Taylor Swift has made an impressive mark on the global music scene with her latest single “Patient Zero,” which has debuted at No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts. This achievement underscores her remarkable impact, as she now ties with BTS for the most Global 200 leaders since the chart’s inception in September 2020.
Historic Chart Achievements
With “Patient Zero,” Swift claims her eighth No. 1 on the Global 200 and her fifth atop the Global Excl. U.S. chart, surpassing previous record-holders Bad Bunny and Ariana Grande and solidifying her status as a leading solo artist in these rankings. BTS still holds the record for the most No. 1s across all acts, boasting eight instances.
New Music and Album Success
Launching as the biggest song worldwide, “Patient Zero” achieved 70.7 million streams and sold 80,000 copies globally from September 25 to October 1. The accompanying music video, which features Swift alongside Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell, premiered on September 27 during the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards.
Strong Chart Presence
Moreover, Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” has rebounded to No. 8 on the Global 200, after an impressive seven-week reign at No. 1 last fall through winter. The song recorded 29.8 million streams, marking a 27% increase from the previous period.
Chart Insights and Updates
In the Global Excl. U.S. rankings, “Cleveland!” made a robust entry at No. 6, with “Pink Clouding” at No. 7 and “Babylon” at No. 8. Swift’s presence at the top continues to grow, extending her record of top 10 hits to 34, leaving Bad Bunny in second with 24. Following four weeks at No. 1, Karol G, Judeline, and rusowsky’s “BbY WOW” has dipped to No. 3 on the Global 200 and No. 2 on the Global Excl. U.S. chart.
Chart Methodology
The Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts are compiled based on streaming and sales data from over 200 territories, as gathered by Luminate. The Global 200 includes worldwide data, while the Global Excl. U.S. chart reflects information from territories excluding the United States.
Chart rankings rely on a weighted formula that captures official streams from both subscription and ad-supported audio and video music services, alongside download sales from full-service digital retailers. Notably, sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites are not counted in the rankings.
The latest chart updates, dated October 10, 2026, are expected to be published on Billboard.com tomorrow, October 6. The top 100 titles will be accessible to all readers, while the complete 200-title rankings will be available through Billboard Pro, the magazine’s subscription service. For real-time updates on chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Luminate, the independent data provider for the Billboard charts, rigorously reviews all submitted data for accuracy. Any questionable or unverifiable data is discarded before chart calculations are final and published.
