Taylor takes the top 10

In news that will surprise no one, Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department has swept the ARIA Charts this week, debuting at #1, delivering the entire top 10 on the singles chart and smashing records along the way. 

TTPD is her 13th chart-topper in Australia, more than any other woman in Australian chart history. Taylor moves ahead of Madonna to claim third place in her own right on the list of acts with the most chart-topping albums in Australia. Jimmy Barnes leads with 15 as a solo act (he had another five with Cold Chisel), followed by the Beatles with 14. 

Once again Taylor replaces herself on top, with last week’s #1 – Lover – slipping to #6. Taylor performed the same magic in March this year when Midnights was bumped out of the top spot by Lover. 

Only two of her studio or re-recorded albums have failed to reach the summit. Her debut, Taylor Swift, stopped at #33 in 2006 and Fearless stalled at #2 in 2008. Fearless (Taylor’s Version) did get to #1 in 2021. 

Tracks from TTPD swamp the ARIA Singles Chart, with Fortnight featuring Post Malone leading the charge at #1. All 31 tracks hit the top 100, stretching from Fortnight at the top to Robin at #55. 

Taylor accounts for the entire top 10, a new record. She came close to setting the record in October 2022, when she had 13 of the top 14, but Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ Unholy ruined the party for her by sitting at #7 that week. 

She also has 29 of the top 50, smashing the old record of 20, which was set by Drake in 2021 and, yes, Taylor in 2023. 

All up, Taylor has 34 tracks in the top 100: 31 from the new album and three older songs (Cruel Summer, Anti Hero and Lover). The previous record was 32 in one week, held by Michael Jackson and Taylor. 

She has now scored a dozen #1 singles here, starting with Love Story in 2008. She didn’t return to the top for another six years, when Shake It Off hit #1. For Post Malone, it’s his fourth #1 and his first since Sunflower with Swae Lee in 2018. 

With 12 chart-toppers, Taylor now ranks third on the list of artists with the most #1 singles here, trailing Elvis Presley (14) and The Beatles (26).

The release of TTPD sees Florence + The Machine back in the top 10 for the first time in 12 years, as their duet with Taylor, Florida!!!, debuts at #8. They last visited the region in 2012, when Spectrum (Say My Name) reached #4. 

In non-Taylor news, Pearl Jam return to the albums chart at #2 with Dark Matter, their 12th studio album. 

Excluding live albums, they were last on the chart in 2020, when Gigaton peaked at #3. The Seattle band has had eight #1 albums in Australia: Vs. in 1993, Vitalogy in 1994, No Code in 1996, Yield in 1998, Binaural in 2000, Riot Act in 2002, Backspacer in 2009 and Lightning Bolt in 2013.  

Mark Seymour & The Undertow’s The Boxer debuts at #41. The former lead singer of Hunters & Collectors has released five albums with The Undertow: their third album, Mayday, reached #43 in 2015.