Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ Ties Career-Best 11 Weeks at No. 1

Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” maintains its stronghold on the Billboard 200, securing its 11th consecutive week at the No. 1 spot. This milestone ties her with her own previous record held by “1989” and “Fearless” as her longest-leading No. 1 albums. The last album by a female artist to achieve this was “1989,” which enjoyed 11 non-consecutive weeks at the top in 2014-15. If Swift’s current album manages a 12th week at No. 1, it would be the first by a female artist to do so since Adele’s “21,” which stayed at No. 1 for 24 non-consecutive weeks in 2011-12.

“The Tortured Poets Department” accumulated 114,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. for the week ending July 4, according to Luminate, even with a slight dip of 1%. The album debuted at the top of the charts on May 4 and has steadily held the position. It’s the first album by a woman to enjoy 11 consecutive weeks at No. 1 since the Whitney Houston-led soundtrack for “The Bodyguard,” which had 13 straight weeks at the top from December 1992 to March 1993, totalling 20 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1.

In other Billboard 200 chart news, Megan Thee Stallion has achieved her sixth top 10 album with “Megan” debuting at No. 3. Meanwhile, Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” climbs from No. 50 to No. 10 following the release of a deluxe vinyl edition.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums in the U.S. each week based on multi-metric consumption measured in equivalent album units, determined by Luminate. This includes album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA), and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit represents one album sale, 10 tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams of songs from the album. The updated July 13, 2024, chart will be fully available on Billboard’s website on July 9.

“The Tortured Poets Department” consists of 114,000 equivalent album units, with SEA units comprising 78,000. This marks its 11th week atop the Top Streaming Albums chart, generating 102.09 million on-demand streams for the deluxe edition’s 31 songs. Album sales account for 35,000 units due to a sales increase driven by two new CD variants sold exclusively via Swift’s webstore. TEA units amount to less than 1,000. The sales boost, up 27%, was mainly thanks to these new CD variants that included bonus tracks and were available for pre-order at $7.99 each.

This album matches Whitney Houston’s 1987 album “Whitney,” making them the only two albums by women to spend their first 11 weeks at No. 1. Only two other albums have held the No. 1 spot for their first 11 weeks: Morgan Wallen’s “One Thing at a Time” and Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life.”

Swift becomes only the third act to have three or more albums spending 11 or more weeks at No. 1, a feat achieved by only Whitney Houston and The Beatles.

Adding to her accomplishments, Swift has now spent 80 career weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, extending her record among solo artists. Elvis Presley trails behind with 67 weeks.

In the Billboard 200 this week, Morgan Wallen’s “One Thing at a Time” rises from No. 3 to No. 2, amassing 74,000 equivalent album units. Megan Thee Stallion’s “Megan” debuts at No. 3 with 64,000 units. This marks the highest debut for any rap album by a woman this year, bolstered by multiple CD variants and digital download editions.

Billie Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard and Soft” retains its No. 4 spot, earning 63,000 units. Chappell Roan’s “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” moves up to No. 5 with 60,000 units.

Other notable movements on the chart include Morgan Wallen’s “Dangerous: The Double Album” rising to No. 6, Peso Pluma’s “Éxodo” dropping to No. 7, Shaboozey’s “Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going” climbing to No. 8, and Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” advancing to No. 9. Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” re-enters the top 10 at No. 10 following its deluxe vinyl release.

Source: Billboard