The 'Cardigan' singer becomes the first artist after David Bowie to top the U.K. albums chart with two albums in the same year following the release of 'Folklore' sister album.
- Dec 19, 2020
AceShowbiz - Taylor Swift has become the first artist since 2016 to top the U.K. albums chart with two different projects in the same calendar year.
"Evermore" has debuted at number one, just five months after the pop superstar achieved the same feat with her surprise July release, "Folklore".
David Bowie was the last performer to pull off the double victory with "Blackstar" in January 2016, and "Best of Bowie" just weeks later, following his death from cancer.
"Evermore" earns Swift her sixth U.K. chart-topper, becoming only the fourth female artist to boast such success, following Madonna, who has 12 number ones, Kylie Minogue, who has eight, and Barbra Streisand, who has six.
Back in the countdown, Neil Diamond's "Classic Diamonds" orchestral compilation climbs to number two, ahead of Michael Ball and Alfie Boe's "Together at Christmas".
Meanwhile, Mariah Carey classic "All I Want for Christmas Is You" has held on for a second week at number one - 26 years after its original release.
The holiday favourite keeps "Last Christmas" by Wham! at two, and Swift song "Willow" debuts at three.
Two other "Evermore" tracks, "Champagne Problems" and "No Body, No Crime" featuring Haim, also enter the countdown at 15 and 19, respectively.
Taylor Swift described the creative process of making "Evermore" as "pure" as she got rid of her usual "checklist."
"I threw it away," she said, "and I definitely could have gone into the pandemic thinking, 'I've got to wait for everything to open up so I can do things exactly the way that I am used to doing them.' But then about three days in, I thought, 'Wait, this could be an opportunity for me to do things in a way I haven't ever done them before. What would my work sound like if I took away all of my fear-based check listing that I have inflicted on myself?' So I guess - I know the answer now."
