Kate Hudson has already achieved numerous accolades in her career, including an Academy Award nomination for her role as Penny Lane in Almost Famous, but now she has something else to add to her résumé: Billboard-charting artist on her own.
Hudson’s debut studio album Glorious, released May 17 on HK Music/Virgin Records, debuts on each of the following charts this week (dated June 1):
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The 12-track set starts with 8,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in its opening week (May 17-23), according to Luminate. Of that sum, 7,000 were in album sales, with 2,000 in vinyl. Its first week totals were aided by its availability across five vinyl variants (including exclusive iterations for Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Target, as well as a signed edition in the artist’s webstore) and a promotional partnership with TalkShopLive.
The album also helps Hudson debut at No. 5 on the Emerging Artists chart.
Hudson teamed with Grammy Award-winner and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Linda Perry for much of the album, along with Johan Carlsson and Danny Fujikawa. The latter is Hudson’s fiancé and singer-guitarist in the band Chief. Carlsson was a member of the band Carolina Liar and has written and produced songs for Flo Rida, Ariana Grande, One Direction and Katy Perry, among others.
In a recent interview with Billboard, Hudson said that most of the set’s songs were written over a two-week period. “At one point, we wrote three songs in a day and Linda’s like, ‘I think we need to stop. I think we have two albums.’ We could have written forever.”
Hudson, who is managed by Sandbox Entertainment, signed with Virgin Music Group in February and released her first single under the deal, “Talk About Love,” Jan. 30.
Glorious earns Hudson her first solo entry on Billboard’s charts, following one collaborative hit. In September 2012, her role as dance teacher Cassandra July in the fourth season of Glee resulted in a Billboard chart placement following that season’s premiere episode. The Glee cast’s “Americano/Dance Again,” featuring Hudson, reached No. 25 on the Pop Digital Song Sales chart and No. 61 on Digital Song Sales. The song, in which Hudson performs in character, is a mashup of Lady Gaga’s “Americano” and Jennifer Lopez’s “Dance Again,” featuring Pitbull.
Along with Almost Famous, Hudson has also starred in box office hits including Bride Wars, Glass Onion and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.
