Taylor Swift Extends Artist 100 No. 1 Record, Jimmy Buffett Returns at No. 3

Taylor Swift spends a record-extending 79th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Sept. 16), thanks to nine albums on the Billboard 200, all in the top 50, and three songs on the Billboard Hot 100.

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Leading Swift’s titles on the Billboard 200 are Midnights at No. 5, with 45,000 equivalent album units earned Sept. 1-7, according to Luminate, and Lover at No. 9 (41,000 units).

Here’s a recap of Swift’s current Billboard 200-charting albums.

Rank, Title:

  • No. 5, Midnights
  • No. 9, Lover
  • No. 11, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
  • No. 12, Folklore
  • No. 14, 1989
  • No. 17, Reputation
  • No. 21, Red (Taylor’s Version)
  • No. 31, Evermore
  • No. 50, Fearless (Taylor’s Version)

Swift is the only artist in chart history to chart at least nine albums in the top 50 of the chart simultaneously. This is the 19th time she’s achieved the feat.

On the Hot 100, Swift charts three songs: “Cruel Summer” (up 5-4, after reaching No. 3), “Anti-Hero” (32-20, after spending eight weeks at No. 1) and “Karma” featuring Ice Spice (25-24, after hitting No. 2).

Jimmy Buffett re-enters the Artist 100 at No. 3, powered by catalog gains following his death on Sept. 1. He previously reached a No. 2 best on the chart in June 2020, when his album Life on the Flip Side opened at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. His seminal hit “Margaritaville” re-enters the Hot 100 at No. 38, marking its first appearance on the chart since its original run in 1977, when it climbed to No. 8. It also re-enters the Digital Song Sales chart at No. 1, becoming the top-selling song of the week with 16,000 downloads sold. Buffett additionally places two albums on the Billboard 200: Songs You Know By Heart: Jimmy Buffet’s Greatest Hit(s) re-enters at No. 4, a new high (52,000 units) — it’s also No. 1 on Top Album Sales — while Boats Beaches Bars & Ballads re-enters at No. 53.

Rounding out the Artist 100’s top five, Zach Bryan dips to No. 2, as his self-titled album tops the Billboard 200 for a second week (115,000 units); Morgan Wallen drops 3-4; and Luke Combs rises 6-5.

The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.

Xander Zellner

Billboard