Fans Praise Eminem for Blocking Taylor Swift From Making History
After a staggering 12 weeks, Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department has finally fallen from the No. 1 spot on the Billboard album chart following the release of Eminem’s The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce). While this may come as a disappointment to Swift’s fans, some of Eminem’s supporters have celebrated the end of Swift’s near-record-breaking run at the top of the charts.
Eminem’s latest album ended Taylor Swift’s run as No. 1 on Billboard
In April, Swift’s 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. For the next three months, the album firmly held this position. Swift defended her spot at the top of the charts by releasing bonus tracks and special versions of the album to beat out competitors.
Per AP, Swift’s success with The Tortured Poets Department makes her the first woman to hold the top spot for this long. She beat out Whitney Houston’s previous record for her 1987 album Whitney, which spent 11 weeks at No. 1.
Given her long-running success, it seemed possible that Swift would also topple the record Stevie Wonder held. He spent 13 consecutive weeks at No. 1 with his 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life. Eminem’s album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) blocked her from tying Wonder’s record, though. When Eminem’s album hit No. 1 this week, Swift fell to No. 4.
ENHYPHEN’s ROMANCE: UNTOLD sits at No. 2 and Zach Bryan’s The Great American Bar Scene is at No. 3.
Fans of Eminem have celebrated his chart success over Taylor Swift
With news of Eminem’s success on the charts comes celebration from his fans. While some have simply posted about their excitement or pride, others have specifically praised the fact that he took the No. 1 spot from Swift.
“She doesn’t deserve it,” one Reddit user posted, referencing the series of bonus tracks Swift released. “If she didn’t try to inflate her numbers like crazy and did it on the merits of the music, I would accept it.”
Others just seemed happy that Wonder’s record remains intact.
“Eminem has saved music by preventing a soulless money grab from stealing a record from the most soulful album of all time,” one user posted on X.
Still, some people brought up the fact that Swift has covered Eminem’s music in the past. They hope to avoid pitting the two fanbases against each other.
Both artists have had many albums debut at No. 1
For both Eminem and Swift, the top of the Billboard charts is not an unfamiliar place. With this recent success, Eminem has had 11 albums debut at No. 1. This ties him with Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, and Ye. The only artists ahead of this group are Drake with 13, Jay-Z and Swift with 14, and The Beatles with 19.
