Chris Stapleton’s Debut Album Makes History

Chris Stapleton reaches a massive milestone this week on the Billboard charts in America, thanks to the album that started it all. The country singer-songwriter, who transformed himself into one of the genre’s most consistent commercial and critical favorites over the past decade, sees his breakout solo set Traveller manage a feat that would have seemed far-fetched even after it first made him a star.

Chris Stapleton’s Traveller Hits 500 Weeks on the Billboard 200

Traveller, Stapleton’s first album as a solo act, is still present on the Billboard 200 more than nine years after it was released. This week, the full-length reaches 500 frames spent on the tally, which ranks the most-consumed albums in the U.S. each week with both sales and streaming data. That’s a rare milestone, as only a few dozen titles in history have made it to that point.

This week, Traveller slips slightly from No. 87 to No. 91, though it’s still moving thousands of copies. Luminate reports that the title shifted another 12,700 equivalent units in the past frame. Of that sum, nearly 1,000 were pure purchases.

Traveller Continues Its Historic Run

Stapleton released Traveller in early May 2015, and while it didn’t immediately become a juggernaut, it soon became impossible to ignore. Thanks to a career-making performance at the 2015 Country Music Awards Awards, the collection shot up the charts, and it hasn’t really left since. In just a few weeks, the title will officially turn 10, and unless something wildly unexpected happens, it’s all but guaranteed to hit a full decade on the Billboard 200 later this year.

Chris Stapleton’s Debut is Still a Win Across the Charts

This frame, Traveller isn’t only sticking around on the Billboard 200, as the title also appears on two genre-specific rosters. It holds steady at No. 15 on the Top Country Albums chart, where it’s been a mainstay since 2015. Next week will officially mark its tenth year on that list.

On the Top Americana/Folk Albums ranking, the record improves a bit. It lifts a single space to No. 9 this time around.

Other Chris Stapleton Albums Are Also Performing Well

Traveller may be the only Stapleton album to reach 500 weeks on the Billboard 200, but it’s not his only set that’s performing well right now. Two of the country star’s other efforts — Starting Over and Higher — can be found on all three of the same charts. In most cases, the singer-songwriter’s studio efforts are on the rise.

Chris Stapleton Makes it to a Milestone Most Artists Never Reach

Traveller is Stapleton’s first project to cross the 500-week threshold on the Billboard 200. It’s an incredible achievement for any artist, let alone one whose career as a solo act only began a decade ago. Most musicians would be lucky to have a release spend even half that amount of time on the chart. None of Stapleton’s other full-lengths have passed the 250-week mark yet — though Starting Over is getting closer with every frame.