How Taylor Swift Topped Our 2020s Global Hitmakers Ranking

Taylor Swift started the decade outside our top 20 global hitmakers. By 2026, she’d climbed past everyone to become our biggest global hitmaker of the 2020s.

That climb took years of new releases, re-recordings, and a catalog resurgence during the Eras Tour. Looking at each year shows how she closed the gap, and why the race remained close right up to the week she reached #1.

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How the hitmaker ranking works

This is our own ranking, built from official weekly global charts: Spotify’s until September 2020, then the Billboard Global 200. Each week, songs earn points based on their chart position, split between the credited artists. Holiday songs are left out. The full method is on our Global Hitmakers page.

Here’s how Swift’s annual ranking changed, through the chart dated October 17, 2026:

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2020: ‘folklore’ and the pandemic

Swift launched the decade with ‘folklore,’ an indie-folk pivot that remains one of her most celebrated projects to date. Critics loved it. Pitchfork gave it an 8.0, it holds a Metascore of 88 on Metacritic, and it went on to win Album of the Year at the 2021 Grammys.

The album set a new first-day Spotify record for a female artist, debuting with over 80 million Spotify streams. Apart from Swift’s own later releases, that total remained unbeaten by another female artist until Olivia Rodrigo did so earlier this year.

The album’s singles didn’t have sustained runs on the global charts, but tracks “cardigan” and “august” became streaming hits in the following years.

Sister album ‘evermore’ was released on December 11, leaving only one chart week that counted toward our 2020 ranking, dated December 26. Its second week appeared on the January 2, 2021 chart and counts toward 2021. Swift finished 2020 ranked at #22 among the biggest global hitmakers of the year. “cardigan” was her biggest contributor.

2021: The beginning of the re-recordings

2021 ushered in a new era for Swift. Following the dispute over ownership of her original master recordings, she began releasing re-recorded albums under the ‘Taylor’s Version’ name, giving her ownership of the new recordings. ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ came first in April. Its lead single, “Love Story (Taylor’s Version),” had already reached #7 on the Global 200 in February. The album debuted at #1 in the US, but its songs’ global chart runs were relatively short.

‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’ in November made a much bigger impact. The 10-minute version of “All Too Well” debuted atop the Global 200, and the album generated over 90 million first-day Spotify streams, breaking the record ‘folklore’ set a year prior. Her older catalog was also resurfacing on global charts alongside new releases, with “Wildest Dreams,” “Blank Space,” “exile,” and “Enchanted” all charting on Spotify’s Global chart that week.

Despite a strong showing from ‘Red,’ Swift spent a good portion of 2021 off the global charts. She was absent from the Global 200 for much of the summer, apart from brief appearances by “willow” and her Big Red Machine collaboration “Renegade.” She once again placed at #22 on the year’s list, finishing with fewer points than she earned in 2020.

2022: The start of a historic run

Swift released only two standalone singles in the first half of 2022, “This Love (Taylor’s Version)” and the ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ track “Carolina,” along with a featured spot on Ed Sheeran’s “The Joker and the Queen.” Otherwise, a few catalog songs held on at the lower end of the global charts.

In August, she announced her tenth studio album, ‘Midnights,’ for a late October release. By this point, several catalog songs were charting regularly, and they remained on the charts leading into the album’s October 21 release.

‘Midnights’ was a streaming and sales monster. It debuted with 186 million streams on Spotify, more than double the opening-day total for ‘Red (Taylor’s Version).’ This time, she set Spotify’s single-day album record across all artists.

Swift claimed nine of the top 10 positions on that week’s Global 200 chart, and lead single “Anti-Hero” spent four weeks at #1 before the end of the year. The album gave her a much larger chart presence in the closing weeks of 2022.

Although released late in the year, the success of ‘Midnights’ was enough to earn Swift the #5 spot on 2022’s hitmakers list. Even after her best year yet, she still had a mountain to climb. Three years into the decade, Swift ranked just 11th overall, with less than 40% of leader The Weeknd’s points. Bad Bunny’s 2022 alone was more than 50% bigger than her first three years combined.

2023: Biggest year yet

2023 marked Swift’s strongest start yet. “Anti-Hero” was still a top 10 hit globally, while several other songs, both catalog hits and ‘Midnights’ album tracks, rotated in and out of the lower end of the charts. With the Eras Tour right around the corner, she already had a busy year ahead.

