Taylor: the love story continues

The biggest star in the world takes the ARIA charts by storm this week, with Taylor Swift scoring the #1 album, the #1 single and eight of the top 10 singles.

1989 (Taylor’s Version) becomes her 12th #1 album in Australia and her third in 2023: Midnights was on top for seven non-consecutive weeks earlier this year (in addition to its seven weeks at the summit during 2022) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) spent two weeks at #1 in July. 

The new album marks Taylor’s biggest sales week ever on the ARIA Albums Chart, the biggest opening week for any new album since 2017 and a record-setting first week for a vinyl album. 

Taylor now draws level with Madonna in third place on the list of acts with the most #1 albums in Australia. Jimmy Barnes is on top with 15 as a solo act (he had another five with Cold Chisel), followed by the Beatles with 14. 

1989 (Taylor’s Version) is her fourth re-recorded album, all of which have topped the chart. The original version of 1989 was #1 for four weeks in 2014 and another five weeks in 2015, delivering three #1 hits: Shake It Off, Blank Space and Bad Blood.  

Taylor also captures her 10th #1 single in Australia this week, as Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) takes the top spot. 

The other four From The Vault tracks from her new album also land in the top 10, with Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) at #2, Say Don’t Go (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) at #3, Slut! (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) at #4 and Suburban Legends (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) at #8. She is also at #7 with Style (Taylor’s Version), #9 with Blank Space (Taylor’s Version) and #10 with Cruel Summer. 

Taylor has previously been in the ARIA Singles Chart penthouse with Love Story in 2008, Shake It Off and Blank Space in 2014, Bad Blood in 2015, Look What You Made Me Do in 2017, Cardigan and Willow in 2020, All Too Well (Taylor’s Version) in 2021 and Anti-Hero in 2022. 

All up, she has spent 23 weeks at #1, putting her in a tie with John Farnham. The artist with the most weeks at #1 in Australia? The Beatles, with 130 weeks. Elvis Presley ranks second with 61 weeks, followed by Justin Bieber with 48 weeks. 

Aussie rock band King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard arrive at #5 on the ARIA Albums Chart with The Silver Cord, their second top 10 album of 2023 (PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation peaked at #2 in July). The band have won two ARIA Awards and are nominated for four in this year’s Awards, which will be handed out on 15 November. 

Australian singer-songwriter Angie McMahon’s second studio album, Light, Dark, Light Again, is new at #6. Her first album, Salt, peaked at #5 in 2019, while her 2020 EP Piano Salt climbed to #19.