Taylor Swift makes history with 14th No. 1 on Billboard 200 with ‘The Tortured Poets Department’

Taylor Swift performs at Westfield Shepherd's Bush^ London. 06/11/2012

Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department’ has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart dated May 4, earning the superstar her 14th chart-topping album. Billboard reports that “TTPD” debuted with 2.61 million equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending April 25, with 1.914 million units traditional album sales (vinyl purchases alone representing 859,000) and on-demand streams of 891.34 million units. The album also made history with the largest streaming week for an album, ever – and the second-largest week for an album in general since the Billboard 200 started measuring by units in December 2014. It also is the third-largest sales week since Luminate began electronically tracking sales in 1991, and the largest sales week for an album on vinyl in the modern era.

Swift is now tied with Jay-Z for the most No. 1 albums among soloists in the nearly-70-year history of the Billboard chart, second to The Beatles, with 19 No. 1s overall.  Swift herself reacted to the record-breaking success of ‘TTPD’ in a post on social media, writing on Instagram beneath a carousel of polaroids from the recording process: “My mind is blown. I’m completely floored by the love you’ve shown this album. 2.6 million ARE YOU ACTUALLY SERIOUS?? Thank you for listening, streaming, and welcoming Tortured Poets into your life. Feeling completely overwhelmed. I was already so fired up to get back to the tour but you doing THIS?? May 9th can’t come soon enough 🤍 — Taylor Swift, the Chairman of TTPD 🤍💿

Additionally, Swift’s song “Fortnight” (featuring Post Malone) has landed on top of the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her seventh Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 debut, and her 12th overall No. 1 on the chart.  Swift also became the only artist in history to hold the entire top 14 on the Hot 100 with tracks off “TTPD”, and she’s broken the record for most consecutive new albums with a Hot 100 No. 1 hit (with eight), as well as breaking the record for most simultaneous Hot 100 debuts (with 31).

Just days after “TTPD” dropped on April 19, (along with the surprise accompanying LP, The Anthology), Swift broke her own record for most weekly vinyl album sales, moving 700,000 copies, and about 1.5 million U.S. sales after the three-day period across all formats. The album also became the first album to hit one billion Spotify streams within its first week, beating a record that was previously held by Swift’s last album, Midnights.

Editorial credit: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com

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