Taylor Swift breaks Elvis Presley’s record and has solidified her position as the solo artist with the most weeks at the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart
With the resurgence of the album “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” Taylor Swift has solidified her position as the solo artist with the most weeks at the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart.
According to the latest report from Variety, as “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” topped the charts for the fifth time in the last week of 2023, Taylor Swift set a new record with a total of 68 weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 album chart. Prior to Taylor Swift, the record was held by Elvis Presley, who had held onto this record for a considerable amount of time.
While Swift has set a new personal record, the overall highest record still belongs to The Beatles. This legendary band’s albums have topped the Billboard 200 chart for a total of 132 weeks. Meanwhile, Presley, with 67 weeks, holds the second position among solo artists and the third position overall.
“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” sold 98,000 equivalent album units in the week ending December 28, 2023. According to Luminate and Billboard’s report, this figure is nearly half of the peak holiday shopping season, marking a 28% decrease from the previous week. Among the 98,000 units, 61,000 were pure album sales. This is attributed to a surge in last-minute Christmas gift purchases.
In the top 10 of the album chart, far surpassing Swift’s lead is Michael Buble’s 2011 Christmas album at the second position, Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday” slipping to third place, Nat King Cole’s seasonal album at fourth place (a historical peak to date), Morgan Wallen’s 2023 blockbuster “One Thing at a Time” holding steady at fifth place, Drake maintaining the sixth position with “For All the Dogs,” “A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector” at seventh place (another historical peak).
Mariah Carey’s Christmas album sits at eighth place, Swift’s 2022 release “Midnights” at ninth place, and Pentatonix’s “Greatest Christmas Hits” at tenth place (also its highest position to date).
In conclusion, with her latest achievement in the last week of 2023, America’s former country music princess has wrapped up a truly triumphant year.
