Taylor Swift fan sets world record for 'Most Taylor Swift songs identified in one minute'

30 January 2024, 17:08

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By Katie Louise Smith

"It was very difficult."

How many Taylor Swift songs do you think you can name in one minute, from just their opening lyrics?

Swifties all around the world pride themselves on being able to name a Taylor Swift song within a split second, but this latest world record might prove to be a very difficult one to beat.

A new Guinness World Record has just been set by 20-year-old Swiftie Bilal Ilyas Jhandir from Pakistan, who managed to name an incredible 34 songs in 60 seconds.

READ MORE: Here's how to use the Taylor Swift song sorter to rank your favourite songs

TikTok might be flooded with videos of Swifties naming songs based on the first note or chord, but Bilal's challenge was a little different.

Sat in a room with two verified witnesses, Bilal had to correctly identify the song based on the list of completely random opening lyrics read out to him by an adjudicator. He also wore an eye-mask so he couldn't be accused of cheating.

"It was very difficult because you had to listen to another person read the lyrics and they were pronouncing some of the words incorrectly," Bilal said via USA Today.

The impressive video shows Bilal speeding his way through the lyrics, some of which were from songs that even the biggest Swifties on the planet might have to stop and think about for a second. ('Highway Don't Care', which is actually a Tim McGraw song featuring Taylor, was also included in the list of songs he named.)

Bilal reportedly practised for 13 weeks prior the official test, which was conducted in September 2023. He beat the previous record holder Dan Simpson, who correctly guessed 27 Taylor Swift songs from their opening lyrics back in 2019.

Having already seen the response from Swifties on social media saying they could easily beat his score, Bilal said: "Many people on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, they are saying that they will soon break the record, that’s so easy. Easy-peasy. So let’s see if someone broke this score. Then definitely I will try to regain it."

Challenge accepted! Oh, and if you're wondering, Bilal's favourite era is Folklore and his favourite song is 'You’re Losing Me' from Midnights. Taste!

Read more about Taylor Swift here:

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• When does Reputation (Taylor's Version) come out? Here's what Taylor Swift has teased so far
• When does 'Debut (Taylor's Version)' come out? Here's what Taylor Swift has teased so far
• Taylor Swift re-recordings: All the release dates of the Taylor’s Version albums in order

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