LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 24: (L-R) Taylor Swift accepts the Artist of the Decade award … [+]
Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department isn’t just the biggest album of the year in America; it’s also one of the longest-running No. 1s ever. The set is steady atop the Billboard 200 this frame, and as it earns another stay in the penthouse, the project matches a fellow musician whom Swift has admired throughout her entire life.
The Tortured Poets Department is in charge of the Billboard 200 for a fifteenth week. The set holds at No. 1 after returning to the top spot recently, and it makes history as it keeps in the same position.
With 15 weeks spent atop the Billboard 200, The Tortured Poets Department matches Carole King’s Tapestry, which managed the same stretch, according to Billboard. That singer-songwriter classic ruled the ranking of the most-consumed albums in the U.S. for 15 turns throughout 1971.
Swift has spoken openly of her admiration for King throughout her career. The superstar was chosen to induct King into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021, and she was effusive with her compliments. During her speech, Swift stated that her parents raised her on King’s music, even referring to her as “the greatest songwriter of all time.”
At the same event, King had some pretty glorious things to say about Swift. She called her “my professional granddaughter” and thanked the pop icon for “carrying the torch forward,” which must have been a career high for Swift.
The Tortured Poets Department and Tapestry are now tied as the third-longest-running No. 1s in the history of the Billboard 200 when looking only at albums fronted by women. Whitney Houston’s The Bodyguard soundtrack lands ahead of them, in second place on the all-time list, as it managed 20 frames in charge of the tally between 1992 and 1993.
The record for the most weeks spent at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for any full-length by a female musician is still owned by Adele’s 21. Her star-making project topped the list for 24 nonconsecutive frames. Between 2011 and 2012, that title was unbeatable quite frequently, and it still ranks as one of the most successful albums by a woman ever.
