Eminem dethrones Taylor Swift, securing his album number 1 on the Billboard 200 charts and ending her 12-week reign

Taylor Swift’s 12-week reign atop the Billboard 200 albums chart has come to an end, Billboard noted in its July 27 listing. The pop star’s last record, The Tortured Poets Department, was released on April 19 and was replaced by Eminem’s 12th studio album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), which was released on Friday, July 12.

While Swift’s “TTPD” sold 82,000 copies in its 13th week, Eminem’s new album sold 281,000 copies in its first week, making it the rapper’s eleventh album to reach the top of the charts.

While the former took fourth place on the Billboard 200 chart, third and second place went to K-pop group Enhypen and Zach Bryan respectively.

Eminem’s “The Death of Slim Shady” tops Billboard’s album sales charts

With his latest entry on the Billboard 200, Eminem is now tied with Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand and Kanye West for fifth place in the list of the most successful albums of all time. The Beatles, Jay-Z, Taylor Swift and Drake are at the top with 19, 14 and 13 No. 1 albums respectively.

Em’s album also topped the UK album sales chart, tying U2 and David Bowie, who each have 11 number one hits. The rap god reached number one in the UK with his previous LPs in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2020.

“The Death of Slim Shady” is also a bestseller in Australia.

Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poet’s Department”

Since its release in April, TTPD has prevented releases from artists such as Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion, Gracie Abrams and Charli XCX from taking the top spots in album sales. Taylor’s TTPD is by far the most successful record of 2024 to date, with 4.44 million units sold, according to Luminate.

The Tortured Poets, which was supposed to be about Swift’s split from Joe Alwyn, surprised fans by discovering that the pop titan’s 30-track double album was mostly about Matty Healy of The 1975. The two were briefly linked after the Cruel Summer singer ended her seven-year relationship with the British actor.

Swift enticed her fans to buy “Tortured Poets” by releasing a dozen versions of the album, each repackaged with her own live performances of tracks like “loml,” “The Alchemy,” and “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys.”