Eminem Dethrones Taylor Swift’s Historic Chart Run

Taylor Swift ruled the Billboard 200 for almost three months until Eminem dropped ‘The Death Of Slim Shady’.

Theo Wargo via Getty Images
Theo Wargo via Getty Images

For the chart week of July 27, the Billboard 200 notes Eminem moved about 281,000 copies of The Death Of Slim Shady: Coup De Grรขce to earn a debut in the number one spot. Users of streaming services account for about 60% of those ‘album equivalent units’, with digital sales making up the remainder.

What about physical releases? The Death Of Slim Shady won’t arrive on CD or vinyl until this fall, so Eminem likely left some album sales on the table during its debut week.

As The Tortured Poets Department falls to the #2 spot for the first time since its April 19 release, Taylor Swift once again made history and came within a week of matching an all-time record. Here’s a list of the albums that topped the album chart during their debut and held a firm grip on #1 for the most consecutive weeks.

1. Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life (13)
2t. Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department (12)
2t. Morgan Wallen – One Thing at a Time (12)
4. Whitney Houston – Whitney (11)
5. Morgan Wallen – Dangerous (10)

Whitney Houston’s Whitney, by the way, was the first ever album by a female artist to debut at #1. Another Houston release – the soundtrack to her film The Bodyguard – still boasts the longest consecutive reign at #1 from a female artist.

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