By now, we’re used to Taylor Swift utterly dominating the UK charts – not least with Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) recently doubling its 2010 namesake’s original first week sales to, in turn, secure her 10th UK No.1 and outsell the rest of the Top 10 combined.
But, aside from her latest work doing so well – and being certified silver in one week alone recently – there have been some other impressive records unfolding, too, which deserve recognition.
As revealed in Music Week’s charts analysis, last Friday (July 21) Swift added to her incredible run of broken records with another: she became the first woman in chart history to have four albums in the Top 10 at the same time in the UK, having also just achieved a similar accolade in America the week prior.
Widen the scope even more, however, and six Taylor records appeared in the Top 20 with Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) being joined by Midnights (No.5), 1989 (No.8), Lover (No.9), Reputation (No.15) and Folklore (No.16).
Why this matters? Well, this also made Swift the first female artist ever – and the first artist in 59 years period – to have six studio albums in the Top 20, topping David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan.
As demand for her Eras tour continues to skyrocket, it’s perhaps no surprise that within this her catalogue is performing incredibly well, with 1989 actually achieving its highest chart position since January 2016, and Lover its highest since October 2019.
Since release earlier this month, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) now stands on sales of 79,824 in the UK. It also secured the biggest Week 1 album streams (SEA-2) by any artist in 2023 in the UK. The record became Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day this year and the most-streamed country album in a single day in Spotify history.
Earlier this year, Taylor Swift was revealed as the winner of IFPI’s 2022 Global Recording Artist Of The Year Award. It is the third time that the superstar has won the award, a feat unmatched by any other act. Taylor Swift also won in 2014 and 2019. The award is calculated according to an artist’s or group’s worldwide performance across digital and physical music formats during the year, from streams to vinyl, and covers their entire body of work.
Swift is now second only to Madonna for the record of most UK No.1 albums (12) for a female artist in history. All eyes are fixed firmly on where she will stand once her Taylor’s Version series comes to an end. Watch this space.
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