The art of surprise has sent Taylor Swift straight to the top of this week’s Official Albums Chart as "folklore" debuts at Number 1.

It earns Taylor her fifth consecutive chart-topping album in the UK, making her only the fifth female artist to score five or more UK Number 1 albums - joining Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Barbra Streisand and Celine Dion.

Taylor’s eighth album was announced just hours before its release last week and tops the chart with streams and downloads only, notching up 37,000 chart sales. 67% of its week 1 total was streams, while 33% was downloads. In the process, Taylor claims the biggest week of album downloads this year, surpassing the opening week of Eminem’s "Music To Be Murdered By".

Taylor’s previous UK Number 1 albums are "Red" (2012), "1989" (2014), "Reputation" (2017), and "Lover" (2019). View Taylor Swift’s full UK singles and albums chart history at https://bit.ly/39UZyg3

ELSEWHERE IN THE CHARTS

Ronan Keating is new at Number 2 with his eleventh studio album "Twenty Twenty," earning him a ninth Top 10 record as a soloist, and Welsh pop-punk band Neck Deep match their highest chart position with "All Distortions Are Intentional," new at Number 4.

Three albums rebound into the Top 10: Dua Lipa’s "Future Nostalgia" rises five spots to 8 following its Mercury Prize nomination, Bob Marley & The Wailers’ "Legend" lifts 11 places to Number 9 following a release on picture disc vinyl to commemorate what would have been Bob’s 75th birthday this year; and Fleetwood Mac’s 50 Years – "Don’t Stop" climbs five to 10 following the death of founding member Peter Green.

The final album by US rapper/producer Logic "No Pressure" lands at 11; Australian rapper The Kid Laroi enters at 12 with his debut set "F**k Love"; Fiona Apple’s "Fetch The Bolt Cutters" re-enters at 33 – the same position it debuted at in April - following a physical release; and former BRIT Award nominee Seasick Steve is new at 39 with his tenth record "Love & Peace".

Finally, three One Direction albums return to the Top 40 following the group’s ten-year anniversary celebrations last week – 2012’s "Take Me Home" bounces back to 25, 2015’s "Made In The A.M" re-enters at 37, and 2014’s "Four" is at 40.