Kacey Musgraves Is on Fire

Country singer Kacey Musgrave has been working tirelessly in the music industry for years—and her hard grind is paying dividends.

In February 2019 Musgraves won Album of the Year at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards for her LP Golden Hour. She also took home awards for Best Country Song, Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Album. In 2016 she won Best Country Album for Same Trailer Different Park and in 2014, Musgraves won Best Country Song for her release "Merry Go Round." Despite her handful of awards, Musgraves hasn't been a household name, until now.

On March 15 the 35-year-old released her sixth album Deeper Well and is already seeing great success. It debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 97,000 equivalent album units earned. This was Musgrave's biggest week, by units, since the chart began ranking by that measurement in December 2014.

Newsweek emailed a spokesperson for Musgraves for comment Monday.

Deeper Well is Musgraves' highest-charting album since her debut Same Trailer Different Park was released in 2013, where it peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard chart. While her new album ties for the highest spot she's reached on the Billboard 200 chart, it's the most units she's ever moved in the first week and her highest sales debut.

Her new release is the fifth top 10-charting effort for Musgraves with all of her previous albums having started in the top four of the ranking. In 2021 Star-Crossed peaked at No. 3, Golden Hour peaked at No. 4 in 2018 and in 2015, Pageant Material peaked at No. 3.

Despite being one of the most acclaimed artists in country music for over a decade, Musgraves has still yet to score a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. However, she has had #1 Country Albums with Same Trailer Different Park, Pageant Material, Golden Hour and Star-Crossed.

Musgrave has a loyal following, with many of her fans taking to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share how happy they are with the singer's success.

"doing almost 100k with a non-commercial country album while being blacklisted from radio is just CRAZY. i'm so proud of you," one person wrote.

"Kacey Musgraves' "Deeper Well" becomes her biggest sales week ever on vinyl, the largest vinyl week of 2024, and the fourth-largest week for a country album on vinyl of all time," said another.

"And she did that with a non-commercial country album all while being blacklisted by country radio. That's our girl," someone commented.

A fourth person added: "so happy more and more people are experiencing her amazing music."

"Deeper Well" is Musgraves' first album since 2021. In 2023, she achieved her greatest chart success to date on the Hot Country Songs and all-genre Billboard Hot 100 charts when Zach Bryan's song "I Remember Everything," featuring Musgraves, topped both lists. The song was released on Bryan's self-titled 2023 album.

Country music's popularity is at an all-time high. It was one of 2023's fastest-growing streaming genres in the U.S., according to industry data firm Luminate, with country on-demand audio streams exceeding 20 billion, a 23.7 percent increase over the prior year.

Tammy Donham is an associate professor at Middle Tennessee State University who is an expert in country music and music marketing. For nearly 17 years she worked for the Country Music Association, where she rose through various positions, including vice president of marketing.

"Country music is one of the fastest-growing genres in the U.S., fueled in large part by younger fans," she previously told Newsweek. "Artists and industry insiders across genres are certainly taking note of the strength and appeal of country to reach and attract music fans."