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Taylor Swift Joins Ariana Grande, Mariah Carey, Lady Gaga And Britney Spears With Her Second No. 1 Debut

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One No. 1 debut apparently isn’t enough for Taylor Swift, who snags her second immediate chart-topper on the Hot 100 this week with new song “Cardigan.” The track serves as the first single from her surprise album Folklore, which arrived with almost no warning a little over a week ago.

By landing a second No. 1 start on the Hot 100, Swift has joined a very small club featuring some of the most successful female powerhouses of all time.

Only five women, now including Swift, have managed to start more than one song atop the Hot 100, which remains a rare accomplishment typically reserved for the most viral of smashes and the biggest names in the business.

Swift collected her first Hot 100 No. 1 debut back in 2014 with “Shake It Off,” the track that introduced her blockbuster album 1989. Now she’s added a second win with “Cardigan,” which opens as the bestselling and most-streamed cut of the week.

Among all the women who have scored more than a single No. 1 debut on the all-genre chart, Ariana Grande leads the way, as she has somehow managed to do so four times. She collected her first instant leader in 2018 with “Thank U, Next,” and then the following year she made that two with “7 Rings.” This year, she’s doubled that sum with her collaborations with Justin Bieber (“Stuck With U”) and Lady Gaga (“Rain on Me”).

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Mariah Carey is the only other female powerhouse who has moved beyond two chart-topping debuts. She became the first woman to start a single at No. 1 on the Hot 100 way back in 1995 with “Fantasy,” which was also the second-ever tune to launch in first place. She followed that up later the same year with “One Sweet Day,” a duet with Boyz II Men, and then again in 1997 with “Honey.”

Britney Spears became just the second female pop star to collect a pair of No. 1 starts after her immensely popular releases “3” and “Hold It Against Me” entered the Hot 100 as high as a cut can climb.

Earlier this year, Gaga became the fourth female to be inducted into this club when “Rain on Me” kicked off its time on the roster at No. 1. She earned her first chart-topping debut with “Born This Way” back in 2011.

When looking at all artists, Swift is the eighth musician with more than one No. 1 debut. In addition to the women mentioned above, Bieber, Drake and Travis Scott are also included. The first two names have both landed a trio of instant rulers, while Scott has collected two.

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