Taylor Swift’s album The Tortured Poets Department debuted at number one and has held there strong for 12 straight weeks now, becoming her biggest hit by surpassing her previous record of 11 weeks for both 1989 and Fearless. This also marks the longest run at number one for a female artist since Whitney Houston’s debut album, Whitney. TTPD is now tied with Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time. If Swift can hold on just one more week, she’ll have matched the all-time record belonging to Stevie Wonder for Songs in the Key of Life. One Thing at a Time also lays claim to the most weeks spent nonconsecutively at the top in recent memory at 19. At 24 nonconsecutive weeks, the all-time record for an album by a female artist belongs to 21 by Adele.

Streaming numbers for TTPD dropped below 100 million this week, placing it at number two in that category for the first time. Conversely, album sales surged dramatically. Of the 90,000 units sold, 67,000 were CDs, 19,000 were digital downloads, and 4,000 were on vinyl. Swift’s official online store restocked seven of the CD versions of the album for one day only on July 7, and those sales were reflected on this week’s chart. She also released three new digital versions of TTPD on July 11, the last day for which this week’s chart applies. These were available for one day only as well and included a bonus track of a surprise acoustic performance in Stockholm while on her Eras Tour.

Coming in at number two is Zach Bryan’s album The Great American Bar Scene, jumping up from its previous position at number 17. The previous week’s chart covered the period from June 28 through July 4, and Bar Scene was only released on that final day, meaning Bryan made it to number 17 on the back of just a single day of sales, versus the full week reflected on the latest chart. The album moved 32,000 units on that first day but a whopping 137,000 during the week, making it a threat to Swift’s reign. 128,000 of those units came from streaming alone, the equivalent of 160 million streams. The album also sold 8,500 units, but it’s only available in digital format for the time being, with the CD and vinyl scheduled for release later, on October 11. For comparison, his eponymous album went to number one right out the gate on the chart last September, hitting 200,000 units calculated from 230 million streams and 181,000 digital downloads—again, the physical copy came later. If the 32,000 units of Bar Scene moved on Independence Day had been included this week, or if the physical album had been available for purchase right away, this week’s record-breaking number one may have looked a lot different. For reference, the second week Bryan’s previous self-titled album was out, reflected on the chart for the week of September 16, 2023, it racked up 115,000 units on the strength of 140 million streams. Can Swift find a way to hold Bryan off next week?

Kendrick Lamar’s single “Not Like Us” has returned to number one again, up from number three. The diss track debuted at number one on the May 18 chart and has fluctuated between number two and six over the course of eight weeks, never dropping out of the top few slots of the Hot 100. For this, its 10th week on the chart, “Not Like Us” has returned for a second stint at number one. Only two other songs, other than the holiday steady sellers, have ever returned to number one after a gap of nine or more weeks: Olivia Rodrigo’s “vampire” in 2023 and Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball” in 2013.

The music video for “Not Like Us” came out July 4 to great fanfare and gave a 20% boost to streams of the song, reaching 53.8 million and bumping it up from number two to one on the Streaming Songs chart. Radio play and digital downloads also rose, helping the song up to number four from number six on Digital Song Sales and nine from 10 on Radio Songs. “Not Like Us” has now surpassed the 50 million streams mark on five separate weeks. It becomes one of 17 songs to have surpassed 50 million weekly streams this year alone, including “Fortnight” (Taylor Swift and Post Malone) and “MILLION DOLLAR BABY” (Tommy Richman). Compare that to last year, where “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus was the only song to pull off the feat, which it did twice. On the runaway success of its music video, “Not Like Us” also jumped from number six to the very top of the Global 200 chart. The song saw a massive 103.5 million streams globally, representing a 33% increase from the previous week and outpacing domestic streaming in the US.

New on the Hot 100 is Morgan Wallen’s single “Lies Lies Lies,” debuting at number seven and marking the singer’s 10th song to enter the top 10. Last week’s leader, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey, has consequently taken a slight dip to number two, but it still ranks second in streaming, first in digital sales, and second in airplay, meaning it has the potential to reclaim the throne.

Navy veteran Zach Bryan enlisted at age 17 and served for eight years, uploading original songs to YouTube while on duty. Bryan writes, produces, and releases all his music through his own independent label. After gaining traction with his first two albums, he signed with Warner in 2021, was honorably discharged from the Navy, and pursued his music career in earnest. He’s released three more albums over the past three years, which reached numbers five, one, and two on the Billboard 200, and topped the Hot 100 with “I Remember Everything,” a duet with Kacey Musgraves. Bryan also won Male Artist of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards; Top New Artist, Top Rock Album, and Top Rock Song at the Billboard Music Awards; and Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the Grammys. He continues to write, produce, and release all his music through his label, rejects traditional hyper-competitive release strategies that seek to predict demand and mass-produce albums in advance, and keeps his ticket prices low, criticizing the monopolistic concert ticket market. All that may have kept him from reaching number one on this week’s Billboard 200, settling instead for number two, but there’s no denying he’s become a star on his own terms.

It would be shortsighted to pigeonhole Bryan’s music as merely being country. Not only is The Great American Bar Scene at number two on the Billboard 200, but it’s also number one on the Top Country, Top Rock, Top Rock & Alternative, and Americana/Folk Albums charts. The album really does encompass all these genres. More important than trying to peg down what genre he is, Bryan stands out as a sincere, down-to-earth singer-songwriter who avoids flashy visuals, fancy production techniques, and intentionally pastoral, idyllic imagery entirely. That sets him apart from typical country musicians, or artists who transitioned into the genre from rock or hip hop. Bryan’s music feels like something more akin to a revival of the alt-country of the ’90s and 2000s era. He’s the alt-country singer of the streaming age, with little emphasis on album sales and a strong focus on reaching out to as many people as possible through music. He’s content to play the music he knows in the way he knows best. Not everyone shares the same definition of success, after all.

On the Global 200, KISS OF LIFE’s single “Sticky” debuts at number 87, while BABYMONSTER’s “FOREVER” comes in at number 141. Both songs debuted on the Global Excl. US chart last week, at numbers 198 and 93, respectively, with KISS OF LIFE climbing to number 51 this week, and BABYMONSTER to 65.

Here’s the breakdown of how K-pop artists are performing on the Global 200 overall:

Over on the Billboard 200, aespa’s first album, Armageddon, debuted at number 25. ATEEZ’s GOLDEN HOUR: Part 1 has been on the chart for six weeks now and is currently at number 67. And thanks to a vinyl release, D-DAY by Agust D returned to the chart, at number 169.

Focusing now on Top Album Sales, aespa debuted at number two, while ATEEZ jumped from number seven up to number three. Other charting albums include Agust D at number eight, TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s minisode 3: TOMORROW at number 13, NAYEON’s second mini album NA at number 16, and SEVENTEEN’s 17 IS RIGHT HERE at number 37.

aespa made a comeback on the Artist 100, coming in at number 17 thanks to sales of Armageddon. This is their 12th time on the chart, having previously peaked at number three. Also on the chart are ATEEZ at number 22, Agust D at 44, TOMORROW X TOGETHER at 71, and NAYEON at 99.

Finally, on Emerging Artists, LISA is at number 20, TWS is at 28, ILLIT at 33, BOYNEXTDOOR at 34, and Loco at 43. The chart only includes artists who have never ranked in the top 25 of either the Hot 100 or the Billboard 200.