Taylor Swift’s “Patient Zero” debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving the pop superstar her 16th career chart-topper. The song also becomes Swift’s 10th No. 1 debut, tying Drake for the most in Hot 100 history.
“Patient Zero” arrives at the summit following the September 25 release of The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore, the deluxe edition of Taylor Swift’s 2025 album. The four new songs from The Encore dominate the upper tier of the Hot 100, with “Cleveland!” debuting at No. 3, “Babylon” at No. 4 and “Pink Clouding” at No. 5.
The result ends the extraordinary run of Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas,” which had spent 24 consecutive weeks at No. 1 since February.
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“Patient Zero” gives Taylor Swift her third Hot 100 No. 1 of the year, following “Opalite” and “I Knew It, I Knew You.” She becomes the first artist to score three new No. 1s in a single calendar year since Kendrick Lamar accomplished the feat in 2024. Among women, Ariana Grande was the last artist to achieve the same milestone, doing so in 2020.
The new chart-topper also pushes Taylor Swift to 50 total weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100. She becomes just the sixth act in the chart’s 68-year history to reach that mark, joining Mariah Carey with 101 weeks, Rihanna with 60, The Beatles with 59, Drake with 58 and Boyz II Men with 50.
Swift now ranks third all-time for the most Hot 100 No. 1s. Her 16 leaders trail only The Beatles with 20 and Carey with 19, while Rihanna and Drake follow with 14 each. The milestone further separates Swift from other major pop acts, including Michael Jackson with 13 and Madonna with 12.
Her dominance extends beyond No. 1s. Swift now has 74 Hot 100 top 10s, the most among women and second overall behind Drake’s 90. The Life of a Showgirl now accounts for 14 top 10 hits across its original and deluxe editions, giving the album the most Hot 100 top 10s of any album in chart history.
With “Patient Zero,” Swift’s career total reaches 182 Hot 100 top 40 hits and 281 overall entries. Both figures are the highest among women, while Drake remains ahead of her among all acts with 241 top 40s and 404 total entries.
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