Taylor Swift Sets Women’s Record for Most Number One Albums 

Taylor Swift accepts the "iHeartRadio Innovator" award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles, California, US, March 27, 2023. (Reuters)
Taylor Swift accepts the "iHeartRadio Innovator" award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles, California, US, March 27, 2023. (Reuters)
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Taylor Swift Sets Women’s Record for Most Number One Albums 

Taylor Swift accepts the "iHeartRadio Innovator" award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles, California, US, March 27, 2023. (Reuters)
Taylor Swift accepts the "iHeartRadio Innovator" award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles, California, US, March 27, 2023. (Reuters)

Taylor Swift now has more number one albums than any other female artist in history following the recent release of "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)," Billboard said Monday.

The record debuted at the top of the Billboard charts, becoming the pop queen's 12th number one album and surpassing Barbra Streisand for the most among women.

For male performers, Jay-Z and the Beatles both have over a dozen number one albums, though Billboard notes it has changed its album ranking system over the decades to include anthologies.

Swift, 33, has also become the first living artist in nearly 60 years to have four albums in the top 10 at the same time, the organization added.

They include "Midnights," "Lover" and "Folklore."

Billboard said Swift had also become the first living artist to have 11 albums in the top 200 simultaneously.

Swift's record-breaking feats come as she performs many of her best hits on the fan-frenzied "Eras" tour.

The 106-date stadium concert series kicked off in March and is within striking distance of becoming the first billion-dollar tour.

"Speak Now" was originally released in 2010. Swift has vowed to re-record her first six albums so she can control their rights -- a process she was contractually allowed to begin in November 2020.

She has also re-recorded "Fearless" and "Red."

Last October, Swift became the first artist ever to simultaneously nab all 10 spots on the top US song chart after the release of her tenth studio album "Midnights."



Zanzibar Says Hollywood Star Idris Elba to Open Film Studio

Britain's King Charles III (R) meets British actor Idris Elba and young people attend an event for The King's Trust to discuss youth opportunity, at St James's Palace in central London on July 12, 2024. (Photo by Yui Mok / POOL / AFP)
Britain's King Charles III (R) meets British actor Idris Elba and young people attend an event for The King's Trust to discuss youth opportunity, at St James's Palace in central London on July 12, 2024. (Photo by Yui Mok / POOL / AFP)
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Zanzibar Says Hollywood Star Idris Elba to Open Film Studio

Britain's King Charles III (R) meets British actor Idris Elba and young people attend an event for The King's Trust to discuss youth opportunity, at St James's Palace in central London on July 12, 2024. (Photo by Yui Mok / POOL / AFP)
Britain's King Charles III (R) meets British actor Idris Elba and young people attend an event for The King's Trust to discuss youth opportunity, at St James's Palace in central London on July 12, 2024. (Photo by Yui Mok / POOL / AFP)

Hollywood star Idris Elba has been allocated land in Zanzibar to set up a film studio in the Indian Ocean archipelago, a local minister said.

The British actor and rapper, who has Sierra Leonean and Ghanaian roots, has previously spoken about his desire to develop the film industry in Africa.

"Idris Elba will be building a modern studio similar to Hollywood, Nollywood or Bollywood," Zanzibar's minister for investment Shariff Ali Shariff said on Thursday.

He said the government of Zanzibar has granted Elba 80 hectares (almost 200 acres) of land in Fumba, on the island of Unguja, for the studio.

"I'm not sure how we will call it in Zanzibar, whether Zallywood or Zawood, I don't know," Shariff said jokingly as he addressed industry players at the Zanzibar International Film Festival.

Local media said the studio could boost Tanzania's budding efforts to become a hub for international film production.

The studio plan follows discussions last year between Elba and Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.