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The women who earned 6 of the Top 10 positions on the Billboard album chart

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

For the first time this decade, women hold most of the top 10 spots in the latest Billboard albums charts. NPR's Anastasia Tsioulcas counts them down.

ANASTASIA TSIOULCAS, BYLINE: No big surprise. Taylor Swift's album "The Tortured Poets Department" continues its reign at No. 1 for a 10th consecutive week. But just behind her...

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "US.")

GRACIE ABRAMS: (Singing) I know you know it felt like somethin' old, it felt like somethin' holy, like souls bleedin', so…

TSIOULCAS: Breathy singer-songwriter, Gracie Abrams makes her debut at No. 2 with "The Secret Of Us." And did you know that she's the daughter of film director and TV showrunner J.J. Abrams? I did not.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "US.")

ABRAMS: (Singing) Us, us. I felt it. You held it. Do you miss…

TSIOULCAS: Billie Eilish's "Hit Me Hard And Soft" is down to No. 4 this week. And quirky new pop royal Chappell Roan continues her steady climb. Her album, "The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess, " jumps up two spaces to No. 6.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RED WINE SUPERNOVA")

CHAPPELL ROAN: Let's pick it up now. (Singing) I don't care that you're a stoner. Red wine supernova, fall right into me.

TSIOULCAS: Also part of the super women crew, Ariana Grande's "Eternal Sunshine" has sprung back up to No. 8, while Charli XCX holds her No. 9 position with her album "Brat."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GIRL, SO CONFUSING")

CHARLI XCX: (Singing) Girl, it's so confusing sometimes to be a girl - girl, girl,

TSIOULCAS: That's six of the top 10 positions all held by women. To paraphrase the queen Beyonce, who runs the pop charts? This week, at least, it's girls.

Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR News, New York.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GIRL, SO CONFUSING")

CHARLI XCX: (Singing) How do you feel being a girl? Girl, girl. Man, I don't know, I'm just a girl. Girl, girl, girl, girl. You're all about writing poems. But I'm about throwing parties. Think you should come to my party. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Anastasia Tsioulcas
Anastasia Tsioulcas is a reporter on NPR's Arts desk. She is intensely interested in the arts at the intersection of culture, politics, economics and identity, and primarily reports on music. Recently, she has extensively covered gender issues and #MeToo in the music industry, including backstage tumult and alleged secret deals in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against megastar singer Plácido Domingo; gender inequity issues at the Grammy Awards and the myriad accusations of sexual misconduct against singer R. Kelly.