In a monumental achievement, Taylor Swift has now surpassed Barbra Streisand to secure the most number one albums for any female artist. Previously tied with 11 top albums each, Taylor’s recent release of “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” propelled her to break the tie with Barbra.
Released on July 7th, “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” swiftly climbed to number one on the charts. The album has been met with immense success, selling an impressive 268,500 vinyl copies alone. This achievement places it second only to Taylor’s tenth album, “Midnights,” for the largest vinyl sales of the modern era.
In another remarkable feat, Taylor has become the first living artist since 1966 to have four albums simultaneously in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 albums chart. Alongside “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” her albums “Folklore,” “Lover,” and “Midnights” are currently dominating the charts.
Pop Crave reported that Taylor accounted for 1 in 25 of every vinyl sale in 2022, further solidifying her impact on the music industry. Additionally, she became the first artist to have nine albums sell over 500,000 copies in a single week.
While breaking records in the music industry, Taylor is also captivating audiences worldwide with her Eras Tour, which kicked off on March 17th. Spanning 131 concerts across five continents, the tour is set to conclude on August 17th, 2024, in London, England.
Record-breaking success for Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
Taylor Swift has again made history with her latest album, “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).” The album achieved the biggest debut for any album this year, with first-week sales of 716,000 album equivalents in the US and over 1 million worldwide. This extraordinary success propelled Taylor to the top of the Billboard 200, claiming the number one spot.
Not only did “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” achieve the biggest sales week for a re-recorded album ever, surpassing even the 1 million first-week global consumption of “Red (Taylor’s Version)” in 2021, but it also secured the second biggest vinyl sales week in Nielsen history, following Taylor Swift’s album “Midnights.”
On Spotify, the album made a significant impact as well. It achieved the biggest debut for a country album ever, the biggest debut for any album on the platform in 2023, and the 5th biggest debut of all time, accumulating 128 million first-day streams. Taylor Swift’s tracks from “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” dominated the Top 18 on US Spotify and the Top 10 on the Global Spotify Charts.
Furthermore, Taylor became the first female artist to exceed 97 million monthly listeners on Spotify and delivered over 100 million daily catalog streams for over 15 days, setting a record never achieved. With “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” she holds the top four female album streaming debuts in Spotify history, with only “Midnights” surpassing it. She also became the first female artist to earn two 100 million album streaming debuts on Spotify.
Taylor Swift’s achievements extend to the Billboard 200 as well. With ten albums that have achieved first-week sales of over 500,000 copies, she has broken the record for the most number-one albums by a female artist in Billboard 200 history. She is tied with Drake for the third most number-one albums on the Billboard 200 and has the most weeks at number one for a female artist in Billboard 200 history. Additionally, Taylor is the first artist to chart ten albums on the Billboard 200 four times simultaneously.
Internationally, “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” debuted at number one in the UK, marking Taylor’s 10th consecutive number-one UK album. It outsold the rest of the top 10 combined and doubled the opening week sales of the original “Speak Now” album in 2010. Taylor is also the only female artist in UK chart history to simultaneously have three studio albums in the top 10.
In Australia, the album had the biggest first-week sales of the year since “Midnights,” securing Taylor her 11th number-one ARIA album. It also made history as the first time a singer or band replaced themselves on the ARIA charts, with “Midnights” at number one the previous week. With six albums currently in the top 10, Taylor holds the record for the most albums in the Australian top 10.
The incredible success of “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” demonstrates Taylor Swift’s unwavering impact and popularity as a global music sensation. Her record-breaking achievements solidify her status as one of the most influential artists of our time.
