Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Taylor Swift: The #1’s

Taylor Swift

The #1’s: 2006-2021

Overview:

Singer born Taylor Alison Swift on 12/13/1989 in Reading, Pennyslvania. She released her first album in 2006 while still a teenager. She started out as a country artist but completely transformed to a pop star by 2014 with her 1989 album. She has spent more weeks atop the Billboard album chart (54) than any other woman in history. She has sold more than 200 million records worldwide and won three Grammys for Album of the Year.


On the Web:


Lists:

Awards:

The Studio Albums:

Hover over an album cover to see its title and year of release. Click on the album to go to its dedicated DMDB page.


Compilations:

While Swift has released multiple editions of her studio albums and even re-recorded versions of some of them, she has yet to release a proper career retrospective. This page offers a glimpse of each of her studio albums, highlighting those songs which have reached #1 on various charts, thus offering a sampling of what songs would be most likely to appear on a very overdue compilation. Dates indicate the songs first appearance at #1 on any of the noted charts. Click for codes to singles charts.


Taylor Swift (2006):

Swift’s self-titled debut was released when she was sixteen years old. The album gave her five top-10 country hits, two of which went to #1. All five of those songs also reached the Billboard top 40. The album spent 24 weeks atop the country album chart and reached #5 on the overall Billboard album chart. It was certified as 7x platinum.

  • 12/22/2007: “Our Song” (CW: 6)
  • 8/23/2008: “Should’ve Said Now” (CW: 2)


Fearless (2008):

Like its predecessor, Swift’s second album gave her five top-10 country hits, two of which reached #1. However, this album made her a bona fide pop star, giving her five top-10 pop hits and winning the Grammy for Album of the Year. In addition, the two songs listed here rank amongst the DMDB’s top 1000 of all time. The album spent 11 weeks at #1 on the overall Billboard album chart and 35 weeks atop the country chart. It was certified for 10 million in sales in the United States.


Valentine’s Day (soundtrack, 2010):

  • 2/6/2010: “Today Was a Fairytale” (DG: 1, CN: 1)


Speak Now (2010):

Once again, Swift kept one foot in pop and the other in country, spending 6 and 13 weeks atop those respective album charts. It was certified for 6 million in sales in the U.S. The album gave her five more top-10 country hits and four more top-10 pop hits.

  • 8/21/2010: “Mine” (DG: 1, AC: 1)
  • 10/30/2010: “Back to December” (DG: 1)
  • 11/26/2011: “Sparks Fly” (CW: 1)
  • 3/31/2012: “Ours” (CW: 1)


Red (2012):

Swift’s farewell to country saw her spend 16 weeks at #1 on the country album chart and 7 on the pop chart. It landed 7 million in sales in the United States. She got three more top-10 country hits and four top-10 pop hits, including her first pop chart-topper, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.”

  • 9/1/2012: “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” (BB: 3, DG: 5, CW: 10, CN: 4)
  • 10/13/2012: “Begin Again” (DG: 1)
  • 10/27/2012: “I Knew You Were Trouble” (BA: 4, DG: 3, RR: 6, A40: 1)


1989 (2014):

Swift’s full-fledged pop coronation made her a superstar. She racked up three #1 pop hits and two more top-10’s. “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space” rank in the DMDB’s top 1000 of all time. The album logged 11 weeks atop the Billboard album chart. At more than 12 million sales worldwide, it is her biggest seller to date. It also garnered her a second Album of the Year Grammy.

  • 9/6/2014: “Shake It Off” (BB: 4, BA: 4, DG: 4, ST: 2, RR: 2, AC: 5, A40: 8, CN: 4, AU: 3)
  • 11/1/2014: “Out of the Woods” (DG: 1)
  • 11/15/2014: “Blank Space” (BB: 7, BA: 6, DG: 7, ST: 7, RR: 5, AC: 4, A40: 6, CN: 6, AU: 3)
  • 3/15/2015: “Style” (RR: 3, AC: 2, A40: 2)
  • 6/6/2015: with Kendrick Lamar “Bad Blood” (with Kendrick Lamar, BB: 1, BA: 5, DG: 5, RR: 6, A40: 3, CN: 1, AU: 3)
  • 10/25/2015: “Wildest Dreams” (BA: 2, RR: 2, A40: 4)


Fifty Shades Darker (soundtrack, 2017):

  • 12/31/2016: Zayn with Taylor Swift “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” (with Zayn, DG: 2)


Reputation (2017):

This one spent four weeks at #1 on the album chart and sold more than 4.5 million worldwide. It gave Swift another Billboard Hot 100 chart topper with “Look What You Made Me Do” and a top-5 hit with “Ready for It?” Three more songs reached the top 20.

  • 9/16/2017: “Look What You Made Me Do” (BB: 3, DG: 1, ST: 2, RR: 1, UK: 2, CN: 3, AU: 2)
  • 9/23/2017: “Ready for It?” (DG: 1)
  • 11/11/2017: “Gorgeous” (DG: 1)
  • 11/25/2017: “Call It What You Want” (DG: 1)
  • 7/22/2018: “Delicate” (RR: 1, AC; 10, A40: 4)


Lover (2019):

Swift’s sixth consecutive chart-topper only spent one week atop the Billboard album chart but matched the 4.5+ million in sales of its predecessor. Swift barely missed the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking in the runner-up spot with “Me!” and “You Need to Calm Down.” The title cut was also a top-10 hit.

  • 5/11/2019: “Me!” (with Brendon Urie, DG: 1)
  • 6/29/2019: “You Need to Calm Down” (DG: 1)
  • 8/31/2019: “Lover” (DG: 2)


Miss Americana (documentary, 2020):

  • 2/15/2020: “Only the Young” (DG: 1)


Folklore (2020):

For her eighth album, Swift racked up another eight weeks at #1 on the Billboard album chart, but saw a drop-off in sales. It still sold 2 million worldwide. “Cardigan” gave Swift another #1 hit and “Exile” and “The 1” reached the top 10. The album was her third to win the Grammy for Album of the Year.

  • 8/8/2020: “Cardigan” (BB: 1, DG: 1, ST: 1)


Evermore (2020):

Swift’s ninth studio release gave her another 3 weeks atop the Billboard album chart. This was her first album to fail to sell a million copies. “Willow” became Swift’s seventh song to reach the pinnacle of the Billboard Hot 100.

  • 12/26/2020: “Willow” (BB: 1, DG: 1, A40: 3)


Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (2021):

  • 2/27/2021: “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” (DG: 1)


Red (Taylor’s Version) (2021):

  • 11/15/2021: “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” (BB: 1, DG: 1, ST: 1, CW: 3, CN: 1, AU: 1)

Resources and Related Links:


First posted 11/16/2021; last updated 12/29/2021.

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