Can anyone dethrone Taylor Swift from the top spot on the charts this summer?

Since two months The “Tortured Poets” sectionTaylor Swift’s 11th studio album, has settled at number 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. That’s eight consecutive weeks for the LP, which lasted until the release of Billie Eilish’s HIT ME HARD AND SOFT and Charli XCX’s BRAT, and it is unlikely that this will change any time soon.

For many, this probably doesn’t sound too surprising – after all, Swift is at the peak of her career as she continues her “The Eras Tour” and basks in the glory of her fifth trophy for Album of the Year. But admittedly, TTPD has not remained in this top position without a fight.

As the new albums by Billie Eilish and Charli XCX gained popularity, Swift released variants of TTPD with one or two new tracks, with the latest additions being voice memos and live versions of songs featured on the project. Billboard’s structure counts these types of re-releases as sales toward the overall chart placement, and even these barely edited tracks push fans and collectors to re-buy the entire project.

On one hand, it’s just business, and Swift is playing the game within the rules set by Billboard, as many other pop artists have done. She’s not forcing anyone to buy the new versions of the album, and the sheer size of her following almost ensures that the strategy will work. But on the other hand, it’s kind of lame.

So the question is: Can anyone top Taylor and take the number one spot this summer with the power of capitalism and fans on her side? The first answer isn’t most people’s idea of ​​a savior, but last summer Morgan Wallen’s absolute chart dominance spoke for itself. The gigantic country project spent a wild 18 non-consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 chart in 2023, moving into the legacy of Garth Brooks’ iconic Catching the wind — at least on the charts. Even now, Wallen is the only artist with multiple songs in the top 5 of the Apple Music charts in the US, but there are no plans for a full project until summer 2024.

Swift’s biggest competition may be only 5 feet tall. Sabrina Carpenter, who opened the “Eras Tour,” recently announced her next album. Short and sweetwhich is set to be released in August. Carpenter doesn’t have nearly as many numbers as Swift, but she’s gaining momentum quickly. Her 2024 single “Espresso” reached viral status, debuting at No. 7 on the Hot 100 and peaking at No. 3 before reaching No. 1 on Global Spotify. She played along and released five alternate versions of the track with names like “Espresso” (Double Shot Version). This business strategy, combined with the viral appeal of her frothy pop songs, could Short and sweet challenge TTPDwhich will have been available for over four months by August 23rd.

Other record holders should be mentioned; Adele’s 21 24 consecutive weeks in 2011 and 2012, and Adele didn’t release alternate versions of the popular album with reimagined offerings like “Rolling in the Deep” (Voice Memo Version) (Live from London). What could have happened if she had? And what would a surprise album from 36 do? There is also Kendrick Lamar, whose spring singles caused a lot of buzz even though they destroyed Drake’s reputation. But if he wanted to use that attention to release a follow-up Mr. Morale and the Great Steppershe would probably have done so by the “Pop Out” concert on June 19th.

There is a greater chance of little monsters being fed, and while Lady Gaga has not confirmed anything yet, there have been rumors of LG7. After years of Las Vegas residencies and a focus on acting, people are clamoring for new music from the Mother Monster, who has landed at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart six times. In the case of the 2011 milestone Born this wayGaga reached a milestone by selling 1.1 million copies of the record in its first week.

We live in a different world now, where physical media is still secondary to streaming, but all of these factors combine to determine the Billboard rankings. Swift’s apparent desire to stay at the top (or, less charitably, her desire to squeeze every penny out of her most diehard fans) is reflected in other parts of her business strategy—the concert film for the ongoing The Eras Tour was released in theaters first. Then, when it came time to move to digital, it was available for rental; only after a few weeks and the release of an extended version of the concert film did it land on a streaming service without a paywall.

And of course, Swift may not be responsible for every single decision, but she could certainly stop some of these moves if she didn’t agree with them. She’s one of the most powerful figures in music right now; to take it a step further, if she didn’t like these Billboard rules, she could probably stop them too. Instead, she’ll turn her small army of supercollectors against everyone else’s entire audience. “Try taking my job,” she challenges the audience at the end of “I Can Do It with a Broken Heart” — and try they will.