November 05, 2009

Taylor Swift's First Album Breaks Nickelback's Billboard Record

By Jocelyn Vena (MTV.com)

In the three years since Taylor Swift released her self-titled debut album, she has become an undeniable superstar. Not only has she found mainstream success outside of the Nashville country-music scene, but she's been breaking records all over the place. On the heels of her Fearless re-release, 2006's Taylor Swift just became the longest-charting album of the decade.

"That's a crazy statistic," the singer told MTV News at rehearsals for her gig hosting Saturday Night Live this week. "It means that my first album that came out, the self-titled album, charts longer than I guess any album this century."

The album, which contains Swift's breakout hit "Teardrops on My Guitar," came out in November 2006, peaked at #5 in 2008, and has remained on the charts for a whopping 157 weeks and counting. Take that, former record-holders, Nickleback! "Was it Nickelback? Who I like!" she said. "I'm just really excited."

Swift credits the success of the album to her massively loyal fanbase. "I mean, when things like that happen, I love the fans more and more," she said. "And I didn't think I could love them any more for all the things they've done for me, especially in the last year."

The world appears to be Swift's oyster, and this week the pearl is SNL, where she'll also serve as the night's musical guest. "It's just blown my mind that I get to be here hosting SNL, and it's all because of what the fans have done for me," she said. "So, [the fans] continue to amaze me."