Taylor Swift’s Surprise Album Reaches A Major Milestone

Taylor Swift shocked the world in the summer of 2020 when she surprise-released her album Folklore in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nobody was expecting a brand new full-length from one of the world’s biggest artists, especially as she had recently been promoting her pop set Lover, which had its campaign interrupted by the global shutdown.

Folklore was immediately welcomed as both a critical and commercial behemoth, and it went on to win her another Album of the Year Grammy. Half a decade later, the title remains present on several Billboard rankings, and it even reaches a special milestone this time around.

Folklore Reaches Half a Decade on the Billboard 200

Folklore advances on the Billboard 200, pushing from No. 77 to No. 68 at the moment. This week marks its two-hundred-and-sixtieth frame on the most competitive albums tally in the United States, which means it has now lived on the roster for exactly five years.

Luminate reports that as Folklore reaches the milestone, it moves another 14,000 equivalent units, almost all of which come from streaming activity.

Taylor Swift’s Sixth Time Hitting This Milestone

Five years on the Billboard 200 is a major accomplishment, one that most artists will never approach…but it’s something Swift has managed before. Folklore is her sixth project to rack up 260 stays somewhere on the tally. It follows 1989, Reputation, Lover, her self-titled full-length, and Fearless, which have all previously made it to that landmark.

Folklore Nearly Ties Fearless

At present, Folklore sits just one week behind Fearless in terms of lifespan on the Billboard 200. Fearless is nowhere to be found at the moment, while Folklore continues to live inside the upper half of the list. There’s a good chance that next week, Folklore will tie Fearless as Swift’s fifth-longest-running success on the Billboard 200. Then, just days later, it also seems plausible that Folklore will pass Fearless — perhaps for good — and continue to add to its cumulative total.

Taylor Swift’s Cross-Chart Success

Folklore reaches 260 weeks not just on the Billboard 200, but also on the Top Alternative Albums chart, where this week it sits at No. 9. The project also climbs a few spots on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums list, jumping from No. 19 to No. 16.

Swift’s first pivot into the alternative space lags behind in terms of the number of weeks spent on that ranking, as it is almost exactly 100 frames behind its tenure on both the Billboard 200 and Top Alternative Albums rosters.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2025/07/26/taylor-swifts-surprise-album-reaches-a-major-milestone/