Taylor Swift has only been releasing albums since 2006, as opposed to Madonna, who’s been doing it since 1982 — but Taylor just passed the Queen of Pop to secure a major chart record in the U.K.
Taylor’s latest release — the archival concert album Lover (Live From Paris) — has debuted at #1 on the U.K.’s album chart. It’s her 13th chart topper, which officially makes her the female artist with the most number-one albums in the history of the U.K. chart. She was previously tied with Madonna; both had 12.
Lover (Live From Paris), originally recorded in 2019 and released as a limited edition in 2023, was reissued as a 2-LP heart-shaped vinyl edition this year for Valentine’s Day. It sold 47,000 units in the U.K., and she was able to top the charts just from those sales — no streams contributed to her chart position.
The last time an album achieved that was in 2017, when — guess who? — Taylor did it with Reputation. As you may recall, Reputation didn’t hit streaming services until three weeks after it was released in physical and download formats.
Plus, Taylor is now tied with Elvis Presley as the international artist with the most U.K. #1 albums ever. Overall, only The Beatles, Robbie Williams and The Rolling Stones have had more number-one albums in U.K. chart history.
Taylor first hit #1 on the U.K. chart with 2012’s Red.
Lover (Live From Paris) features live renditions of “Me!,” “You Need to Calm Down,” “Lover,” “The Man” and four other songs from Lover — but not “Cruel Summer.”
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