(Credits: Jace & Afsoon)
Tue 9 September 2025 15:00, UK
Any artist dreams of getting at least one of their records to number one.Â
The singles market is only a small indication of someone’s star power, but if people are invested enough to get an entire album to the top of the charts, that’s a better sign of someone sticking around for a while. But some of the biggest artists of all time have no problem calling the top spot their artistic home after a while.
Because if you think about it, the most prominent stars in the world feel like they have the top spot guaranteed whenever they put out a record. No one’s thinking that the latest Jay-Z record is going to debut at number two, and if The Beatles were to have any of their albums not make it into the top ten at least, that’s cause to think that there’s something more happening on the charts half the time.
But the most iconic artists in the world often need a little more than a few good tracks to get their album to number one. It takes someone being genuinely invested in the artist as a person, and while most casual listeners would prefer to simply listen to the music, it helps to have a quirk that makes the superfans want to buy the album in droves rather than casually listening to an artist in passing.
That’s what separates a Lady Gaga from someone like Katy Perry. ‘The Little Monsters’ have always been there to support nearly everything that Gaga puts out, but for someone that was once known to be a fantastic singles artist like Perry was, it’s always going to be tough for her to get over an album that doesn’t have hits from back to front or is a little more thoughtful than her 2010s bubblegum pop. But even by those standards, Taylor Swift was already in a different league.
Which artist has had the longest run of number one albums?
While there have been fans who have been riding with Swift since her time as a curly-haired country star, she has carved out a massive fanbase that will ride with her through any album that she creates. That’s not necessarily a bad thing considering her track record for pretty great pop music, but even when an album isn’t looked at as fondly by the critics, there’s a reason why kids still rocket her record to number one.
Sure, there are moments on her records that could cut as deep as old singer-songwriters like Carole King and Joni Mitchell, but the reason why Swift is so accepted is that people can see themselves in the music she makes. That might not need to know the finer details of her relationship with Travis Kelce or anything, but even beyond her high-profile relationships, her way of achieving 14 consecutive number one albums comes down to an ingenious marketing plan as well.Â
Despite not having 14 proper albums to her name, her decision to re-record her old records after losing the rights to her back catalogue is one of the most interesting creative moves any artist has made. Like many young musicians, Swift had to deal with the fact that she was under lock and key, but the reason why fans flocked to the re-releases wasn’t only for completionist purposes. It was to prove to record companies that sometimes artists don’t need to play by the rules to get their songs to number one.
So while her run from Fearless all the way to The Tortured Poets Department has debuted at number one, it’s not like what Swift is doing is a fluke, either. She has never lost that sense of momentum, and even if people who don’t care about music complain about the talk around the Eras tour or who she’s dating, I’m sure Ms Swift is crying her eyes out underneath all those awards.
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