Eminem ends Taylor Swift’s historic No. 1 reign, Stevie Wonder’s record remains intact

MARIA SHERMAN, Associated Press

10 minutes ago

Eminem performs at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival on June 9, 2018, left, and Taylor Swift performs at Wembley Stadium in London as part of her Eras Tour on June 21, 2024. Eminem’s 12th studio album, “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce),” has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, dethroning Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” after 12 weeks. (AP Photo)

Eminem’s latest album, “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce),” has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, dethroning Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” after 12 weeks.

In its first week, “The Tortured Poets Department” reached 891.34 million album streams in the United States, according to Luminate, the biggest streaming week for an album in history.

Swift’s album debuted at No. 1 in April and held the top spot for three months. She’s the only woman to do so; Swift broke the previous record held by Whitney Houston’s 1987 album, “Whitney.” It spent its first 11 weeks at No. 1.

“The Tortured Poets Department” tied Morgan Wallen’s 2023 album “One Thing at a Time,” which also debuted at No. 1 and stayed there for 12 consecutive weeks. (It would later return to the top spot and stay at No. 1 for a total of 19 weeks.)

The only album to surpass them is Stevie Wonder’s 1976 masterpiece, “Songs in the Key of Life.” It spent 13 weeks at No. 1 after debuting at number one; a total of 14 weeks.

“The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)” is Eminem’s 12th album and his 11th to reach number one, pushing “The Tortured Poets Department” down to number 4. In second place is “ROMANCE:UNTOLD” by K-pop boy band ENHYPHEN, and “The Great American Bar Scene” by fearless country star Zach Bryan is at number 3.