Taylor Swift Set to Sweep U.K. Singles Chart With ‘Tortured Poets’

The Swift Sweep, the Taylor Takeover. Call it what you will, just expect Taylor Swift to dominate the U.K. charts with The Tortured Poets Department.

When the Official U.K. Singles Chart is published Friday, April 26, Swift will add to her tally of 26 U.K. top 10 singles, and is forecast to nab a fourth No. 1, after “Look What You Made Me Do” (from 2017), “cardigan” (2020) and “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version)” (2023).

Based on early sales and streaming data crunched by the Official Charts Company, Swift’s collaboration with Post Malone, “Fortnight,” the opening track and first official single from Tortured Poets, is in pole position, ahead of the title track and “So Long, London,” respectively.

Swift’s 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department is already a global record-beater.

As previously reported, the pop superstar’s latest effort on Friday (April 19) became the first album in the streaming service’s history to accumulate more than 300 million streams in a single day.

Earlier, in less than 12 hours after its release, Tortured Poets, became Spotify’s most streamed album in a single day in 2024 so far. The 31-track double album bested the previous record-holder, Beyoncé’s Billboard 200-topping Cowboy Carter, which ultimately earned 300.41 million on-demand official streams in its first full week of release.

Also, “Fortnight,” co-written by Swift, Malone and Jack Antonoff, and co-produced by Swift and Antonoff. became Spotify’s most streamed song in a single day.

In the U.K., Tortured Poets will be expected to set the pace in the chart race. Swift currently has 11 No. 1 albums there. She’s the first and only artist this century to rack up 10 U.K. No. 1 albums, the Official Charts Company reports, and only the second female artist ever to do so, following Madonna. If Tortured Poets debuts at No. 1 later this week, Swift will draw level with Madonna on 12 U.K. leaders.


Lars Brandle

Billboard