The first woman to debut an album at number one on the Billboard charts
We’re 44 weeks into 2024, and women have been absolutely dominating the Billboard albums chart. For 26 of those weeks, female artists have topped the list, earning millions of sales between them. Perhaps expectedly, Taylor Swift has ruled the charts, spending 17 weeks at number one for two different albums, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and The Tortured Poets Department. The latter has sat in the number one spot for over three months in total.
But Swift isn’t the only female artist who has topped the charts with an album release this year. The shimmering Sabrina Carpenter stormed the charts earlier this autumn with her sixth record, Short n’ Sweet, which also earned the singer her first Grammy nominations. More established names like Ariana Grande and Beyoncé have also topped the album chart, as well as K-pop girl group Twice.
It’s not a surprise to see these artists thriving in the charts. Women have been dominating popular music for decades now, topping the charts and earning fans all over the world, defying the limitations and restrictions often placed upon them in such a male-dominated industry. But before the likes of Swift and Sabrina, there were a number of women who paved the way for their successors to thrive.
One of those women was Whitney Houston. Possessing one of the most gorgeous voices in the history of pop, Houston helmed some truly iconic songs, including the impossibly catchy ‘How Will I Know’ and the soaring ‘I Will Always Love You’. She was also the first solo woman to debut an album at number one on the Billboard charts, topping the list with her 1987 self-titled record, Whitney.
The record featured Houston’s signature track, ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)’, as well as hits like ‘So Emotional’ and ‘Where Do Broken Hearts Go’. It immediately captured audiences in their masses, quickly climbing to the number one spot in its first week and breaking records in the process.
Whitney Houston’s Billboard chart history
Whitney isn’t the only release that earned Houston success on the Billboard charts. She earned her first number one single in 1987 with ‘Didn’t We Almost Have It All’, which spent two weeks at number one. Other number one singles in Houston’s catalogue include ‘I’m Your Baby Tonight’, ‘Greatest Love Of All’ and the aforementioned ‘Where Do Broken Hearts Go’.
Houston’s 1992 cover of ‘I Will Always Love You’ is her most successful single in terms of chart success. She recorded the track for Mick Jackson’s film The Bodyguard, which she also starred in, and immediately stormed the charts. The track spent an impressive 14 weeks at number one. Like Whitney, the full album soundtrack for The Bodyguard also topped the charts.
Both records remain amongst the highest-selling albums ever made, demonstrating Houston’s unparalleled influence on pop, paving the way for women to thrive in an industry that was built to push them out. Although it’s difficult to imagine a world where female artists can’t reach number one in the debut week of their album release, it was Houston who broke through that barrier first.
The music industry still has a long way to go when it comes to gender equality. There are still structures in place that push women out of the industry, silence them or make them feel unsafe, but each new “first” is a step in the right direction.
