart in a single week with 37. Of course, this is nothing short of mind-boggling given the fact that he occupied 37% of the all-genre chart. Awards Shows Kacey Musgraves Becomes Highest-Awarded Female Artist Across Country Categories At The Grammys It should go without saying that Kacey Musgraves has quietly put up one of the most impressive careers in the genre, especially from an all-genre and awards show perspective. This was put on full display back in February when she won her eighth-career Grammy award for Best Country Song for “The Architect.” With the win, she passed Carrie Underwood (6) for most Grammy wins across the four major country categories (Best Country Song, Best Country Album, Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Duo/Group Performance) present at the show. Brooks & Dunn Win The Most CMA Awards In History There were certainly a ton of different storylines throughout this year’s CMA Awards last month. From Ella Langley’s big night that included four wins and Lainey Wilson becoming just the second female artist ever to bring home back-to-back Entertainer of the Year Awards to fan-favorites, Zach Top and The Red Clay Strays, scoring their first-ever CMA wins, there were plenty to choose from. One, for whatever reason, that flew under the radar was the fact that Brooks & Dunn broke their tie with Chris Stapleton en route to becoming the most awarded artist(s) in CMA History with a staggering 20 wins. This, of course, was thanks to them winning their 16th Duo of the Year award (another CMA record), beating out the likes of Dan + Shay, Brothers Osborne and The War And Treaty.The post Notable Records Broken By Country Artists In 2025 first appeared on Whiskey Riff.