On Saturday, Taylor Swift suddenly overtook longtime leader Madonna for the first time in the Chartmasters.org ranking of most successful female artists of all time.
But Swift received another noteworthy honor on the same day, commemorating the upcoming official release of the third single, “Elizabeth Taylor,” from her record-breaking album released last October, Life of a Showgirl.
Swift’s major Spotify and Chartmasters news developments hit as her wedding to Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce hit a potential snag due to another Swift career development. Swift is set to receive one of the most significant honors of her career just days before her rumored wedding date to Kelce.
The wedding date is widely reported to be set for June 13, but Swift is scheduled to receive a major honor at a ceremony just two days earlier.
How Did Taylor Swift Surpass Madonna?
The music industry site Chartmasters.org uses its “Commensurate Sales to Popularity Concept” to provide what it says are the most accurate measurements of music industry success.
Sales combine with other factors in the Chartmasters.org method to produce an overall success ranking.
Madonna had dominated the chart, which is updated daily. But on Saturday night, Swift climbed to No. 1 for the first time.
How Did Spotify Honor ‘Elizabeth Taylor’ by Taylor Swift?
Another honor for Swift on Saturday came from the streaming platform Spotify — the outlet that has come to dominate the music industry and that has been dominated by Swift, who holds a record with 27 songs that have been streamed at least one billion times each on the Spotify platform alone.
Despite the fact that “Elizabeth Taylor” will not be released officially as a single until Monday, the song — a tribute to the late Hollywood icon — has already been streamed on Spotify more than 300 million times.
“Elizabeth Taylor,” with writing credits going to Taylor Swift and her two producers on the Showgirl album, Max Martin and Shellback, earned Swift the No. 1 position as well as the cover photo for Spotify’s featured “Just Hits” playlist Saturday.
The placement is an indication of how popular with its users Spotify believes that “Elizabeth Taylor” will soon become. Both of Swift’s previous singles from Life of a Showgirl, “The Fate of Ophelia” and “Opalite,” have reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Elizabeth Taylor” is fully expected to become the third chart-topper off of Swift’s Showgirl album, and 15th of her career.
On Friday alone, “Elizabeth Taylor” received a reported 564,072 streaming plays on Spotify.
What Honor Is Creating a Conflict With Swift’s Kelce Wedding
While her recognition from Spotify certainly must be gratifying for Swift, in January she received what could arguably be described as the single most important honor of her career. On Jan. 21, Swift was elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
At age 36, Swift is not the youngest songwriter ever inducted, but she is the second-youngest. Only Motown superstar Stevie Wonder was younger when he was inducted in 1983 at age 32.
But the January induction was a formality. Swift’s actual induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame will take place in a ceremony at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. The date is set for June 11. While it appears inconceivable that Swift would skip the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, if media reports of her wedding date with Kelce are accurate, the couple is set to be married just two days later.
Being admitted to the Hall of Fame is an event of such significance that Kelce will almost surely accompany Swift to the private induction proceedings.
So far, neither Swift nor Kelce have confirmed the June 13 wedding date, or commented on the potential conflict with the Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony.
Taylor Swift Suddenly Surpasses Madonna — Travis Kelce Wedding Conflict Emerges