“All of the Girls You Loved Before,” an outtake from ‘Lover,’ was surprise-released on March 17, the day of the first stop of the Eras Tour. The unexpected release debuted at #10 on the Global 200. The bigger news, however, was the surge in catalog streaming that came with the tour. Older songs including “Cruel Summer,” “Lover,” and “Style” joined it on the chart.

The Eras Tour’s effect on Swift’s catalog was apparent throughout the spring, and the momentum carried into her next re-recording, ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),’ on July 7. It debuted with 126 million streams on its first day on Spotify, and all 22 tracks entered the Global 200.

That momentum carried all the way to ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version),’ released in October that same year. The album delivered 176 million first-day streams on Spotify and a #1 debut for vault track “Is It Over Now?” on the Global 200 to cap off a highly successful year of new releases and catalog hits.

Swift finished 2023 as the biggest hitmaker on our annual list by a wide margin. Her total was nearly 60% higher than runner-up Miley Cyrus’s, and more than her previous three years combined. “Cruel Summer,” the first full song performed on the Eras Tour, was her biggest contributor. It climbed throughout the year and reached #1 on the Global 200 in November. As of October 2026, 2023 remains her strongest year in our ranking.

2024: Continued momentum

2024 picked up right where 2023 left off. “Cruel Summer” remained a major global hit, and Swift’s back catalog was still running strong as the Eras Tour continued.

Swift had another surprise in store at the 2024 Grammys, where she announced ‘THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT’ while accepting Best Pop Vocal Album for ‘Midnights’. The new album arrived on April 19, followed later that day by ‘The Anthology,’ which expanded the 16-track album to 31 songs. The combined release earned over 300 million streams on its opening day on Spotify, setting another single-day album record. All 31 tracks debuted inside the top 60 of the Global 200, and lead single “Fortnight” spent multiple weeks atop the chart.

‘THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT’ was Swift’s only new album of 2024. In a strong year for popular music, she placed at #3 on the annual list, trailing Sabrina Carpenter and Billie Eilish. Despite the new album’s huge opening week, “Cruel Summer” became her biggest points contributor once again.

She was still gaining ground on the decade ranking. Bad Bunny earned far fewer points in 2024 than in the previous two years, and Swift finished the year ahead of him at #2 for the decade, behind The Weeknd.

2025: The ‘Showgirl’ era

By the time 2025 rolled around, Swift’s chart momentum had cooled. The Eras Tour had wrapped up in December, and “Cruel Summer” was her main holdover going into the year, eventually falling into the lower half of the Global 200.

In August, Swift announced her twelfth studio album, ‘The Life of a Showgirl,’ set for release on October 3. Despite a shorter tracklist of 12 songs, ‘Showgirl’ delivered another huge debut, earning over 250 million streams on its first day on Spotify and claiming 12 of the top 13 positions on the Global 200.

Swift finished the year ranked at #5, with ‘Showgirl’ lead single “The Fate of Ophelia” earning her the most points. While she passed The Weeknd on the decade ranking, Bad Bunny’s “DtMF” was a monumental global success, and the Latin star found his way back to #1 for the decade. Swift was left where she started the year, at #2, but with a different artist to catch.

2026: A new #1

Catching Bad Bunny would be a challenge in 2026. While ‘Showgirl’ album tracks were already in decline, he followed an Album of the Year win at this year’s Grammys in February with a Super Bowl halftime performance the following week. Benito started the year on fire. “The Fate of Ophelia” kept Swift in the race, but she still had ground to make up.

“I Knew It, I Knew You,” a promotional single for ‘Toy Story 5,’ was released on June 5 and debuted at #1 on the Global 200. This song, along with the sustained success of “Ophelia,” helped Swift keep pace with Bad Bunny throughout the summer.

On September 25, Swift released the deluxe version of ‘The Life of a Showgirl,’ along with lead single “Patient Zero.” The deluxe album featured only four new songs. All four debuted inside the top 5 of the Global 200, while songs from the standard edition also rose or returned to the chart. That debut week brought Swift within touching distance of Bad Bunny on the decade ranking. She moved ahead the following week, on the chart dated October 17. After years of closing the gap, Taylor Swift now ranked as the biggest global hitmaker of the 2020s. She also stood ahead of Bad Bunny on 2026’s list, at #4 for the year so far.

Looking ahead

After sitting outside the top 20 global hitmakers in 2020 and 2021, Swift closed a sizable gap to reach the decade’s top spot. New albums, re-recordings, and a catalog revival all played a part in the climb.

The gap between Swift and Bad Bunny is less than 1%, and with more than three years left in the decade, the race is far from settled. Swift’s run has already become one of the defining chart stories of the 2020s.