Unmatched longevity for Lambert.
Other than Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert has remained what can only be described as the female country artist of the 2000s. With 40 ACM Awards, 14 CMA Awards, three Grammys, 11 #1 singles, seven #1 albums and a spot in the Texas Songwriters’ Hall of Fame, the Texas native has built a legacy few artists in the genre, let alone female artists, can compete with.
Recently, she’s been experiencing nothing short of a career resurgence thanks to her newfound friendship with Ella Langley. Of course, this is because she not only produced her sophomore album, Dandelion, but also co-wrote her history-making all-genre #1 hit, “Choosin’ Texas,” and appeared on “Butterfly Season” with Langley.
While Langley has been helping her connect with a new generation of country fans, this is still Miranda Lambert we’re talking about. Simply put, she’s still a force to be reckoned with in the genre, and that was put on full display once again last week when she dropped her 11th studio album, Crisco, on October 2nd.
Upon Crisco’s announcement back in June, Lambert said she wanted it to feel “nostalgic” and fun, adding that it was a unique challenge to make a song that was “familiar” and “fresh” at the same time. Of course, she was deeply inspired by the likes of Glen Campbell, Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers and that 70s and 80s time when those artists in particular were fusing in a lot of disco:
“We wanted something that feels familiar but also fresh, which is really hard to do. We leaned into all the things I grew up loving about country music – Glen Campbell, Kenny and Dolly; very ’70s and ’80s.
It’s a fun mix of all these sides of country music that I’ve never fully explored before, even down to using strings in a bigger way. I almost can’t believe I’ve made this many records without really going there, but it was magical to hear how much strings can transform a song.”
Ultimately, she did just that with the record. Between the heavily disco-inspired title track, her Grammy-nominated collaboration with Chris Stapleton, “A Song to Sing,” and her highly anticipated second team-up with Langley on “Snakeskin Boots,” she captured the glitzy nature of the ’70s and ’80s beautifully. Couple those tracks with a stellar cover of the legendary Jim Croce’s “I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song,” the Patsy Cline-inspired “Two Things Can Be True” and delightfully traditional “Cowboy Curtsy,” you have a project that married together country, disco and pop sensibilities in a truly captivating way.
So far, it’s paying dividends for the Texas native from a commercial standpoint. This week, Crisco debuted at #4 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart, #19 on the all-genre Billboard 200 and #5 on the Album Sales chart, selling 24,000 units.
With Crisco debuting inside the Top 5, it has allowed Lambert to extend her streak on the Top Country Albums chart, with all 11 of her studio albums peaking inside the Top 10. Dating back to her debut album, Kerosene, in 2005, Lambert has scored seven #1 albums, including the likes of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Revolution, The Weight of These Wings and more.
In particular, her collaboration with Langley on “Snakeskin Boots” has been an instant success and driving force behind Crisco‘s success. In its first week, the track garnered 6.1 million streams and an additional 4.7 audience impressions on radio, which allowed it to debut all the way up at #12 on the Hot Country Songs chart. The track written by Lambert, Jesse Frasure, Natalie Hemby and Lambert’s husband, Brendan McLoughlin allowed McLoughlin to score his first-ever Billboard entry.
Miranda Lambert’s Billboard’s Top Country Albums Chart History
- Kerosene – #1 (2005)
- Crazy Ex-Girlfriend – #1 (2007)
- Revolution – #1 (2009)
- Four the Record – #1 (2011)
- Platinum – #1 (2014)
- The Weight of These Wings – #1 (2016)
- Wildcard – #1 (2019)
- The Marfa Tapes – #7 (2021)
- Palomino – #2 (2022)
- Post Cards from Texas – #8 (2024)
- Crisco – #4 (2026)
“Snakeskin Boots” (with Ella Langley)
