LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 11: Taylor Swift attends "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" Concert ... [+]
Taylor Swift’s new album The Tortured Poets Department is in charge of the Billboard 200 once again this frame. The title debuted at No. 1 on the ranking of the most-consumed full-lengths in the U.S., and it’s held there ever since. The pop superstar’s latest has now held atop the tally for its first nine weeks, and in doing so, it makes history.
According to Billboard, The Tortured Poets Department is just the sixth album in U.S. history to start at No. 1 and then spend its first nine weeks in that position. Swift is in some truly incredible company with this latest feat, as should be expected.
The first title to manage this specific showing was Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life. That set spent its first 13 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 1976.
Wonder’s accomplishment wouldn’t be matched until 1987. That year, Whitney Houston’s sophomore set, the simply-titled Whitney, opened at No. 1 and then ruled for its first 11 consecutive frames.
Houston and Wonder sat alone in their club for nearly 30 years. Drake then joined them in 2016, when his blockbuster Views launched atop the Billboard 200 and refused to budge for nine weeks.
Only one musician has managed this showing twice, and he’s responsible for the two most recent additions to this group–before Swift, that is. Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous started atop the Billboard 200 and then ruled for 10 consecutive weeks. He then replicated that success, and even bested his performance, with his follow-up.
Wallen’s One Thing at a Time brought the country musician back to the top of the Billboard 200 just last year. That title earned 19 frames at No. 1, though only the first 12 were in a row. Both of the superstar’s latest projects are still living close to the summit on the tally.
In a few days, The Tortured Poets Department will likely become one of the only titles to spend its first 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. At present, it doesn’t look like Swift faces any serious competition for the throne, and at this point, there’s no telling how much longer the studio effort will rule.
