Chris Cagle can only wonder what would have happened if his record label had held up the release of his new album until the first single hit the Top 10.

"In my opinion, the album shouldn't have been released until the single ("Miss Me Baby") is at least Top 10," the country star said in a recent telephone interview.

Still, the album, "Anywhere but Here," sold more than 47,090 in the first week after it hit stores Oct. 4. "Miss Me Baby" was in the Top 20 at the time.

Those numbers were good enough that the album debuted last week at No. 4 on Billboard's country chart and No. 24 on its Top 200 Albums chart.