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Taylor Swift Reigns Supreme: 'The Life of a Showgirl' Dominates Billboard 200 for a Month

Published 6 hours ago5 minute read
Precious Eseaye
Precious Eseaye
Taylor Swift Reigns Supreme: 'The Life of a Showgirl' Dominates Billboard 200 for a Month

Taylor Swift's album, "The Life of a Showgirl," has achieved its fourth consecutive week at the No. 1 position on the Billboard 200 chart, specifically for the chart dated November 8, 2025. In the week ending October 30, the album accumulated 146,000 equivalent album units in the United States, representing a 25% decrease from the previous week, according to Luminate. "The Life of a Showgirl" is notable as only the second album in 2025 to spend its first month at No. 1, following Morgan Wallen's "I’m the Problem," which held the top spot for its initial eight weeks out of a total of 12 weeks. Comparatively, Swift's own "The Tortured Poets Department" spent its first 12 weeks at No. 1 in 2024, contributing to its total of 17 weeks atop the list.

With this fourth week at No. 1, Taylor Swift has extended her impressive career record among soloists, now totaling 90 weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 chart. This achievement further solidifies her dominance, as she also holds the record for the most No. 1 albums among soloists with 15. In historical context, Elvis Presley holds the second-most weeks at No. 1 among soloists with 67. Among all artists, only The Beatles surpass Swift, boasting 132 weeks at No. 1 and 19 No. 1 albums.

The Billboard 200 chart comprehensively ranks the most popular albums weekly in the U.S., based on multi-metric consumption measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. These units are a combination of album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA), and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each equivalent album unit corresponds to one album sale, or the sale of 10 individual tracks from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported on-demand official audio and video streams, or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by an album’s songs.

Breaking down "The Life of a Showgirl’s" 146,000 equivalent album units for the latest tracking week, SEA units comprised the majority at 121,000, despite a 22% decline, equating to 157.82 million on-demand official streams of the album's tracks. This performance earned the album its fourth consecutive week at No. 1 on the Top Streaming Albums chart. Album sales contributed 22,000 units, a 41% decrease, causing the album to fall from No. 1 to No. 3 on the Top Album Sales chart. TEA units saw a significant increase of 411%, contributing 3,000 units.

Beyond Swift's reign, the latest Billboard 200 chart also saw other albums maintaining strong positions or making notable debuts. The "KPop Demon Hunters" soundtrack remained a non-mover at No. 2 with 84,000 equivalent album units, a 12% decrease. Morgan Wallen’s "I’m the Problem" also held steady at No. 3 with 76,000 units, down 8%. Sabrina Carpenter’s former leader, "Man’s Best Friend," stayed at No. 5 with 42,000 units, down 3%. Olivia Dean’s "The Art of Loving" climbed from No. 7 to No. 6, earning 39,000 units, an increase of 5%. Cardi B’s former No. 1, "AM I THE DRAMA?," fell from No. 6 to No. 8 with 32,000 units, a 20% decrease. SZA’s former No. 1, "SOS," closed out the top 10, dropping from No. 8 to No. 10 with nearly 31,000 units, down 2%.

Among the new entries in the top 10, Daniel Caesar garnered his first top 10 album with "Son of Spergy," debuting impressively at No. 4. The album earned 43,000 equivalent album units, marking his best week by units ever. Of this sum, SEA units accounted for 26,000, equaling 34.11 million on-demand official streams, also his best streaming week ever, and landing him at No. 10 on Top Streaming Albums. Album sales comprised 17,000 units, his best sales week ever, debuting at No. 4 on Top Album Sales, with TEA units contributing a negligible sum. "Son of Spergy" is Caesar’s fourth charted effort on the Billboard 200, with all previous albums reaching the top 40: "Never Enough" (No. 14 peak in 2023), "Case Study 01" (No. 17 in 2019), and "Freudian" (No. 25 in 2017). The album’s first-week sales were significantly boosted by its availability across five vinyl variants, two CD iterations, and a standard digital download album.

Brandi Carlile secured her fifth top 10 album on the Billboard 200 as "Returning to Myself" debuted at No. 7 with 35,000 equivalent album units. Album sales formed the bulk of this total at 32,000 units, leading to a No. 1 debut on Top Album Sales. SEA units contributed 3,000, equating to 4.31 million on-demand official streams, while TEA units were negligible. "Returning to Myself" is Carlile’s 10th charted effort on the Billboard 200, with previous top 10 albums including "Who Believes in Angels?" (with Elton John; No. 9 in April), "By the Way, I Forgive You" (No. 5 in 2018), "The Firewatcher’s Daughter" (No. 9 in 2015), and "Bear Creek" (No. 10 in 2012). The album's first radio-promoted single, the title track, peaked at No. 12 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart in October. Its robust first-week sales were enhanced by the availability of five vinyl variants, two CD iterations, a commentary edition, and a standard digital download.

Demi Lovato also achieved her 10th top 10 album on the Billboard 200, with "It’s Not That Deep" debuting at No. 9, earning 31,000 equivalent album units. Album sales accounted for 24,000 units, resulting in a No. 2 debut on Top Album Sales. SEA units contributed 7,000 units, equating to 9.78 million on-demand official streams of the album’s tracks, with TEA units being negligible. The album was preceded by two tracks, “Fast” (No. 8 in August) and “Here All Night” (No. 13 in September), which reached Billboard’s Hot Dance/Pop Songs chart. "It’s Not That Deep’s" strong first-week performance was amplified by its extensive availability across six vinyl variants, two CDs, a cassette, an artist webstore-exclusive download album with three bonus tracks, an iTunes Store-exclusive edition with one bonus track, and a standard digital download album.

Luminate, the independent data provider for the Billboard charts, conducts a thorough review of all data submissions used for weekly chart rankings. It meticulously reviews and authenticates data, and in collaboration with Billboard, any data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed based on established criteria before final chart calculations are published.

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