The official German album charts are entirely comprised of newcomers this week, according to data released by GfK on Friday. Reinhard Mey made a surprising debut at the very top. At 83 years old, his first studio album, “Schatzhauser,” has been released entirely by him, making him the oldest national artist to ever top the album charts.
The rest of the top positions were taken by a highly active set of artists: Till Lindemann (“Live In Krakow,” two), Wolfgang Petry (“Ein Leben lang,” three), Kuko (“Catharsis,” four), and Linkin Park (“Unshatter Film Soundtrack (Live In São Paulo),” five). Meanwhile, Taylor Swift moved up from position 21 to six, boosted by an expanded version of her long-running album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” which includes four new songs.
In the singles charts, Shakira collaborated with Burna Boy on their international hit “Dai Dai,” which maintained the top spot for thirteen consecutive weeks. However, Taylor Swift has now taken over the dominance of the singles chart. Her four new tracks are making a major impact; in addition to “Cleveland!” (13), “Pink Clouding” (15), and “Babylon” (16), “Patient Zero” has surged directly to the top spot, marking Swift’s fourth number-one single. Taylor Swift songs now make up a quarter of the top-20, alongside the perennial hit “The Fate Of Ophelia” (ten).
The Toten Hosen are challenging the singles rankings with their album “Was ist mit uns los,” debuting at number four, behind Shakira (two) and the collaboration between Hugel, Imael Angel, and Ultra Naté (“Movin` to the Sun,” three).
On another note, the Backstreet Boys are making a return. The group, which is currently touring ten concerts in Düsseldorf, has released new tracks, with “I want it that Way” at 53 and “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” at 83 in the singles ranking.
These official German charts are determined by GfK Entertainment on behalf of the German Music Industry Association, covering 90 percent of all music sales.
