Miranda Lambert’s “Wings” Sees Huge Sales Spike, Hits #1 After ACM Awards
Don’t let anyone ever tell you that awards shows don’t matter, and neither does turning in memorable performances. Miranda Lambert’s latest record The Weight of These Wings was just sort of meandering after its initial release in November of 2016, with the lead single “Vice” stalling outside the Top 10 on country radio, and the second single “We Should Be Friends” faring even worse. Though the double album received generally strong critical reviews, as we’ve seen over and over in country music, that doesn’t always result in sales or attention from the wide public.
But Miranda did what any artist with a somewhat lagging album hopes to do with the opportunity an awards show can present, which is press a big reset button. Giving up on her current single “We Should Be Friends,” Miranda Lambert debuted “Tin Man” on the ACM Awards as the album’s next offering to radio, and she turned in one of the very few memorable performances on the otherwise paltry presentation when she performed the song acoustically, and without accompaniment. “Tin Man” was co-written by Lambert with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall.
What were the results? Helped along by The Weight of These Wings winning Album of the Year, and Miranda walking away with Female Vocalist of the Year, Lambert saw the biggest sales spike of all performers or nominees on the night, and it’s not even close.
The Weight of These Wings went from a paltry #35 on the Billboard Country Albums chart all the way back to #1 this week with equivalent album sales of 31,000 units, which is an increase of 663% from before the April 2nd ACM’s. According to Forbes, Miranda saw an immediate sales spike after the awards of a whopping 12,215% for “Tin Man.” The next closest song spike was Reba McEntire’s “Back To God,” which registered a 1,172% increase.
Releasing a double album can be a risk for an artist, especially when they seem to focus more on creative expression as opposed to commercial prospects like Miranda Lambert did with The Weight of These Wings. Along with contributing much of the writing herself, the album also features writing from songwriter and performer Brent Cobb, second generation country music Outlaw Waylon Payne, Texas songwriter (and once regular Miranda tour mate) Adam Hood, Texas songwriting legend Shake Russell, Miranda boyfriend Anderson East, Jack Ingram, Ashley Monroe, Mando Saenz, and Jon Randall among others. All of these contributors also benefit from the Miranda sales spike.
Perhaps the ACM’s were just what Miranda Lambert needed to put new wind behind The Weight of These Wings.
April 12, 2017 @ 6:36 pm
I think she’s nothing short of a badass personally
April 12, 2017 @ 6:49 pm
Miranda created a moment at the ACM’s and got a great response. Smartly her album was also discounted (as was nearly everyone else in country). Unfortunately, her bounce doesn’t seem to be quite Chris Stapleton epic, as she’s slipped back on the album and singles sales chart. As a now single, it should be interesting to see where Tin Man’s sales fall. It seems to be doing very well (though not insanely well). Regardless, it was a smart move with WSBF not selling well, and stalled at radio. Take the risk, release the best song on the album.
April 12, 2017 @ 8:12 pm
What a concept. Go into an awards show with a strategy, facilitate sales afterwards, and use it as a springboard for the future. (cough, Mercury Nashville).
April 13, 2017 @ 7:17 am
Or how crazy for an artist to write MUSIC and lyrics that actually mean something? Country radio is almost void of such completely. Her music might not always be my personal taste but as stated above I think she is a badass and I have mad respect for that girl. Her only blemish is hooking up with the fraud known as Blake Shelton who is none of these things above.
April 13, 2017 @ 7:57 am
What? People might actually want to buy music they hear on TV? And it should be made available for sale? Buuulllshiiiit
April 12, 2017 @ 7:27 pm
Her performance at the ACM’s stood-out in the midst of juvenile mediocrity. There were other notable performances, namely Chris Stapelton and (among the shorter sets) Jon Pardi and Brothers Osborne. Reba also delivered a decent gospel entry. But the show was overwhelmingly juvenile and embarrassing, especially in the first half-hour or so. Miranda’s performance was the first to garner any real attention, and you could see it in the audience’s facial expressions and their reaction at the end of her set. It was fresh air in a repugnant, foul environment. It was captivating — and obviously beautiful to everyone, including the viewing audience.
April 12, 2017 @ 7:56 pm
Beautiful song and performance. Well deserved.
