Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department is officially the biggest album of 2024 so far in the UK.
The eleventh studio album from the US superstar, Tortured Poets has dominated the Official Chart ever since its debut in May, spending seven of its 10 chart weeks at Number 1, and the rest at Number 2.
Accordingly, Official Charts Company data reveals that, despite being available for less than two full months, Tortured Poets has already accumulated over 542,200 chart units, including 251,000 physical sales, making it the most physically-purchased LP of the year so far.
Upon its record-breaking Number 1 debut in the UK, Tortured Poets became Taylor’s 12th UK Number 1 album, matching Madonna’s long-held all-time chart record, putting Taylor and Madonna in joint lead as the female artists with the most UK Number 1 albums. As well as the biggest opening week sales of Taylor’s career, Tortured Poets was the biggest opening week of any artist since Ed Sheeran’s Divide in 2017.
Proving that Taylor is the most popular artist in pop right now, five albums from her back catalogue are present in the Top 20: 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (7), Lover (12), Midnights (14), folklore (15) and reputation (18).
The Weeknd’s long-charting greatest hits collection The Highlights lands at Number 2, with Noah Kahan’s Stick Season at Number 3.
The Top 5 is completed by Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS (4) and Billie Eilish’s experimental, ultra-personal third record HIT ME HARD AND SOFT (5), which was released in May and awarded Eilish the biggest opening week of her career upon its Number 1 debut.
Ariana Grande’s seventh studio album eternal sunshine enters the year-to-date chart at Number 11, while Beyoncé’s acclaimed reclamation of country, COWBOY CARTER lands at Number 16. Both records topped the Official Albums Chart, earning each artist their respective fifth UK chart-topper.
Other 2024 albums making their mark include Dua Lipa’s chart-topping third record Radical Optimism (26), Prelude To Ecstasy, the acclaimed Number 1 debut album by British art-rock five-piece The Last Dinner Party (37) and Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign’s VULTURES 1 (40).
