Taylor Swift Has Been Blocked From A Milestone No. 1 By The Same Song A Dozen Times

BusinessHollywood & EntertainmentTaylor Swift Has Been Blocked From A Milestone No. 1 By The Same Song A Dozen TimesByHugh McIntyre,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Hugh McIntyre covers music, with a focus on the global charts.Follow AuthorMay 23, 2026, 08:30am EDTAlex Warren's "Ordinary" has blocked Taylor Swift's "The Fate of Ophelia" from finally reaching No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart for a dozen weeks now. GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY - JULY 17: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO STANDALONE PUBLICATION USE (NO SPECIAL INTEREST OR SINGLE ARTIST PUBLICATION USE; NO BOOK USE)) Taylor Swift performs onstage during "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour" at Veltins Arena on July 17, 2024 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management )Getty Images for TAS Rights ManagementTypically, whenever Taylor Swift releases a new single, especially the first from a new album, it debuts at No. 1 on several Billboard charts. Radio rankings operate a bit differently, and tracks don't launch in first place, but a song by a superstar as beloved as Swift can climb to that position in only a matter of weeks. Of the three pop-focused airplay tallies that the company publishes every week, the Adult Contemporary roster is the slowest-moving of the bunch. Swift already ranks as one of the most successful acts of all time in terms of scoring champions, but so far, her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, has missed out on earning even one winner. While multiple singles have been promoted from the full-length, none of them have led the Adult Contemporary tally – though one has come frustratingly close more than a dozen times.Taylor Swift Is Stuck at No. 2 With "The Fate of Ophelia"For 12 nonconsecutive weeks now, Swift's "The Fate of Ophelia" has been stuck at No. 2 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The lead single from...