Kacey Musgraves’ is starting off hot with her new project.
Her fifth studio album Deeper Well debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart this week (after being released last Friday, March 15th), which is an all-genre chart that encompasses albums from pop, rap, hip hop and more.
It’s also her fifth Top 10 album in total:
Barely squeezing in front of Kacey and that elusive #1 debut is Ariana Grande with Eternal Sunshine, which moved around 100,500 units in its second week being out (and 328,000 units in total since release). Kacey had a total of 66,000 pure album sales and totaled 97,000 units sold upon release week.
And right behind Kacey on the albums chart is her fellow country star Morgan Wallen, who continues to chart with his 2023 One Thing At A Time album, which tallied 70,000 units this week (and a record-setting 5,773,000 units since release).
Kacey has of course had #1 Country Albums with Same Trailer Different Park, Pageant Material, Golden Hour and Star-Crossed, and on the Billboard Top 200 chart, Same Trailer Different Park reached #2, Pageant Material reached #3, Golden Hour reached the #4 spot and Star-Crossed reached #3 as well.
So technically, Deeper Well ties for the highest spot she’s reached on the Billboard 200 chart, but its the most units she’s ever moved in the first week and her highest sales debut.
The recording process for Deeper Well took place at Electric Lady studio in New York City, and was produced by Kacey alongside Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk, who also produced her Grammy-winning 2019 Golden Hour album, as well as her 2022 Star-Crossed project.
Kacey has long been one of my favorite artists in all of music, daring to push the boundaries and do exactly what she wants, and that has never changed. It’s actually more apparent as the years go by, and I find it refreshing that as she has matured, she’s embraced all of her life experiences and muses, and that’s important too.
Kacey’s musical well is deep and wide, with ever-changing and evolving inspirations that feed into everything she releases and is apparent on every song on Deeper Well. If you’ve ever lived somewhere rural, then you know that well water tastes the best beyond a shadow of a doubt… and obviously, the Golden, Texas native (population ~200) knows that all too well.
I have to admit, it’s grown on me with every listen, and I think she will be up for many Grammy awards next year when the time comes for the album as a whole, but also the standout track “The Architect” (which is her current single at country radio).
If you haven’t checked it out yet, I highly recommend doing so… it’s absolutely stunning.
“The Architect”
“Jade Green”
“Cardinal”