Taylor Swift's “The Tortured Poets Department” has now become her longest-running album at No. 1 in the U.S., having spent 14 non-consecutive weeks at the top since its release in late April.
“Tortured” debuted at No. 1 with 142,000 equivalent album units, becoming the first album since Morgan Wallen's “One Thing at a Time” to spend at least 14 weeks at the top, according to Luminate. “One Thing” previously had a total of 19 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 over the course of a year.
The only direct threat Swift faced to her throne was “Vultures 2,” a companion album from Ye, or Kanye West, and Ty Dolla $ign. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 107,000 equivalent album units after its August 3 release (it was originally scheduled for a March 8 release). Collaborators on “Vultures 2” include Lil Wayne, Don Toliver, Kodak Black, Future, and Playboi Carti, among many others. The album was originally supposed to be released earlier this year as a follow-up to the previous No. 1, “Vultures 1,” which reached No. 1 in February with 148,000 units.
Notably, “Vultures 2” is Ye’s first album not to hit No. 1 immediately after its release, after a streak of 11 consecutive No. 1 albums. By contrast, Swift’s “Tortured” is the longest-running No. 1 album by a female artist since Adele’s “21.”
Vultures 2 also had a major sales impact (it is the second best-selling album on Billboard ) selling 60,500 copies in its first week. The 16-song collection was available in both regular and clean versions, and Ye's website also offered five bonus editions for sale (each containing an exclusive studio bonus track for each album).
Meanwhile, Chappelle Rowan’s “The Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess” continues its slow and steady climb into the top 10, reaching a new peak of No. 4 after previously holding No. 3 with 64,000 equivalent album units. Rowan’s “Midwestern Princess” streams have increased over the summer following the singer’s numerous festival appearances over the summer — most recently at Lollapalooza on Aug. 1.
Wallen's “One Thing at a Time” took fourth place with 63,000 units, while Billie Eilish's “Hit Me Hard and Soft” took fifth place with 57,000 units. Elsewhere, Charli XCX's “Brat” moved from ninth to sixth, a 9-6 split, following the release of a remix of “Guess” featuring Eilish. The “Guess” remix was also popular overseas, earning the Essex-born singer her first number one single as a lead artist on the Official Singles Chart.
The rest of the top 10 includes Zach Bryan's “The Great American Bar Scene” at No. 7; Wallen's “Dangerous: The Double Album” at No. 8; Noah Kahan's “Stick Season” at No. 9; and the soundtrack to the movie “Twisters: The Album” at No. 10.
As for the Hot 100, Shapoozie's “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” continues to lead the chart at No. 1, while Post Malone and Morgan Wallen's “I Had Some Help” comes in at No. 2. The top 10 on the chart is virtually unchanged from previous weeks, with Kendrick Lamar's “Not Like Us,” Sabrina Carpenter's “Espresso” and Tommy Richman's “Million Dollar Baby” rounding out the top five.
