Kacey Musgraves Debuts at No. 1, Draws Rave Reviews With ‘Pageant Material’

Kacey Musgraves might not be Pageant Material, but that didn't stop her from posting the biggest country debut of the week with her sophomore album.

Pageant Material debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard country albums chart, selling 54,752 units in its first week of release. Its Musgraves' second album in a row to debut in the top spot, after her major label debut album, Same Trailer, Different Park, bowed at No. 1 in 2013.

That album was one of the most-awarded and critically acclaimed of the past several years, landing Musgraves an armload of awards, including CMA and Grammy wins. Pageant Material seems destined to follow suit, drawing rave reviews so far from across a wide spectrum of media, including American Songwriter, which gave the album four out of five stars, raving, “From beginning to end, it’s an absolute charmer. Every pretty melody, every sweet tart lyric, every vocal and instrumental flourish…they definitely earn her… a 4.0."

Associated Press also weighed in, writing, “Musgraves confirms her emergence as one of Nashville’s boldest, most effective artists," while Billboard says of Pageant Material, “This is an even better album than her last, with more consistency and variety.” Rolling Stone selected the project as one of the best albums of 2015 so far, calling it "more calculated and confident, intent on both courting and bending the mainstream with wit and timeless arrangements.”

Musgraves launched the album with an intensive media tour that included performing the title track on The View. Her performance on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series is set to air on Aug. 17. On Aug. 27, she will kick off the Kacey Musgraves Country & Western Rhinestone Revue in Atlanta.

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