Taylor Swift's "Patient Zero" Hits No. 1 for a Second Week Despite Backlash Over the Title

Taylor Swift has another No. 1, and it’s the one everyone’s arguing about.“Patient Zero”just spent a second week on top of the Billboard Hot 100, giving Swift her 16th career chart-topper and her fourth in the past 12 months. The song leads The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore, a four-track deluxe release produced by Max Martin and Shellback and built around a Celtic fiddle hook from violinist and conductor Fredrik Burstedt. The lyric that’s getting quoted everywhere:“But if you’re sick of him, I got you, I was patient zero.”

The song’s title hasn’t gone over well with everyone. Epidemiologists and critics pointed out that“patient zero”carries a stigmatizing history tied to early HIV/AIDS reporting, when the term was used in ways that unfairly targeted the LGBTQ+ community. Despite the criticism, the track has stayed at the top, which says a lot about how hate listens and genuine streams can both feed a chart. Meanwhile, the other Encore songs didn’t hold up in week two:“Babylon”dropped to No. 34,“Pink Clouding”to No. 38, and“Cleveland!”to No. 40 after briefly reaching No. 3.

Swift’s release pace and chart streak have some listeners feeling overwhelmed and others wondering if the charts still reflect quality. With 16 No. 1s and the Beatles’all-time record of 20 in sight, the conversation isn’t slowing down. So we want to hear it: do you think the“patient zero”backlash is fair, or is the song too good to care? Sound off in the comments.