Megan Moroney debuts at No. 1 on this week’s Billboard 200 with Cloud 9, opening with 147,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States. As reported by Billboard, the figure marks the largest week for a country album by a woman in nearly two years.
Cloud 9 is Moroney’s her second top 10 entry, following Am I Okay? (No. 9 in 2024) and Lucky (No. 38 in 2023). The new set also becomes the first country album by a woman to top the Billboard 200 since Beyoncé spent two weeks at No. 1 with Cowboy Carter in April 2024.
In the past decade, only seven country albums by women have reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Those titles include Cloud 9, Cowboy Carter, and three Taylor’s Version releases from Taylor Swift — Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), Red (Taylor’s Version) and Fearless (Taylor’s Version) — alongside Cry Pretty from Carrie Underwood and Now by Shania Twain.
Elsewhere in the top tier, Hilary Duff returns with luck… or something, debuting at No. 3 with 84,000 units. The release marks her first studio album in more than a decade, following 2015’s Breathe In. Breathe Out. The new project gives Duff her fifth top 10 on the Billboard 200, adding to a résumé that includes two No. 1 albums in the 2000s.
At No. 4, Baby Keem earns his highest-charting effort yet as Ca$ino opens inside the top five. Meanwhile, Mumford & Sons collect their sixth top 10 with Prizefighter, which bows at No. 10.
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