Industry

Kacey Musgraves Achieves Career-Best Album Debut; Michael Jackson Earns Two Top 10 Spots

Kacey Musgraves’ "Middle of Nowhere" lands at No. 3 with 100,000 units, marking her biggest opening week yet. Meanwhile, Michael Jackson posthumously charts two albums in the Top 10.

Variety Music·May 10, 2026·via Variety Music

Kacey Musgraves Achieves Career-Best Album Debut; Michael Jackson Earns Two Top 10 Spots

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May 10, 2026 1:30pm PT

Kacey Musgraves Has Career-Best Opening Week With ‘Middle of Nowhere,’ as Michael Jackson Lands Two Albums in the Top 10

By Chris Willman

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Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

ChrisWillman

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It’s anything but a dry spell commercially for Kacey Musgraves right now, as her “ Middle of Nowhere ” album debuted with the best opening-week numbers of her career to date, 100,000 equivalent album units.

The recent Variety gover gal landed at a solid No. 3 with that figure. Musgraves’ last album, 2024’s “Deeper Well,” was close, debuting at No. 2 with 97,000 units. Previous bows include “Star-Crossed” with 77,000, “Golden Hour” with 49,000, “Pageant Material” with 60,000 and her debut, “Same Trailer Different Park,” with 42,000.