April 12, 2017 @ 8:36 pm
This album might not be her best commercial success, but it is her best album in my opinion. I really like this album. I’m a bit surprised We Can Be Friends didn’t do well. It’s a fun song and probably the most radio friendly on the album.
April 13, 2017 @ 3:28 am
I honestly do not feel radio stations are giving her a fair break, Air time can make or break and album sales and they (generally speaking about radio) did not support this album.
April 13, 2017 @ 8:01 am
Eh, I’ll be moderately fair here, “Vice” got a multi-day hourly airplay from iheart radio, but the song had poor call-out scores and a high burn rate. Hard for a program director to justify putting that in high rotation. Despite that, it spent months in med-high rotation, which is a lot at that level. The second single WSBF, was just a dud. It churned through the dreaded 30-60 range well enough at radio, but it never sold as well as you’d expect, and radio didn’t want to advance it, just to advance it (as they do with many male songs). Tin Man had a nice initial ad day, and start, but with sales having slipped, it’ll be dependant on testing to see how high it gets.
April 13, 2017 @ 8:14 am
“I’m a bit surprised We Can Be Friends didn’t do well”
I’m surprised it was released in the first place, sometimes labels need to stand their grounds when it comes to single selection
April 12, 2017 @ 9:51 pm
Miranda was a breath of fresh air at the ACMs. She brought the crowd to their feet after singing Tin Man. She looked beautiful and when she started singing with her clear voice and just her guitar, she was magnificent!
April 13, 2017 @ 6:31 am
So nice to see someone that can pick up a guitar and powerfully sing a song on key, without a bunch of autotune and bells and whistles to distract from the fact that they are talentless hacks.
April 13, 2017 @ 6:39 am
Before the show started, I was holding my breath, waiting for yet another tasteless Gwake announcement. Fortunately, Blake simply tweeted a dumb comment about Oklahoma, while pretending he didn’t watch every single minute of the event..Maybe the blind items about Gwake have a grain of truth to them. At any rate, he showed up at Grand Ol’ Opry on the 11th, perhaps trying to woo back a few of his disgusted fans. Now if he would just pay his Opry dues..Glad for Miranda’s well deserved success.
April 13, 2017 @ 1:15 pm
Why can’t you Miranda fans let her be successful without constantly having to bring up her ex husband of almost 2 years now? It’s sexist AF when a woman shines but let’s see what her ex husband has to say or lets go on her ex husband’s social media and beg him to take her back. It’s insulting to Miranda and it’s insulting to her current boyfriend. Blake doesn’t give two shits about her. He doesn’t talk about her, think about her but Miranda can’t be mentioned without her own fans obsessing over him. The worst fans in country music. If they’re not attacking other fan bases which now includes Maren Morris who was trashed before the ACMs they can’t stop obsessing over Blake and Gwen Stefani. Enough already.
April 15, 2017 @ 8:16 pm
First of all, unless you are a relative, you have no idea who Blake cares or thinks about. Secondly, he was less than gentlemanly about his new squeeze, shoving her in everyone’s face, with daily PDA photo ops..In other words, acting exactly like someone who got dumped..or caught red handed..Miranda’s fans couldn’t care less about Gwen, her heyday was in the past. Lots of people under40 don’t even know who she is..or care.
Having seen Anderson East in concert, imo he is hugely talented, as is his girlfriend.
Maybe if Blake stopped acting like a jackass, Miranda’s ‘fans’ would settle down.
April 21, 2017 @ 11:03 am
Miranda Probably let Blake know she would be singing “Tin Man” and that is why he didn’t attend the ACM Award Show.
April 13, 2017 @ 7:09 am
I love her album and she is a great artist. Her and Reba had the best performances that night. True talent and can’t wait to hear what else Miranda has in store for us.
April 13, 2017 @ 7:44 am
Three chords and the truth…
April 13, 2017 @ 8:31 am
Carrie Underwood fans be like “the ACMs never support Carrie!! Wha aaa???!
April 13, 2017 @ 9:52 am
Carrie doesn’t need the ACM’s support, she’s fine
April 17, 2017 @ 7:45 pm
Until you posted that comment I don’t see any mention of Carrie on here, why even bring it up?
Carrie and Miranda are friends, fans of both sides need to get over it and move on.
April 17, 2017 @ 8:43 pm
http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/country/7751414/carrie-underwood-country-radio-fans
April 18, 2017 @ 5:05 pm
Wow yeah okay I see what ya mean, hadn’t seen that article, I thought you meant they were posting stuff on here. I get what they are trying to say but the way I see it Carrie wins lots of awards where Miranda never gets a look in so it balances out.
