Taylor Swift’s album The Tortured Poets Department has claimed number one for a total of 15 weeks now. That ties her with Carole King, whose 1971 album Tapestry also hit 15 weeks, for most weeks at number one by a female artist. TTPD is also third overall, behind Whitney Houston’s 1992 soundtrack to The Bodyguard (20 weeks) and Adele’s 2011 album 21 (24 weeks).

TTPD moved 85,000 units this week, a 40% drop from last week but enough to keep it floating at the very top during a week with no major releases. Consequently, there were also no albums that debuted in the top 10. Swift’s album maintained a steady 74.77 million streams, or 57,000 units, while album sales hit 28,000 units—just 30% of last week’s figure, but substantial nonetheless for an album now four months old. Meanwhile, it fell from number two to three on Top Streaming Albums but held onto number one on Top Album Sales.

TTPD’s continued reign might make it seem like the chart had a quiet week overall, but those paying careful attention since last weekend saw a different, more exciting story unfold: Chappell Roan’s album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess moved on up from number three to number two since last week, selling 72,000 units—a 13% increase week-over-week and a new high-water mark for the record. It also recorded 75.42 million streams, or 57,000 units—just edging out TTPD—and sold 14,000 albums. On the Top Streaming Albums and Top Album Sales charts, it rose from number three to two, and number seven to three, respectively.

Sales for this week’s chart were calculated based on the period from August 9 through 15, and just about halfway through, predictions started to point to TTPD and Midwest Princess being within 5,000 sales of one another. The 15th, the last day included in this week’s chart, also fell on the first day of Swift’s series of concerts in London (August 15 through 20, with the 18th off)—the final shows of the European leg of her Eras Tour, following the cancellation in Vienna, Austria the previous week. Apparently marking the occasion on August 15, the singer’s website had two different versions of TTPD for sale for just six hours.

The first version was a previously unreleased edition featuring surprise music from her June 2 performance in Lyon, France. The second, meanwhile, was a rerelease of an edition that includes a bonus track from her June 22 concert in London and that had been up for sale the previous week only briefly. This time, however, the title of the bonus track was slightly altered from the original “thanK you aIMee” to “thank You aimEe,” shifting the capitalized letters from K-I-M to Y-E. The song seemed to be an overt reference to her history of bad blood with Kim Kardashian, and now changed to mention Kayne West. Obviously, the small tweak piqued far more interest than a new version would have. In the end, the limited edition digital albums don’t seem to have significantly affected the album’s standing on the Billboard 200. About 10,000 of the 28,000 copies of TTPD sold were digital versions, while the gap between it and Midwest Princess at number two was roughly 13,000 units total. Still, it’s worth noting that most of Roan’s 14,000 sales were physical albums such as CDs and vinyl copies, and the only single she’s put out since releasing the album has been “Good Luck, Babe!”

New winds will blow through the Billboard 200 soon enough, though: Post Malone’s latest album, F-1 Trillion, will debut on the chart come next week, and Sabrina Carpenter will have Short n’ Sweet on deck the week after that. Meanwhile, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour will return to the US and Canada in October, where a true grand finale is widely anticipated.

Shaboozey’s single “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” has now been number one six times, tying it with the Post Malone/Morgan Wallen duet “I Had Some Help” for the most frequent Hot 100 chart-topper of the year. It’s also logged a total of 10 weeks at number one on the Hot Country Songs chart, putting it on equal footing with “Texas Hold ’Em” by Beyoncé. As with last week, it was the song with the most streams, the most radio airplay, and the most sales for the week—its fifth, third, and 11th time topping each metric, respectively. Only 12 songs have ever had a hold on all three categories simultaneously, and none have managed to do so for two consecutive weeks since “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee all the way back in 2017.

This week’s Hot 100 saw even less movement than the Billboard 200. The only change from last week’s top 10 is that Billie Eilish’s song “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” rose up from number seven to number five, shuffling the two songs that had been above it down a notch.

In the space of just a few short months, Chappell Roan came out of left field and has risen to a level that no one (Taylor Swift included) can ignore. Roan placed seven songs in this week’s Hot 100, more than any other artist, with “Good Luck, Babe!”—her highest—at number seven. She also has three songs within the top 25 spots of the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, which tracks those songs that are close to breaking into the Hot 100.

Most tracks are off her album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, which entered the Billboard 200 top 10 on June 22 and, after a trajectory that went number eight, six, five, five, seven, then eight, appeared to be on the downtrend, but her recent appearances playing different festivals have reignited interest, sending it all the way up to number four, then three, and now two over the past three weeks. Her performance at Lollapalooza in Chicago drew in what was likely a record attendance for a daytime show, and her follow-up performance at Outside Lands in San Francisco generated that much more buzz around her. In one particularly memorable moment, she chastised the VIP section, telling them, “You’re not fun!” These recent performances have significantly increased the magnitude of both her fan base and her album sales, and nowhere is it clearer than in vinyl sales of Midwest Princess, which topped the Vinyl Albums Chart with 8,500 copies sold—a twofold increase from last week.

Roan has singlehandedly debunked the myth that going viral on TikTok is now the only ticket to success for emerging artists—and it’s all the more impressive considering her career really took off after she was let out of her recording contract. For those who have been along for the Midwest Princess journey since last year, it’s been one wild, miraculous, and touching ride. She first garnered attention opening for Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS world tour and later solidified her status with her own performances at music fests here and there, proving that live shows still play a crucial role in building up fan support.

Jimin’s album MUSE is at number 58 on the Billboard 200 this week and number 24 on Top Album Sales. The idol himself sits at number 33 on the Artist 100. The single “Who” is number 29 on the Hot 100, number seven on Digital Song Sales, and number 24 on Streaming Songs. It also stands at number six on the Global 200 and number four on the Global Excl. US chart. His song “Be Mine” is also on the Global Excl. US chart, coming in at number 143.
Stray Kids’ mini album ATE currently holds number 22 on the Billboard 200 and is second from the top on Top Album Sales. The Stray Kids themselves are number 15 on the Artist 100.
ENHYPEN’s album ROMANCE: UNTOLD charts at number 77 on the Billboard 200 this week and is number four in album sales. The group sits at number 31 on the Artist 100.
(G)I-DLE’s seventh mini album, I SWAY, debuts at number 13 on Top Album Sales, while the group is back on the Artist 100 at number 100.
Looking at the Top Album Sales chart, Red Velvet’s EP Cosmic is number 22, RIIZE’s first mini album RIIZING is number 25, ATEEZ’s GOLDEN HOUR: Part 1 is 27, TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s minisode 3: TOMORROW is 40, and aespa’s first studio album, Armageddon, is number 49. ATEEZ is also number 90 on the Artist 100.
On the Heatseekers Albums chart, Red Velvet takes number eight with Cosmic, and RIIZE takes number 10 with their first mini album. Heatseekers Albums is calculated the same way as the Billboard 200, but it only includes artists who have never made it into the top 100.
On Emerging Artists, Red Velvet sits at number nine and RIIZE at number 10, while ILLIT has returned and is now at number 43. The Emerging Artists chart is calculated the same way as the Artist 100 chart, but it only includes artists who have never ranked in the top 25 of either the Hot 100 or the Billboard 200.
Finally, there are no new K-pop songs on the Global 200, but Jung Kook’s single “Seven” continues to turn heads thanks to its steady ascent following its return to the chart.