Taylor Swift’s ‘Anthology’ Physical Release Puts ‘Tortured Poets’ Back at No. 1
Taylor Swift is back at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with “The Tortured Poets Department” returning to the top of the albums chart for a 16th non-consecutive week.
Though the album was released in April, the Grammy-nominated set launched back to the summit from its previous No. 8 position following the first physical release of the album’s deluxe “Anthology” issue.
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The four-LP and two-CD sets were released on Black Friday and were only available to purchase through Target. In its first full week, the album logged 405,000 equivalent album units in the U.S., according to data provided by Luminate.
Traditional album sales comprised 368,000 of that sum, meaning Swift beat her own record for the biggest week overall for any album since “The Tortured Poets” tallied 439,000 units in its second week when it landed with 439,000 units (it debuted with 2.6 million units). Vinyl sales of the special edition were 191,000 and CD sales made up 177,000 of its 368,000 total.
The only debut on the chart this week is the late Juice WRLD’s posthumous release, “The Party Never Ends,” which enters at No. 4 with 86,000 units and 123 streams. “The Party Never Ends” was released on Nov. 29 after a string of delays and comes nearly seven years after the artist died of an accidental overdose in 2019 at 21.
All five of his albums, including the three released after his death, debuted in the top five of the Billboard 200. Before “The Party Never Ends,” Juice WRLD posthumously charted in the top five of the Billboard 200 with “Legends Never Die” in 2020 and “Fighting Demons” in 2021.
With the holidays right around the corner, festive albums are climbing up the charts. Michael Bublé’s “Christmas” is up at No. 7 with 56,000 units, followed by Bing Crosby’s “Ultimate Christmas” at No. 9 with 50,000 units. Elsewhere, Kendrick Lamar’s “GNX” slips to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in its second week with 165,000 units earned. “The Wicked film” moves to No. 3; Sabrina Carpenter’s “Short n’ Sweet” is at No. 5; Billie Eilish’s and “Hit Me Hard and Soft”; Chappell Roan’s “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” is at No. 8; and Tyler, The Creator’s “Chromakopia” rounds out the peak at No. 10.
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