How Long Can Taylor Swift Keep ‘Tortured Poets’ at No. 1? Here Are Six Records She Could Break

Taylor Swift‘s “The Tortured Poets Department” has spent its first eight weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 album chart — a very good number that looks to get better. It may not vacate the top spot any time soon, between the album’s still-blockbuster streaming numbers, the issuing of variants as an insurance policy on the sales side, and the apparent lack of any competing superstar releases before mid-August.

So how long can she keep this streak going? And are there any records for consecutive weeks at No. 1 Swift is looking to break before “Tortured Poets” finally makes its inevitable dip to No. 2?

Variety has taken a look at Billboard chart history and identified a half-dozen records that she still stands to break if the album does not budge from its position as the summer marches on. Several of them look very achievable, if there aren’t any major stars that pop up with surprise releases in the next eight weeks.

Post Malone just announced he is putting out “F-1 Trillion” on Aug. 16, just a week ahead of Sabrina Carpenter issuing “Short n’ Sweet” on Aug. 23. These are the two albums on the schedule most likely to end Swift’s No. 1 streak. Chances are she is well aware of those dates and likely won’t be taking extraordinary measures to block their paths, since both artists are Swift’s friends and collaborators (Malone is a “Tortured Poets” featured artist, and Carpenter is a frequent Eras Tour opener; both artists are on labels distributed by Republic Records, which also distributes Swift’s releases). But there is plenty for Swift’s album to accomplish before those arrive.

Of course, Swift hasn’t talked about whether she has designs on breaking any records by maintaining her streak on top. It could just be that any week at No. 1 is a good week, just as her beau of record would probably think that every game that ends in a victory is a triumph, regardless of streaks or the post-season. But the issuing of so many physical and digital variants in the one week where she did face a serious threat in the U.S. — the week Billie Eilish’s latest came out — did make some chart-watchers wonder if she’s not just going for a lot of off-again, on-again weeks at No. 1 but a very long run of consecutive weeks.

So here are six milestones Swift could reach if she keeps it going:

If the streak reaches 11 weeks, she will break Adele’s record for the most consecutive weeks at No. 1 by a female artist this century. Adele’s “21” spent 10 straight weeks at No. 1, from January to March of 2012. “The Tortured Poets Department” just needs to hang on at the top for three more weeks to best that.

If the album spends 12 weeks on top, Swift will break her own record for the album of hers that has spent the most time at No. 1. It always feels good to surpass your own highwater mark. And actually she doesn’t need to have these weeks be consecutive for this particular record. “Fearless” (the original version) and “1989” are currently tied as the Swift albums that spent the most time at No. 1, with 11 weeks atop the Billboard 200 each.

If the streak reaches 13 weeks, she will beat Morgan Wallen’s record for the most consecutive weeks at No. 1 right out of the box this century. Wallen’s most recent album, 2023’s “One Thing at a Time,” spent its first 12 weeks at No. 1. Swift will need to spend five more weeks on top to steal that honor from her Republic labelmate. (It’s worth noting that Wallen’s mammothly popular album did return to the No. 1 spot after dipping out, ultimately spending 19 non-consecutive weeks atop the chart.)

If the streak reaches 21 weeks, she would break Harry Belafonte’s record for the most consecutive weeks spent at No. 1 by any artist, female or male. So, look, this one is just not going to happen. Or could it? Never count Swift out, but it’s hard to imagine even as big a hit as “Tortured Poets” staying on top with no interruptions all the way into October. But we take note of this one anyway, as a (probably) impossible dream. Belafonte spent his 20 straight weeks on top with “Calypso” back in the late ’50s. (You probably don’t remember that one, but your great-great-grandmother should know.) The Belafonte album did not start out at No. 1, though, so it leaves Stevie Wonder with the much more surpassable record of the most initial weeks on top.

Is Swift aware of all these records that she stands to break, and thus is consciously gunning for them? It seems unlikely she’d have done the research to have all of them in the back of her mind; she probably has less time to look up all this data than we do. But it’s hardly inconceivable that, say, the Carole King benchmark might have popped up in her path at some point.

What’s worth noting as an addendum is the very significant record Swift already set, which is much more notable than any of the aforementioned ones. This is the record for the most weeks spent at No. 1 by a solo artist. As of right now, her albums have spent a collective 77 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 100. It seems like just yesterday that she surpassed Elvis Presley in topping that historic count. Actually, she broke the record just under six months ago, as 2023 was rolling over into 2024. Yet, with the eight weeks she’s spent on top since then, Swift has really left Presley in her dust, back there in second place with 67 weeks. (She long since passed any female competitors; the nearest one in the lifetime count for weeks with a No. 1 album is Whitney Houston, with 46.)

So, since she has already set a record that may never be surpassed in our lifetimes, for the most weeks at No. 1 by a solo artist, why should she bother keeping up a competitive streak for the album charts anymore, if some of the possible benchmarks we mention are small potatoes, by comparison?

It could be because she really has her eye on the ultimate big kahuna: the most weeks spent at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 by any artist, period, be it group or solo. That record is held by the Beatles, with 132 weeks — still 55 weeks ahead of Swift. But she’s gaining on them fast enough that breaking their record feels like a potentially realistic lifetime goal, if she can maintain her prolific output and her penchant for capturing the public imagination. If she were to spend eight weeks on top of the chart each year, she could break their record in less than a decade. But keeping up that level of output may be challenging as she approaches middle age. Which is one good reason for her to be racking up as many weeks at No, 1 right now, while she’s at her most popular and prolific. She probably isn’t focused on accruing bragging rights on Morgan Wallen or even Adele, Carole or Stevie. Think “beat the Beatles,” if you’re going to think “Endgame.”