Last month, Lainey Wilson released her fifth studio album Whirlwind. Fans across the country had been counting the days until the release after hearing sample tracks like “4x4xU,” “Country’s Cool Again,” and “Hang Tight Honey.” When the big day finally came, fans showed up and made the album a hit. It debuted in the top 10 of the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart and the publication’s Top Country Albums chart.
The chart dated September 7 shows Whirlwind at No. 8 on the Billboard 200. It also landed at No. 3 on the Top Country Albums chart. This isn’t just Wilson’s first top-10 debut on the all-genre survey. It’s her first top 10 crossover hit album. At the same time, this is her first album to debut in the upper region of the country albums chart. Her breakout album Bell Bottom Country debuted at No. 12 and peaked at No. 9 among country albums. Her previous album debuted at No. 100 and peaked at No. 51 on the all-genre album chart.
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While chart success is not an indicator of quality, it is an indicator of popularity. Per Billboard, Whirlwind moved an equivalent of 48,000 units which is her best week to date, by the numbers. 34,000 of those units came from actual album sales. The rest were either track-equivalent albums or streaming-equivalent albums. “Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs on the album.” The album pulled 14,000 streaming equivalent units and less than a thousand track equivalent units.
The publication reports that the availability of the album across multiple formats helped to cement its crossover hit status. Fans could buy Whirlwind on eight vinyl variants, three CD variants including signed copies, and digital editions including the limited-time Whirlwind Worktapes edition which featured four demo recordings.
At the moment, it appears that Whirlwind is on track to be Wilson’s first No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart. It will continue to climb as long as fans continue to purchase and stream the album’s 14 tracks.
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