Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan Race to Top of Album Chart

Karma remains Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, not Chappell Roan’s kink. The Tortured Poets Department spent its 15th week atop the Billboard 200 albums chart. Earlier in the week, the album and Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess were projected to only be 5000 units apart in sales. The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess also topped the U.K. charts last week, something Brat has yet to do during its eponymous summer. Swift’s streak had previously been broken by Eminem’s The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), continuing his streak of number 1 debuts. It seemed like Roan would topple Tay-Tay. But then Swift dropped two more album variants — a version including “The Prophecy (Long Story Short – Live From Lyon)” and another with “thank You aimEe (Mean – Live from London).” Each were only available for six hours on August 15.

In the end, Swift beat Roan by 13,000 units. Chappell’s debut album climbed to number 2 on the Billboard 200, followed by Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time and Hit Me Hard and Soft by Billie Eilish. Zach Bryan’s The Great American Bar Scene capped the top 5.

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