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Taylor Swift First Woman With 4 Albums In Top 10 At Once

Taylor Swift First Woman With 4 Albums In Top 10 At Once
Jul 17 2023 Share

Taylor Swift has become the first woman ever and only the third artist overall to have four albums simultaneously in the Top 10. 

Additionally, Taylor has surpassed Barbra Streisand’s record to become the female artist with the highest number of No. 1 albums in history.

The 33-year-old has achieved this feat with her latest album, “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” which debuted at the number one spot on the Billboard 200. The album amassed an impressive 716,000 album-equivalent units, combining physical sales, digital sales, and streaming figures. 

Notably, this marks the largest week for any album in 2023, surpassing her previous album, “Midnights,” released in October last year.

Joining “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” in the Top 10 are three more of her albums: “Midnights” at No. 5, “Lover” at No. 7, and “Folklore” at No. 10. This remarkable achievement makes Taylor the first woman since the inception of the charts in 1963 to have four albums in the Top 10 concurrently. 

These charts change from week to week, but as of time of writing, Taylor still has most of her albums in the top 200. 

Furthermore, she is the first living artist since 1966, when US trumpeter Herb Alpert achieved this record.

Prince is the only other artist to have achieved a similar feat, with five albums reaching the Top 10 shortly after his death in 2016.

Notably, Taylor Swift has also surpassed Barbra Streisand in the record for the female artist with the most No. 1 albums in history. While both artists previously held 11 No. 1 albums each, Taylor’s recent accomplishment has given her the edge.

It is worth mentioning that four out of the five biggest album debuts in the past five years now belong to Taylor Swift, with Adele’s 2021 album “30” securing the fourth position, just ahead of “Speak Now.”

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How Malta Got Its Fireworks | by spunt.mt

How Malta Got Its Fireworks | by spunt.mt
Jul 17 2023 Share

Maltese summer skies are dotted with colour. Today we explore Malta’s love story with pyrotechnics, and how we got here.

The love story between the Maltese and pyrotechnics takes us back to the time of the Order. On the feast of St. John the Baptist, celebratory bonfires would be lit, il-Ħġejjeġ ta’ San Ġwann. Soon enough, villages began to compete who could make the biggest bonfire.

When a new Grand Master was appointed and other similarly important occasions, the Knights would offer a salute with the firing of cannons and rifles. Maltese bombardiers got inspired.

The bombardiers were familiar with explosives and so, on the feast of their protector, Saint Barbara, they made their own version of the salute by lighting gunpowder from small bronze barrels, called ‘maskli’.

 

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Towards the end of the 19th, the Maltese began hiring Italian and Sicilian experts. They introduced us to the first coloured fireworks as well as to the much loved ġigġifogu. These experts were well paid, and guarded their recipes jealously.

So what did the Maltese do? Rumours have it that they wined and dined their guests until they became drunk. While the Sicilians dozed off, the Maltese sneakily copied their recipes.

By pure coincidence, and not at all related to any intoxication whatsoever, we start seeing more advance fireworks by the beginning of the 20th century. Advanced fireworks featured in feasts of Saint George in Qormi, Saint Helen in Birkirkara and Lord Saviour of Lija.

Following Independence, more money started pouring into the Maltese festi. Following the 1990s, more technological advancements were made, with computerised systems and synchronised music featuring regularly.

The pyrotechnic activity in Malta today is among the most advanced in the world, with many Maltese fireworks factories winning multiple international awards.

This article was brought to you by Malta Daily X spunt.mt

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Clean Malta Keeping Our Beaches Safe And Pristine

Clean Malta Keeping Our Beaches Safe And Pristine
Jul 17 2023 Share

Malta’s Cleansing and Maintenance Division, Clean Malta, shared a few images of their recent works on various Maltese beaches as they worked hard to keep them visitor friendly as summer heatwaves draw more people in for a refreshing swim. 

‘We don’t do miracles but our workers do everything they can so that everyone can enjoy our bays’, Clean Malta wrote. ‘One word for these workers: THANK YOU’ (GRAZZI).’

The work was carried out under the supervision of General Director Ramon Deguara through the Tourism Ministry. 

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Fires Reported In Sant’ Anton Palace Office

Jul 17 2023 Share

The President of Malta George Vella took to social media to report that fires broke out this morning in one of the Sant’ Anton Palace.

‘No one was injured in the incident’, the President revealed. He thanked the Civil Protection Department, the Malta Police Force, the Armed Forces of Malta and Mater Dei Hospital for their immediate assistance. 

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