Taylor Swift recently made a significant impact on the Billboard charts with her new album, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), as well as the songs featured on it. The release led to a group of new entries hitting the Hot 100, with one debut in particular bringing her closer to an all-time chart record that no artist really aspires to achieve.
Last week, Swift’s song “Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version) [From The Vault]” entered the Hot 100 at No. 2. It narrowly missed securing the No. 1 spot, but that’s only because the space was held by another track from the superstar, “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) [From The Vault].” That cut launched at the summit of the chart.
“Now That We Don’t Talk” marks Swift’s ninth song to peak at No. 2 on the Hot 100. This latest runner-up has made her the artist with the second-most No. 2-peaking hits on the tally, a position that may be a bit frustrating for the accomplished singer-songwriter.
Swift continues to be surpassed only by Drake, who has seen 10 tracks peak at No. 2 on the Hot 100. Both artists added to their collections of runners-up this year, with a pair of tracks landing in the second spot.
Swift’s No. 2-peaking songs often took the form of proper singles, which just narrowly missed reaching No. 1. Beloved tracks like “You Belong With Me,” “You Need to Calm Down” and “Karma” came close to the top position, but were held back by other hit songs, despite extensive promotional efforts.
A few other songs, such as “Lavender Haze” and “Now That We Don’t Talk,” seemed to only reach No. 2 shortly after their release, largely due to Swift’s immense popularity rather than long-term chart success. They might not have risen that high if not featured on brand new albums that became blockbusters immediately.
Last time around, Swift managed to occupy eight of the spots inside the top 10 on the Hot 100, with seven of those tracks being debuts from 1989 (Taylor’s Version). The only non-debut from Swift inside the top 10 was “Cruel Summer,” which was displaced from the No. 1 position by her own “Is It Over Now?”
While Taylor Swift is accumulating the second-most No. 2 songs in Hot 100 history, she is also making impressive strides in achieving the most No. 1 hits. In 2023 alone, the pop sensation secured two additional chart-toppers, with “Cruel Summer” and “Is It Over Now?” Her total now stands at 11 No. 1 hits, and she may well add to that tally soon.
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