Miley Cyrus Scores First No. 1 in Over a Decade on Albums Chart, While Ella Langley Extends Record on Singles Chart

Miley Cyrus has returned to the summit of the Billboard 200 for the first time in more than ten years. Her newest record, "Bass Persuades," debuts at No. 1 with 61,000 equivalent album units, according to Billboard. The performer, who rose to fame as a Disney Channel star on "Hannah Montana" in the mid-2000s, has issued this album under the shortened moniker Miley. It represents her sixth No. 1 album and her 16th release to reach the top 10.

The race for the top position could hardly have been tighter. Ella Langley's "Dandelion" finished at No. 2 with slightly under 61,000 units, and Riley Green's "That's Just Me" took No. 3 with 60,000 units. The gap between the top two titles amounted to fewer than 1,000 units, underscoring just how intensely the highest reaches of the chart are contested in the streaming age. As consumption data fragments across an ever-wider array of platforms and formats, such photo finishes have become routine rather than remarkable.

Langley, for her part, is in the middle of a history-making streak on the Hot 100. Her song "Choosin' Texas" notches a 24th week at No. 1, coming only one week after she surpassed Mariah Carey's longstanding record for the most weeks spent atop the chart, a mark Carey had established with "All I Want For Christmas Is You." The track has also set a new benchmark on the Digital Song Sales chart, where it has now logged 19 weeks at No. 1. For Langley, still a comparatively new presence on the national stage, the feat places her alongside some of the most commanding pop artists of the last three decades.

Cyrus's achievement also places her in rare company. She becomes the third artist in 2026 to record a gap of at least ten years between No. 1 albums, after Bruno Mars with "The Romantic" in March and A$AP Rocky with "Don't Be Dumb" in January. "The traditional album cycle has been disrupted by touring economics and the dominance of singles," one veteran chart analyst observed. "A decade between No. 1 records is no longer an anomaly—it's becoming the norm." The project was teased only in early September, just weeks ahead of its release. "Music takes hold of us," Cyrus wrote on social media at the time. "We feel it, sing it, sometimes dance to it, let it out and carry on. It is powerful, vulnerable, sweet and strong. Heart full, heartache, every part of life in between. That's what the title means to me." The title track and its video served as the first single, with the full album arriving on September 18.

Next month, Cyrus will return to the stage for a rare live outing: a two-night stand at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on October 16 and 18. Model/Actriz, who contributed to "Bass Persuades," will open both evenings. The Hollywood Bowl, which first opened in 1922, is among the largest natural amphitheaters in the United States and has played host to legendary acts from The Beatles to Beyoncé. Completing the Billboard 200's top five are Morgan Wallen's "I'm the Problem" at No. 4 and Olivia Rodrigo's "You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love" at No. 5. Positions six through ten are occupied by Noah Kahan's "The Great Divide," Beabadoobee's "Pylon," Jhené Aiko's "Westside Whimsy," Drake's "Iceman" and Kahan's "Stick Season."