When it comes to breaking records, you can always count on Swifties. Case in point: Taylor Swift's Eras Tour is officially the highest-grossing tour of all time and the first one to surpass $1 billion dollars—yes, that's a billion with a B!—in revenue. Taylor is also Spotify's Top Artist for 2023, nbd.
Need more proof? A 20-year-old diehard Swiftie from Pakistan recently broke the Guinness World Record for identifying the *most* Taylor Swift songs in under a minute! Bilal Ilyas Jhandir correctly named a total of 34 songs, smashing the previous record (27) set by Dan Simpson from the UK in 2019.
According to a press release by the Guinness World Records (GWR), 50 of Taylor's best-selling songs were randomly compiled, and Bilal was tasked with identifying each song with only its starting lyrics, dictated by a human and without any accompanying music.
Bilal revealed to GWR that he has been a fan of Taylor since he was 13 and that Folklore was his favorite album of hers. "I have been listening to Taylor Swift since my childhood. I am a die-hard fan of her. I have listened to each and every song of hers. I can identify almost any song of hers from the lyrics," he shared.
"The thing I like the most about her is her way of writing out-of-this-world songs that always hit the bottom of my heart," he gushed.
He added: "The authenticity in her songwriting, the emotional depth in her lyrics, and her ability to connect with listeners on a personal level are all the things that I admire most about Taylor Swift."
Despite knowing all of Taylor's songs by heart, Bilal spent 13 weeks training for his record attempt. This involved "extensive listening sessions" that resulted in the songs being totally *ingrained* in his brain.
As if that wasn't impressive enough, this is actually Bilal's *third* Guinness World Record! He achieved this first in 2021 for the most animals identified from just animal sounds in one minute (23). He earned his second world record in 2023 for the most Justin Bieber songs identified from just the lyrics in under one minute (29).
But according to Bilal, his latest record is probably his favorite one. "Being called a 'Certified Swiftie' or 'Officially Amazing Swiftie' is such an incredible feeling," he shared.
