Taylor Swift claims record-breaking top 14 spots on Billboard Hot 100
FRANCE-US-MUSIC-TAYLOR SWIFT
Taylor Swift is enjoying one of the biggest weeks of her career, as songs from her new album The Tortured Poets Department claim a record-breaking 14 spots on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The feat surpasses the record she set in 2022, when she became the only artist in history to dominate the Hot 100’s entire Top 10 following the release of Midnights.
With her latest album, the 34-year-old has now achieved her 12th No 1 single in the US with “Fortnights”, the lead track from TTPD, with 13 other songs charting from No 2 to No 14.
The album also topped the charts, meaning Swift is now tied with Jay-Z for the most No 1s by a solo artist (14). It sold 2.6 million units within the first fortnight of its release, the highest sales for any album since Adele’s 2015 LP, 25.
Billboard said traditional album sales, which include digital downloads, CDs, vinyl LPs and cassettes accounted for 1.914 million of the 2.61 million sales. This makes Swift’s by far the top-selling album of 2024, ahead of Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, which has sold 228,000 units so far.
The pop titan is also reigning over the charts in the UK, achieving her third double for the third consecutive year as TTPD tops the album chart and “Fortnight” soars to No 1 in the singles chart.
Swift reacted to the news by sharing a series of poloroids with some of her TTPD collaborators, including British musician Florence Welch and rapper/singer Post Malone.
“2.6 million ARE YOU ACTUALLY SERIOUS??” she wrote. “Thank you for listening, streaming and welcoming Tortured Poets into your life. Feeling completely overwhelmed.”
She continued: “I was already so fired up to get back to the tour but you doing THIS?? 9 May can’t come soon enough.”
Swift’s Eras Tour is scheduled to resume with her first European date in Paris on 9 May, with many fans predicting that she will perform at least one or two tracks from TTPD live for the first time.
The Independent’s critic Helen Brown awarded Swift’s album five stars, writing that it was “a terrific reminder of her storytelling powers”.
Many of the songs are believed to be about the star’s brief fling with The 1975 frontman Matty Healy, while others delve into her heartbreak over the end of her six-year relationship with British actor Joe Alwyn.
As well as collaborations with Welch and Post Malone, physical copies of the record include an original poem by Fleetwood Mac legend Stevie Nicks, whom Swift namechecks on her song “Clara Bow”.
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