Megan Moroney has earned a rare chart milestone for a female artist with her hit “Cloud 9,” joining the ranks of Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, and other top performers.
By Website Content Manager
“Not to be cliché, but I’m definitely on cloud 9,” Moroney said.
Megan Moroney’s third studio album, Cloud 9, has not only set a personal best for her career but also marked a historic achievement for women in country music. In the last ten years, only seven country albums by five female artists have reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200. With this release, Moroney joins an elite group of women, including stars like Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood, earning a spot on this prestigious list for the first time.
Dropped on February 20, the 15-track album debuted atop the all-genre Billboard 200 chart, which tracks the most popular albums in the U.S. According to Luminate, Cloud 9 moved 147,000 equivalent album units in its opening week, with 78,000 from traditional album sales and 69,000 from streaming equivalent album units (SEA).
The Billboard 200 measures an album’s weekly popularity using a combination of album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA), and SEA. Billboard defines one unit as either a full album sale, 10 individual track sales, or 2,500 ad-supported or 1,000 paid/subscription on-demand streams of an album’s songs.
This milestone is especially notable for Moroney because it represents her strongest first-week sales ever. It’s also the biggest week for a country album by a female artist in nearly two years and the highest opening-week consumption of any country release in 2026 so far. The last female artist to top the Billboard 200 in this genre was Beyoncé, who held the No. 1 spot for two weeks with her country debut Cowboy Carter in April 2024.
Other female country albums that reached the top include Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, Taylor Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) in 2023, Red (Taylor’s Version) in 2021, and Fearless (Taylor’s Version) also in 2021, as well as Carrie Underwood’s Cry Pretty in 2018 and Shania Twain’s Now in 2017. In contrast, during the same timeframe, 17 country albums by 11 male artists have claimed the No. 1 position.
Reflecting on the achievement and its meaning for women in country music, Moroney shared, “Not to be cliché, but I’m on cloud 9! I have to thank my fans—they’re the absolute best. To have them embrace an album like this is a dream come true. I can’t wait to perform these songs with them live on THE CLOUD 9 TOUR!”
Even before the full album’s release, Moroney had already made an impact on the charts. Four pre-release tracks—“6 Months Later,” “Beautiful Things,” “Wish I Didn’t,” and the title track—landed in the top 40 of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. “6 Months Later” earned GOLD certification, reached No. 1 on country radio, and became her highest-ranking song on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 29 in January.
Cloud 9 is Moroney’s second top-10 album and her third Billboard 200 entry. Her previous album, Am I Okay?, peaked at No. 9 in 2024, becoming the year’s third-biggest debut by a female country artist.
She will celebrate this achievement and the fans’ support on her upcoming Cloud 9 Tour, a massive 43-date global trek launching May 29. The tour will visit major arenas across North America, Europe, and the UK, concluding in October.