“The Encore” has given Taylor Swift’s blockbuster album enough momentum to reclaim the Billboard 200.

Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl was projected to reclaim the Billboard 200’s top position following the arrival of The Encore. Instead, Miley Cyrus secured the crown.

Miley’s new album, Bass Persuades, officially debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 61,000 equivalent album units. That total includes 47,000 pure album sales and 14.22 million on-demand streams.

The achievement gives Miley Cyrus the sixth No. 1 album of her career. Even more impressively, Bass Persuades becomes her first project to lead the Billboard 200 in more than a decade. Her previous chart-topper was Bangerz, which reached No. 1 in 2013.

The result is especially surprising because Bass Persuades was initially projected to open between 40,000 and 45,000 units. An earlier estimate placed the album near 46,000. Its final total comfortably exceeded both forecasts, with strong pure sales helping Miley defeat the week’s competition.

Meanwhile, The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore expanded Taylor’s original album with “Patient Zero,” “Cleveland!,” “Pink Clouding,” and “Babylon.” All four songs dominated Spotify’s global chart, while The Encore reached No. 1 on U.S. iTunes and Apple Music.

Still, that platform takeover was not enough to return The Life of a Showgirl to the Billboard 200 summit.

Taylor appeared prepared to reclaim the throne, but Miley walked in, persuaded the bass, and collected her first No. 1 album since Bangerz.

Quincy

Quincy is the creator of Ratings Game Music. He loves writing about music, taking long walks on beaches, and spaghetti that fights him back.