Patient Zero Hot 100 debut at No. 1 ends Ella Langley’s record 24-week run
The Patient Zero Hot 100 debut is official: Taylor Swift’s new single enters the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 1, ending the longest run at the top in the chart’s history. Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” had held No. 1 for a record 24 weeks. Here are the numbers behind the debut, the records Swift has now matched or broken, and what the rest of the top 10 looks like.
By Editorial Team
What we know
- No. 1 debut (FACT). “Patient Zero” debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated 10 October 2026, Billboard announced on 5 October. It is Swift’s 16th Hot 100 No. 1.
- The record run ends (FACT). Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” falls to No. 2 after 24 weeks at No. 1, the most in the chart’s history, according to Billboard.
- The tracking-week numbers (FACT). In the US between 25 September and 1 October, “Patient Zero” earned 34.5 million official streams, 28.5 million radio airplay audience impressions and 65,000 sales, according to Billboard, using data from Luminate.
- Swift’s other new songs (FACT). The three other new tracks on The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore also debut in the top five: “Cleveland!” at No. 3, “Babylon” at No. 4 and “Pink Clouding” at No. 5.
Why the Patient Zero Hot 100 debut matters
Billboard lists several records and milestones from this one chart week:
- Most No. 1 debuts, tied. This is Swift’s 10th song to debut at No. 1, tying Drake for the most.
- Third for No. 1s overall. Her 16 No. 1s put her behind only The Beatles (20) and Mariah Carey (19).
- 50 weeks at No. 1. Counting all her chart-toppers, she has now spent 50 weeks at No. 1. She is the sixth act to reach that mark.
- An album record. Counting both versions, The Life of a Showgirl has now produced 14 Hot 100 top 10s, the most ever from a single album.
- Three No. 1s in one year. After “Opalite” and “I Knew It, I Knew You”, this is her third new No. 1 of 2026. Billboard says she is the first artist to do that since Kendrick Lamar in 2024.
The song was written and produced by Swift with Max Martin and Shellback, the team behind her 1989-era No. 1s. Billboard notes that Martin now has 31 No. 1s as a songwriter, one behind Paul McCartney.
How the Hot 100 is counted
If you are outside the US, the Hot 100 can look like a simple popularity list. It is actually a formula. Billboard combines US streams (audio and official video), radio airplay audience and sales of downloads and physical singles over a tracking week that runs from Friday to Thursday. Sales from artists’ own web stores are excluded. Our guide to how the Billboard charts work explains each part in more detail.
That formula explains the result. “Patient Zero” led the US streaming chart and the digital song sales chart in its first week. But it was only No. 16 on radio, because it takes weeks for a new song to build up radio play. “Choosin’ Texas” was the opposite. It had months of steady radio and streaming support behind it, but it could not match a brand-new Swift single’s first-week streams and sales.
The same Encore release also sent the full album back to No. 1 on the Billboard 200, as we reported in Life of a Showgirl returns to No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
Who is Ella Langley?
Ella Langley is a country singer from Alabama. “Choosin’ Texas” reached No. 1 in February and stayed there for 24 weeks, passing the previous record of 19 weeks shared by Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” and Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”. Billboard says the song is still No. 1 on its Hot Country Songs chart for a 43rd week, so her run is far from over. For many listeners outside the US, “Choosin’ Texas” may be the biggest American hit they have not heard of, which shows how much of the Hot 100’s power comes from US country radio.
The video and the publicity push
The song’s video, directed by Swift and starring her alongside Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell, premiered at the MTV Video Music Awards on 27 September. We covered that night in Taylor Swift’s VMA record and the Patient Zero video. Swift also made a surprise appearance in Johnson’s Saturday Night Live monologue on 3 October, after the tracking week had ended. That means any effect from the SNL appearance will only show up in next week’s chart. You can read about that night in Taylor Swift crashes Dakota Johnson’s SNL monologue.
The rest of the top 10
According to Billboard, the top 10 on the Hot 100 dated 10 October 2026 is:
- No. 1: “Patient Zero”, Taylor Swift (new)
- No. 2: “Choosin’ Texas”, Ella Langley
- No. 3: “Cleveland!”, Taylor Swift (new)
- No. 4: “Babylon”, Taylor Swift (new)
- No. 5: “Pink Clouding”, Taylor Swift (new)
- No. 6: “Boston”, Stella Lefty
- No. 7: “Been by Now”, Morgan Wallen
- No. 8: “Hate That I Made You Love Me”, Ariana Grande
- No. 9: “Stupid Song”, Olivia Rodrigo
- No. 10: “Dracula”, Tame Impala and JENNIE
Olivia Rodrigo’s return to the top 10 came after cassette and vinyl releases and the start of her Unraveled Tour on 25 September, Billboard says.
What happens next
- Billboard’s full charts dated 10 October go live on its website on Tuesday 6 October.
- Next week’s Hot 100 will show whether “Patient Zero” can hold off “Choosin’ Texas”, which is likely to keep strong radio support.
- The SNL appearance on 3 October falls into the next tracking week.
More music coverage: Music.
Photo credits: Featured image: Taylor Swift at the 2024 Golden Globes. Photo: iHeartRadioCA, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0). Source. In-article image: Ella Langley in concert in 2025. Photo: BrDen, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0). Source.
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