Eminem ends Taylor Swift's blockbuster Billboard reign

It turns out that Eminem’s The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) was indeed aptly named. In a coup of his own, the rapper has dethroned Taylor Swift for the number one spot on the Billboard 200 album chart. The Tortured Poets Department debuted at number one and stayed in the top spot for 12 consecutive weeks. She surpassed the record set by Whitney Houston for her self-titled album, which held the title after debuting for 11 weeks. Swift fell just short of the record set by Stevie Wonder’s Songs In The Key Of Life, which debuted at number one and held the spot for 13 weeks, according to Forbes. 

The accomplishment marks Eminem’s 11th number one album. Per Billboard, he’s now tied for fifth-most number one albums with Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, and Ye (Kanye West). The Beatles still hold the number one spot for number ones (19), followed by Jay-Z and Taylor Swift (14), and Drake (13). 

Rounding out the rest of the top 10 albums this week are K-Pop group ENHYPHEN’s Romance: Untold debuting at number two, and Zach Bryan’s The Great American Bar Scene at number three. TTPD fell to number four, followed by Morgan Wallen’s One Thing At A Time, Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard And Soft, Chappell Roan’s The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess, Clairo’s Charm (debuting at number 8, her highest-charting album), Megan Moroney’s Am I Okay (also her highest-charting album to date), and Noah Kahn’s Stick Season. 

Over the weekend, Swift—who has broken all sorts of records, some significant and some obscure—shared photos from her latest Eras Tour stop in Germany on Instagram with an extra note of gratitude for TTPD‘s success. “I also wanted to say to everyone who’s supported The Tortured Poets Department, I am completely blown away by what you’ve done—it stayed at #1 for the first 12 weeks of its release and that’s never happened to an album of mine before, not even close!!” she wrote in part. “You’re just the greatest.”