Taylor Swift Bests Whitney Houston to Set New Chart Record

Taylor Swift continues to smash records with her latest album, Folklore, which has returned to the top of the Billboard 200 for a seven non-consecutive week. In doing so, Swift powered over a record set by one of pop’s most formidable voices of all time.

Swift’s latest chart placement has her moving past Whitney Houston, beating the late diva's record for the most cumulative weeks at No. 1 on the chart by a female artist. Houston had held the honor with 46 weeks since 1987, according to Billboard; Swift is now at 47 weeks.

Folklore, recorded on the down-low during quarantine and released as a surprise, is the first of Swift’s albums to spend four straight weeks at No. 1. It continues to bulldoze over and reset various records, including the one for the most weeks at No. 1 for any album since Drake’s 2016 release Views.

Swift, a country star who made a firm move over to the pop world in 2014 with her release 1989, showed she still has country chops in mid-September when she performed at the 2020 ACM Awards, delivering her gentle, rootsy tune "Betty." The song, which is being promoted as a country single, made its world television premiere at the awards show.

Throughout her career, Swift has amassed a total of nine ACM trophies and 35 nominations. She received the show's highest honor, the Entertainer of the Year award, in 2011 and 2012.