Megan Moroney made a smashing debut this week as her album “Cloud 9” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
The country star earned her first chart-topper as “Cloud 9” began with 147,000 equivalent album units. This denotes the biggest week for a country album by a woman in almost two years, following Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” in April 2024. Moroney’s “Cloud 9” is her third studio album and second to debut in the top 10 after “Am I Okay?” bowed at No. 9 in 2024. Her 2023 debut, “Lucky,” previously peaked at No. 38.
Moroney’s debut is particularly notable for a female country artist, as only seven albums by five women have reached the top of the albums chart in the past decade. Previous toppers include “Cowboy Carter,” Taylor Swift’s “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” “Red (Taylor’s Version),” “Fearless (Taylor’s Version),” Carrie Underwood’s “Cry Pretty” and Shania Twain’s “Now.” For comparison, 17 country albums by 11 men have hit No. 1 in the same timespan.
Female country musicians have recently been storming the charts, as Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” scores its second week at No. 1 on the Hot 100 after reaching the summit last month. Langley made history that week as she became the first woman ever to crown the Hot 100, Hot Country Songs chart and Country Airplay chart at the same time. With their chart-toppers, Langley and Moroney have now become the first women who mainly record country music to top the singles and albums chart simultaneously.
Other notable debuts on the albums chart include Hilary Duff’s comeback album “Luck… or Something,” which has an impressive bow at No. 3, as well as Baby Keem’s “Ca$ino” at No. 4 and Mumford & Sons’ “Prizefighter” at No. 10.
