Another day, another Taylor Swift record!
The Pop megadiva may have been shocked to see she wasn’t #1 on Billboard’s ‘Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century‘ list last week, but this week she finds herself looking down on the competition on a number of other tallies to historic measure.
Video In-Article Ad (Desktop)See what we mean inside.
Video In-Article Ad (Desktop)Thanks to the first physical release of the deluxe ‘Anthology‘ edition of Swift’s latest chart-topping album, ‘The Tortured Poets Department‘ (TTPD), the GRAMMY-winning songstress saw the set bound back to the top of the Billboard 200 with a whopping 405,000 units sold over the last sales tracking period.
Video In-Article Ad (Desktop)Its 16th non-consecutive week of topping the tally, ‘Poets’ not only becomes the second longest-reigning female studio album in history (behind the 21-week rule of Adele‘s ‘21‘) but also extends Taylor’s reign as the soloist with the most overall weeks at #1 (85).
Video In-Article Ad (Desktop)Only The Beatles have a higher cumulative count (132).
Video In-Article Ad (Desktop)Sold exclusively at Target, the physical ‘Anthology’ came as the latest iteration of the project which now has a standard edition (including multiple physical and digital configurations), the 31-song digital ‘Anthology’ edition, and now the CD and vinyl versions with bonus acoustic tracks.
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The announcement of TTPD’s return to No.1 on Sunday (December 8) came as a timely one as the day also marked the end of the ‘The Eras World Tour’ after 149 dates.
Video In-Article Ad (Desktop)Launched in March 2023, the record-breaking jaunt trotted to 21 countries across five continents.
Video In-Article Ad (Desktop)According to the New York Times, ‘Eras’ earned a jaw-dropping $2,077,618,725 in ticket sales thanks to attendance from over 10 million fans – a sum that does not include merchandise or movie sales.
Video In-Article Ad (Desktop)For context, $2B is more than DOUBLE the gross ticket sales of any concert tour in history.
Video In-Article Ad (Desktop)As her beloved fans (affectionately called #Swifties) continue to celebrate the wins that propelled her to billionaire status in 2024, look inside to see who joins Swift inside the updated TGJ Chart Check: Billboard 200.
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Hail to the Queen of Music. She slayed all of your faves!
The Icon that is Taylor swift. She must win album of the year. She’s on a different level to everyone else
FLOP
Mid performer and well written but samey music. Popularity doesn’t equal iconic. She is the Ford of the music world.
Beyonce was rightfully crowned number 1 pop star as she may not have Taylors writing ability, (but thats the case with many legends. Whitney, Aretha and Celine didn’t write their biggest hits) but she performs with an energy and charisma like no other and her vocal ability is stellar. A technician. She vocalises with a consistency, proficiency and stamina beyond most of your hollering faves. But many don’t recognise that due to Average Joe insight.
Whilst the 1st 8 yrs of her solo career (Dangerously in Love to I Am) she chased chart success and trends, 4 onwards ( so the majority of her solo career) she has marched to the beat of her own drum and given quality, critically acclaimed bodies of work that all differ from each other thematically and are accompanied by a reinvention of her presentation as an artist whether that’s in music videos or her public persona. She embodies her art and shapes it and has input on it at every step from the lyrics and vocal production, to the videos, to the sound, camera, lighting setup and live musical direction of her performances.
She is the number 1 pop star of this century and that cannot be denied with any credibility.