Ethel Cain made history last week by becoming the first transgender person to secure a top 10 spot on the Billboard 200 chart in the US with her record Preacher’s Daughter. It also reached number 10 on the UK Albums chart.

Based on the life of Ethel Cain, otherwise known as Hayden Silas Anhedönia, Preacher’s Daughter tells the story of a fictional girl who is the daughter of her local town preacher. The songs describe her struggles through sexuality, family trauma, and sexual violence.

Originally released in 2022, Preacher’s Daughter failed to top the charts at that time. Since then, the album gained a cult following due to her methods of storytelling, and on April 4, the project had a long-awaited vinyl release which sold over 37,000 copies in six days, catapulting it up the Top Album Sales chart.

 

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To many listeners, it is wonderful to see a trans woman succeed amid the ongoing oppression many are currently facing in the US, to the point where other countries have had to issue travel warnings for their transgender citizens. However, amongst the hostile environment, she shows no signs of stopping, with over 3 million monthly listeners on Spotify, another album (Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You) on the way this summer, and an almost sold-out tour in North America and Europe coming up.

The tour is her biggest to date, playing in venues including London’s Eventim Apollo, Paris’ L’Olympia, New York’s Radio City Music Hall, Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium, and Berkeley’s Greek Theatre.⁠ It will not only benefit the artist but also the trans community on a wider scale, as she wrote in an Instagram post, “i am also excited to announce our partnership with @allycoalition on this tour. $1 from every ticket sold will be donated to organizations committed to serving the trans community ♡”.