All the records Taylor Swift has broken in 2023
Her latest accomplishments include a feat previously achieved only by The Beatles
Taylor Swift has masterminded her way to another record-breaking year.
The pop superstar has been dominating 2023 with new music and her massively popular Eras Tour, both of which have allowed her to make even more history. She has broken or extended several records in recent months, and the ultimate milestone may be in sight: earning the highest-grossing concert tour of all time.
With a new re-recorded album guaranteed to set even more records this October, these are some of Swift's most impressive and historic accomplishments in 2023 — so far.
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First woman with four albums in Billboard chart top 10 simultaneously
When "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" debuted in July, it was Swift's fourth album to occupy the Billboard 200 chart's top 10 at the same time, alongside "Midnights," "Lover," and "Folklore." This made her the first woman to have four albums in the Billboard chart's top 10 simultaneously and only the second living artist to do so after Herb Alpert in 1966. Prince also previously achieved this after his death in 2016.
"It's a pretty amazing feat," Alpert told The New York Times. "With the way radio is these days, and the way music is distributed, with streaming, I didn't think anyone in this era could do it."
Additionally, Swift set a record for most albums by a female artist to chart on the Billboard 200 in a single week with 11. According to Billboard, since 1963, Prince and The Beatles are the only other artists who charted more albums simultaneously.
Most number one albums by a woman in history
Swift's re-recording of her album "Speak Now" debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart when it was released in July. This was the singer's 12th album to debut at number one, breaking the record for most number one albums by a female artist in history. This record was previously held by Barbra Streisand.
Most streamed country album in a single day on Spotify
Spotify said "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" was the most streamed country album in a single day in its history, as well as the most streamed album in a day of 2023 so far.
First woman with new number one albums in five consecutive years
According to Billboard, Swift is the only woman to chart a new number one album on the Billboard 200 in five consecutive calendar years with 2019's "Lover," 2020's "Folklore" and "Evermore," 2021's "Fearless (Taylor's Version)" and "Red (Taylor's Version)," 2022's "Midnights," and 2023's "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)." The only other artists to achieve this feat are The Beatles, Drake, Jay-Z, and Paul McCartney.
Swift also became the only act to have nine records sell half a million copies in one week in the U.S. since at least 1991, when Luminate started tracking the sales, per Billboard.
Second most Hot 100-charting songs ever
When "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" dropped, all 22 songs from the album debuted on Billboard's Hot 100. This means Swift has released 212 Hot 100-charting songs in her career, the second most of all time after she surpassed the cast of "Glee," Billboard said. She's second only to Drake, so she's number one for a female artist.
First woman with simultaneous top 10 songs from three albums
Also after the release of "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)," three of Swift's songs occupied the Billboard Hot 100's top 10 at once: "I Can See You," "Cruel Summer," and "Karma." Billboard said this made Swift the "first woman ever with simultaneous top 10s from three of her own albums." No act has achieved this other than The Beatles.
Second biggest vinyl sales week of modern times
"Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" sold 268,500 vinyl records in its first week, which according to Billboard was the second biggest week for vinyl sales since 1991. The biggest week was Swift's own "Midnights," which sold 575,000 vinyl records in its first week in 2022. "Speak Now" also had the biggest week of Swift's three re-recorded albums.
Most attended concert by a female artist in the U.S.
According to Capital FM, the opening night of Swift's Eras Tour in Glendale, Arizona, set a record for the most attended U.S. concert by a female artist with a crowd of 69,000. Madonna reportedly held this record since 1987.
Swift's tour went on to continue breaking numerous attendance records, including at Texas' AT&T Stadium, Tennessee's Nissan Stadium, and Pennsylvania's Acrisure Stadium. "Apparently, you have broken the attendance record for any event in Pittsburgh ever," Swift told the crowd at Acrisure Stadium, adding, "No group of people this big has ever gotten together for one thing in Pittsburgh ever."
Coming soon: First concert tour to gross $1 billion?
A big milestone could be coming up for Swift, who is expected to set a record for highest-grossing concert tour of all time. That record is currently held by Elton John with his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, which lasted from 2018 through 2023 and grossed $939 million.
But with Eras Tour dates currently scheduled through late 2024, The Wall Street Journal reports that Swift is on track to surpass John and have the biggest tour in music history. In fact, it could become the first tour to gross over $1 billion, possibly by a fairly healthy amount. In June, Pollstar said that based on "fairly conservative" estimates, the Eras Tour's final gross could be $1.4 billion. She did promise she'd never go out of style, didn't she?
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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