Swift and BTS may show the measure you pick decides which album leads

Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl,” released in October 2025, spent a 15th non-consecutive week atop the Billboard 200, Variety reported Oct. 18. BTS’s “Arirang” has passed 5 billion Spotify streams, the most for any album released in 2026, its label said Oct. 14. Olivia Rodrigo’s third studio album ranked second in both reports. Read together, they may show that the album on top depends on what is measured.

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