Taylor Swift Becomes First Female Artist to Have Four Albums on Billboard’s Top 10 at Once
The pop star also surpasses Barbra Streisand for most No. 1 albums by a woman Taylor Swift has had 12 chart-topping albums—here are more facts about how she made her fortune. Photo: Getty Images By Jennifer Calfas July 17, 2023 2:12 pm ET Taylor Swift has a few new accolades thanks to her newly released “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).” The singer-songwriter is the first woman overall and first living artist in nearly six decades to have four albums on Billboard’s top 10 list in a single week, according to the magazine. “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
Taylor Swift has had 12 chart-topping albums—here are more facts about how she made her fortune. Photo: Getty Images
Taylor Swift has a few new accolades thanks to her newly released “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).”
The singer-songwriter is the first woman overall and first living artist in nearly six decades to have four albums on Billboard’s top 10 list in a single week, according to the magazine. “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” is also the superstar’s 12th album to hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts, the most of any female artist.
Three other Swift albums—2022’s “Midnights,” 2019’s “Lover” and 2020’s “Folklore”—round out her presence on Billboard’s top 10 list for the week of July 22. Herb Alpert, the Grammy Award-winning trumpeter, held that many albums on Billboard’s top 10 in a single week back in 1966, according to Billboard. Prince posthumously had five albums in the top 10 shortly after his death in 2016.
The new ‘Speak Now,’ marks the third time Swift has rerecorded an older album.
Photo: Republic Records/Associated Press
The Billboard 200 chart rankings will be published on the magazine’s website Tuesday, according to Billboard.
Swift, who now has 12 chart-topping albums, has also surpassed Barbra Streisand for the most No. 1 albums by a woman, according to Billboard. The Beatles hold the most chart-topping albums with 19, Jay-Z has 14 and Drake has 12, according to Billboard. The magazine began charting albums weekly in 1956.
A representative for Swift didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Swift released her latest rerecorded album in the middle of her “Eras Tour.” The tour, with 52 dates in stadiums across the U.S. and now 54 shows scheduled abroad, features a more than three-hour-long set list with songs from across Swift’s broad catalog. Swift’s set list heavily features albums she hadn’t yet performed on tour, including “Lover,” “Folklore,” “Evermore,” and “Midnights,” as well as bonus tracks she released with her other rerecorded albums. The marathon event, which has seen overwhelming demand, is on track to become the biggest tour in history and could gross over $1 billion.
The new “Speak Now,” released on July 7, marks the third time Swift has rerecorded an older album; she released “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” and “Red (Taylor’s Version)” in 2021. These albums are part of a yearslong effort for her to reclaim her back catalog and establish more control over her musical legacy without the rights to her earlier releases.
“I recorded this album when I was 32 (and still growing up, now) and the memories it brought back filled me with nostalgia and appreciation,” Swift said of the new album in an Instagram caption earlier this month. “For life, for you, for the fact that I get to reclaim my work. Thank you a million times, for the memories that break our fall.”
Write to Jennifer Calfas at [email protected]
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