Chris Stapleton boldly introduced himself to the public at large in 2015 with the release of his breakthrough debut album, Traveller.
Released in May 2015 on Mercury Records Nashville, Traveller initially debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Country Albums chart with more than 27,000 albums sold, making it one of the best-selling first weeks by a debut country artist in 2015. It’s also currently the top-selling country album of 2016 and second best across all genres (only surpassed by Adele). Moreover, the album continues to receive extensive critical acclaim and has landed Stapleton bookings on multiple national TV shows including recent appearances on Saturday Night Live and CBS News Sunday Morning.
Following a historic turn on the CMA Awards — where Stapleton became the first artist to win Album of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and New Artist of the Year at the same awards — Traveller became the first album to re-enter the Billboard 200 all-genre album chart at No. 1, where it stayed for two straight weeks.
The breakthrough success continued earlier this year at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, where Stapleton took home two awards for Best Country Album and Best Country Solo Performance (“Traveller”). Most recently, Stapleton won six awards at the 51st Annual ACM Awards — Album of the Year (for Traveller as both artist and producer), Song of the Year (for “Nobody To Blame” as both artist and songwriter), Male Vocalist of the Year and New Male Vocalist of the Year. With the six wins, Stapleton ties the record for most ACM Awards won in a single year (only Garth Brooks and Faith Hill have previously won six in the same year).
Co-produced with Dave Cobb, Traveller is comprised of songs written throughout Stapleton’s 15-year career and evokes his childhood when country, blues, rock, and R&B swirled together to create a distinctive sound that still resonates with modern fans.