Taylor Swift has taken back the top spot in a big way. Her song “Patient Zero” debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week dated October 10, 2026, ending country singer Ella Langley’s record-breaking 24-week run at number 1 with “Choosin’ Texas”. That 24-week run had just beaten Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” record.
“Patient Zero” is one of four new songs on the deluxe edition of her 2025 album, “The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore”, released September 25, 2026. The other three new songs also landed in the top five the same week – “Cleveland!” at number 3, “Babylon” at number 4 and “Pink Clouding” at number 5. That gives Swift four of the top five in one week.
The numbers are huge. In the tracking week Sept 25 to Oct 1, “Patient Zero” earned 34.5 million official U.S. streams, 28.5 million in radio audience and 65,000 in sales in the U.S., plus 70.7 million streams and 80,000 sales worldwide to top both Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. US charts.
The achievement makes it her 16th Hot 100 number 1 and her 10th to debut at number 1, tying Drake for the most number 1 debuts in chart history. Only The Beatles with 20 and Mariah Carey with 19 have more number 1s overall. On the Global 200, it’s her 8th number 1, tying BTS for the most since the chart launched in 2020.
The Encore also sent the parent album back to number 1 on the Billboard 200 for a 13th non-consecutive week with 173,000 equivalent album units, up 619% from the previous week. Streaming accounted for 136,000 of those units.
The music video, directed by Swift herself and starring Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell, premiered during the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on September 27, the same night she received the inaugural Artist Director Honors at the VMAs, breaking her tie with Beyoncé as the most decorated VMA artist. As of this week October 17, “Patient Zero” is still rocking number 1 for a second week on Hot 100 ahead of Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” at number 2, and number 1 for a second week in the UK as well.
