Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department is crushing records like a sumo wrestler on a trampoline.
In a feat more impressive than finding a needle in a haystack while blindfolded, the album raked in 163,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending July 11. And hold onto your hats, because this bad boy has been lounging at the top spot for 12 weeks straight since May, according to Billboard.
Move over, Whitney Houston! Swift has just leapfrogged Whitney’s 1987 album, creatively titled Whitney, to become the only album by a woman to spend its first 12 weeks at No. 1. Whitney’s album only managed a measly 11 weeks at the top—amateur hour, right?
This marathon run at the top makes The Tortured Poets Department Taylor’s longest-running No. 1 album to date. It’s like her album had an unlimited supply of rocket fuel.
Only two other albums have had the stamina to chill at No. 1 for their first 12 weeks: Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time and Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life. Pretty decent company, if you ask us.
The last time an album by a woman pulled off at least 12 weeks at No. 1 was Adele’s 21, which casually spent 24 nonconsecutive weeks on top in 2011 and 2012. Adele must be feeling a little nervous right about now.
With this victory lap, Taylor is now up to her 81st career week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, extending her record among soloists. She’s also tied with Jay-Z for the most No. 1s among soloists, because why not?
The Tortured Poets Department’s sales were given a steroid boost thanks to her official webstore, which, like a magical vending machine, restocked seven earlier released CD variants of the album, including a signed edition, plus three new digital album download variants. Talk about a shopping spree!
