From two months ago, The Department of Tortured PoetsTaylor Swift's eleventh studio album, has sat at number 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. That's eight consecutive weeks for the LP, which has remained at the top until Billie Eilish's release. HIT ME HARD AND SOFT and Charli XCX GOLF CLUB, and it seems unlikely to change anytime soon.
To many, this probably doesn't sound all that surprising: After all, Swift is on top of the world, as she continues “The Eras Tour” and basks in the glow of her fifth Album of the Year trophy. But it is true that TTPD He hasn't exactly held on to that top spot without a fight.
As Billie Eilish and Charli XCX's new albums gained momentum and acclaim, Swift released variants of TTPD with one or two new tracks, the most recent additions being voice memo recordings and live versions of songs that appear on the project. Billboard's structure counts these types of reissues as sales toward overall chart placement, and even these barely released tracks pressure fans and collectors to purchase the entire project again.
On the one hand, it's just business, and Swift is playing within the rules that Billboard provides, as many other pop artists have done. She doesn't force anyone to buy the new versions of the album, and the sheer size of her following almost guarantees that the strategy will work. But on the other hand, it's a bit boring.
So the question is: with the power of capitalism and fandom on their side, can anyone surpass Taylor and claim the number one spot this summer? The first answer is not most people's idea of a savior, but, last summer, Morgan Wallen's total dominance on the charts said it all. The gigantic rural project had a wild time 18 non-consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 chart in 2023, matching the legacy of Garth Brooks' iconic album. Ropin' the wind – on the lists, at least. Even now, Wallen is currently the only artist with multiple songs in the Top 5 of the Apple Music charts in the US, but he does not have a full project scheduled for summer 2024.
The Swift's biggest competition might be packed into a 4′ 11″ frame. “Eras Tour” opener Sabrina Carpenter recently announced her upcoming album, short and sweet, which is scheduled for release in August. Carpenter doesn't have anything close to the numbers Swift has racked up, but she's quickly gaining momentum. Her 2024 single “Espresso” achieved viral status, debuting at No. 7 on the Hot 100 and peaking at No. 3 before reaching No. 1 on Global Spotify. She played and released five alternate versions of the song with names like “Espresso” (double shot version). This business strategy, combined with the viral appeal of her frothy pop tunes, could balance short and sweet to challenge TTPDwhich by August 23 will have been available for more than four full months.
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