April 13, 2017 @ 9:17 am
Put me also in the group that liked “We Should Be Friends.” Not every song needs to be about love or heartache or getting drunk in a field. I thought the writing was solid and it had a decent message. Was it going to change music forever or save the world? No, but it’s a hell of a lot less cheesy than half the songs out there now.
April 13, 2017 @ 9:32 am
Trig, I wonder how much of that increase was from your followers, lol! The only damn reason I watched was to see Miranda and Stapleton.
April 13, 2017 @ 10:48 am
I’ve always like Miranda Lambert and wouldn’t mind seeing her perform live one day. I just see a legit artist even though it’s not really the sound I typically listen to myself. However, the content of her music is pretty good and I’ve found myself enjoying several of her songs. Very good performance.
April 13, 2017 @ 10:58 am
Hell, I only watched for Stapleton, but glad I heard “Tin Man”. One of the best performances of the night
April 13, 2017 @ 3:22 pm
Good.
April 13, 2017 @ 7:15 pm
I think ML will be one of those artists who will weather the twilight of her career very well and without the feeling that she needs to maintain her popularity by trying to fit in with the in crowd. I’m not saying she’s through. Just that she has been on the scene for about 10 years now and all artists have a shelf life.
I think she will see the writing on the wall when it appears and she will easily transition to a role similar to Emmylou, Lucinda and dare I say Willie Nelson? Will she become an icon? Maybe not but she will never stop making music and touring. She won’t care about radio success as much (most artists welcome any mass exposure especially if it’s on their own terms.
The Kelsea Ballerini’s of the world can only dream about having a talent like Miranda.
April 13, 2017 @ 7:37 pm
I agree 100% Sweet On Stuart. I am a huge fan of Miranda Lambert. She’s made it in Country Music. She will never have to worry about commercial success again. She truly is writing, singing and touring for the love of Country Music/Her Art! Its a win win situation for Miranda and her fans, like you and me!
April 13, 2017 @ 8:41 pm
Rhonda, I am actually looking forward to the rest of her career. The next album will be telling.
April 15, 2017 @ 5:59 pm
I watched the show to see Miranda sing ‘Tin Man’ and I was not disappointed!
April 16, 2017 @ 4:28 am
Miranda Lambert said she would let her album speak for her and wouldn’t speak about her divorce. I respected her for that. When album sales and concert ticket sales started to wane she’s suddenly bringing up “her” divorce every single opportunity she gets. She says she “got the HELL out of Oklahoma” every night… unless she’s in Oklahoma, then its “I’ll always love Oklahoma”. Two-faced much? I’ve been to two of recent concerts and they were short and she got progressively more drunk throughout the night. She was decent. That’s it. Nothing special at all. She is obviously still hung up on Blake.
Who cares if she cheated…I mean, everyone knows she did. Shit happens. Sucks that she threw away her marriage vows but whatever. She did get a couple hit songs from Blake and some notoriety. None of that bothers me much. Just shut about the divorce all the freaking time. Blake literally never brings it up. Never thought I’d be on Blake Shelton’s side. Jeez! Plus, Miranda’s new album is sort of banal. A little boring. Platinum. Revolution. Those were kick ass. Not this one.
April 18, 2017 @ 4:51 pm
Shows what I know. We Should Be Friends is my favorite song on the album.
April 21, 2017 @ 10:50 am
The nasty fans are Gwen’s fans and they are paid to write awful lies about Miranda! Gwen is using Blake to become relevant again. Blake allows Gwen to post their phony PDA because he wants to make Miranda jealous. He made a big mistake and he knows it. His peers and fans know it too. Miranda has moved on and is in a good place. While Blake has aged 20 years and looks absolutely miserable since their divorce, Miranda looks beautiful and happy. She loved Blake and tried to save their marriage, but couldn’t compete with the lure of the Hollywood lifestyle and the lap dances he was getting backstage from Gwen. This is just my opinion, of course and I have to admit that I loved Blake and Miranda together. Miranda is happier without Blake and wants to start a family which she couldn’t do with Blake because she knew he would always be a player. She is relieved the misery has ended and she glows with her new guy. Sorry, I just had to write this.