With A Record 12 Weeks At Number 1, Taylor Swift Shows No Signs Of Slowing Down
Taylor Swift Hits Career-Best 12 weeks at number 1 on the Billboard 200 With Tortured Poets Department. Are there any records Taylor Swift hasn’t broken? Sometimes it doesn’t feel like it. And this is coming from a die-hard “Swiftie”, though to date myself I’ve been a fan since well before that term existed. And still don’t love it. I love to see her continue to break records, win awards, and essentially dominate the music industry.
Sometimes it’s mind-blowing to me, as even 10-15 years ago I wondered how she could get any bigger. But oh how wrong I was. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss parts of those early days. When you still had to buy tickets the moment they went on sale, but you could almost always get them. And if you didn’t? Resale tickets were only a couple hundred dollars.
But she’s reached an unprecedented level of popularity and success in the past 4 or so years. From surprise dropping one of her most critically acclaimed (and overall best) albums Folklore during the summer of 2020. The album would go on to win her 3rd Album on the Year honor at The Grammys. Her first two re-records Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and RED (Taylor’s Version) most notably the later, also garnered her more and more attention and praise in 2021.
Then came the release of Midnights and soon after the announcement of “The Eras Tour” both in the fall of 2022. Midnights would spawn hit singles like “Anti-Hero” and “Lavender Haze” as well as cement her record-breaking 4th Grammy for Album of The Year. The most of any artist, ever. And “The Eras Tour” well we all know what that is.
The ticket on-sale was a debacle to say the least, and scarcity only drove more and more people to want to see the show. But once she took the stage opening night on March 17, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona the legend of “The Eras Tour” and the hysteria surrounding it, was born.
Hundreds of sold-out shows, a concert movie, a 3+ hour set. She’s truly on top of the world. So when Taylor released The Tortured Poets Department in April of this year, we knew the album would debut at number one. (Every release beginning with 2008’s Fearless has done just that). I even would have bet money on TTPD selling 1 million + in its first week. (Most of Taylor’s albums since 2010’s Speak Now have done just that). It shattered that number with 1.914 million traditional album sales and 2.61 million album-equivalent units in the United States alone.
12 Weeks At Number 1
Those numbers are massive. But what speaks volumes is the staying power TTPD has maintained in the last 12 weeks at number 1.
Taylor Swift’s 11th studio album The Tortured Poets Department has now continued its reign at number one on the Billboard 200 chart for the 12th consecutive week. This makes it the only album by a woman to spend its first 12 weeks at number 1 on the charts.
Yet another record Swift has broken. Will she maintain that top spot for a 13th (her lucky number) week? At this point, I’d be shocked if she didn’t.
This is also why (despite convincing theories for many many dates) I don’t see announcements of reputation (Taylor’s Version) or Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version) coming any time soon. Even if they were originally planned to happen. Taylor isn’t going to dethrone herself or do anything to upstage herself and take interest away from one of her most personal projects ever.
What’s next for Taylor? Can she continue to break records and maintain her stardom at what many believe is her peak? If there is anything I’ve learned in my 17 years as a Taylor Swift fan, never doubt her. Will she surpass 12 weeks at number 1? I’d be shocked if she doesn’t hit 13 and continue to climb. And I’d be shocked if her next original album doesn’t get there as well.
But whether she sells 3 million albums in a week or 1 solitary one, I can promise you I’ll be buying it! So congrats Taylor on 12 weeks at number 1, let’s get that number even higher.
