This week, Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” has taken over the Hot 100 chart. For the second time in her career, the singer-songwriter occupies all ten spots in the ranking of the most-streamed tracks in the country.
Swift’s remarkable achievement not only sets a record but also highlights her dominance in the music industry. However, amidst the glamour, there’s a less celebrated aspect to her success.
“Down Bad” by Swift enters the Hot 100 chart at No. 2. This achievement ties an all-time record for the most hits that narrowly missed the top spot by just one position.
Taylor Swift has experienced ten different songs peaking at No. 2 on the Hot 100 chart, without ever reaching the coveted No. 1 spot.
Interestingly, Drake is the only other artist who has also accumulated as many near-misses in this particular category.
Indeed, accumulating numerous No. 2 hits in their discography might not be the ideal scenario for most artists.
Taylor Swift and Drake, while sharing this historical position, can find solace in the knowledge that some of their near-misses weren’t due to fierce competition but rather because they couldn’t surpass their own slightly more popular tracks.
Taylor Swift’s new single “Down Bad” enters the Hot 100 chart at No. 2, while her other track “Fortnight” takes the top spot.
The reason for “Down Bad” missing out on the No. 1 position is that Taylor Swift already occupies that space with her collaboration featuring Post Malone on the lead track from her album “The Tortured Poets Department.”
Many of Taylor Swift’s songs that peaked at No. 2, particularly those released early in her career, fell short of reaching the top spot due to various reasons.
Hits like ‘You Belong with Me,’ ‘I Knew You Were Trouble,’ and ‘You Need to Calm Down’ couldn’t surpass more successful tracks during their initial chart run.
Other tracks, such as ‘Lavender Haze,’ ‘Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault),’ and ‘Down Bad,’ had a distinct reason.
During the weeks when these songs debuted and reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 chart, Taylor Swift secured a new No. 1 position with other fan-favorite tracks from recently released albums.
ALSO READ | Taylor Swift Fan Who Received ‘22’ Hat During Concert Dies of Cancer: Father’s Heartbreaking Post.
