If you can't get enough of Taylor Swift's latest album, 'The Tortured Poets Department,' you're not alone. Billboard said Sunday that the highly anticipated album made a “historic” debut, tying her with Jay-Z for most No. 1s among soloists as the album had the “biggest streaming week for an album ever.”
“The department of tortured poetswas released on April 19, featuring more than twenty songs believed to revolve around several of Swift's relationships, including 1975 singer Matty Healy, actor Joe Alwyn and current beau, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Billboard said the album, which Swift announced during her Acceptance speech for the Grammys made a “gigantic debut” in February, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, which ranks the most popular albums of a week in the US. That milestone marks the 34-year-old pop star's 14th album, Billboard said, tying her with hip-hop mogul Jay-Z for having the most No. 1 albums among soloists.
All of Swift's full-length studio albums and projects since the release of “Fearless” in 2008 debuted at No. 1. She and Jay-Z are surpassed only by The Beatles for most No. 1s, who have 19. the 10 artists who have had at least 10 number 1s on the Billboard 200, Swift is only one of two women, the other being Barbra Streisand, who has had 11 number 1s, tied with Bruce Springsteen and Ye, the rapper previously known as Kanye West.
The album also reached a new milestone: “the biggest streaming week for an album ever,” Billboard said with 891.34 million official flows of the album's 31 songs.
The Tortured Poets Department had earned 2.61 million equivalent album units by the end of last week. Digital downloads, CDs, vinyl LPS and cassettes made up 1.914 million of that total. Vinyl sales alone were huge, with 859,000 album units earned, marking “the largest sales week for an album on vinyl in modern times,” according to Billboard.
Swift's latest record has far surpassed Beyoncé's “Cowboy Carter” as the best-selling album of 2024. While 'Cowboy Carter' has sold 228,000 copies, 'The Tortured Poets Department' has sold more than 1.9 million copies.
Li Cohen
