Angie Martoccio
Contact Angie Martoccio on X View all posts by Angie Martoccio March 23, 2026
Sturgill Simpson, as Johnny Blue Skies, scored a No. 3 debut on the Billboard 200 with the album 'Mutiny After Midnight.' Steve Jennings/Getty Images Last month, Sturgill Simpson revealed that his new album Mutiny After Midnight — his second as his alter ego, Johnny Blue Skies — would only be released on physical formats. And for anyone who doubted that decision, the joke is on you: The album just debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200.
According to Billboard, Mutiny landed on the Top 10 with 59,000 equivalent album units earned. It’s the first physical-only release to achieve this since 2023, when Taylor Swift released Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions on Record Store Day, released only via independent record shops. Prior to that, Garth Brooks’ five-CD compilation The Anthology: Part I, The First Five Years, which was more widely available than Folklore — debuted at No. 4 in 2017.
But as Simpson noted on Instagram, Mutiny is not a compilation. “So this is the ONLY new album of original music to do it since ….we don’t know?” he wrote. “Perhaps Billboard can provide that information…”
Mutiny was pressed on six vinyl variants, a cassette, and CD. Though the album briefly leaked on YouTube, it stopped sharing data with Billboard late last year. But at the very least, the YouTube release caused excitement and word-of-mouth anticipation for the official March 13 release.
