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Taylor Swift obliterates Beatles chart record after ‘Fearless’ release

Artist has achieved three No 1 albums in less than a year

Roisin O'Connor
Saturday 17 April 2021 19:52 BST
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Grammys 2021: Taylor Swift wins Album of the Year for Folklore

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Taylor Swift has broken a record long held by The Beatles for having three No 1 albums in the shortest amount of time.

The singer-songwriter achieved three No 1 albums in just 259 days, thanks to her recent releases Folklore, Evermore, and her re-recorded version of her 2008 album, Fearless.

The previous record had been held by The Beatles, who topped the charts three times in 364 days with Help!, Rubber Soul, and Revolver.

The news follows another history-making moment for Swift, as she became the first female artist to win the Grammy award for Album of the Year three times.

Swift’s most recent chart-topper is Fearless (Taylor’s Version), which marked the first of six albums to be re-recorded by the star.

The decision to re-record was sparked by a highly publicised dispute between Swift, her former label, and music manager Scooter Braun.

Swift revealed in November last year that, after buying her former label Big Machine Records, Braun had sold the rights to her first six albums in a deal believed to be worth more than $300m (£227m).

At the time, Swift said she was devastated over the move and that the sale essentially “stripped me of my life’s work”.

She then announced that, following the expiration of a re-recording clause in her old contract, she would release new versions of those six albums, giving her back the rights to her original music.

Read The Independent’s review of Fearless (Taylor’s Version) here.

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