Pakistani Swiftie Breaks World Record After Impressively Naming 34 Taylor Swift Songs In One Minute
A 20-year-old Pakistani got a Guinness World title for identifying the most Taylor Swift songs in one minute, besting the 2019 record previously held by a U.K. radio host.
According to USA Today, Bilal Ilyas Jhandir took the challenge on Sept. 10, 2023. The proud Swiftie -- Taylor Swift fan -- successfully named 34 randomly listed hits from the "1989" artist's 50 best-selling songs.
A proctor read the lyrics of Taylor's songs aloud monotonously and without any background music. As the lyrics were being read one by one, Jhandir had to identify the titles immediately.
"There were two independent witnesses present there. They were both from Pakistan. It was a little difficult since they were pronouncing some words incorrectly. So it was difficult for me, but I still managed to do it," Jhandir shared via USA Today.
The 34 songs Jhandir successfully identified were "Ours," "I Don't Wanna Live Forever," "Lavender Haze," "Both Of Us," "Cardigan," "Style," "Back To December," "Karma," "Everything Has Changed," "Ready For It?" "Safe & Sound," "You Belong With Me," "ME!" "Wildest Dreams," "You Need To Calm Down," "Love Story," "We're Never Ever Getting Back Together," "22," "Message In A Bottle," "Highway Don't Care," "The Story Of Us," "Picture To Burn," "All Too Well," "Look What You Made Me Do," "Cruel Summer," "White Horse," "Fearless," "Tim McGraw," "Bad Blood," "End Game," "Anti-Hero," "Our Song," "Should Have Said No" and "Teardrops On My Guitar."
According to The Philippine Star, by successfully identifying 34 Taylor Swift songs, Jhandir surpassed the previous record U.K. radio host Dan Simpson set in 2019. Simpson previously identified 27 songs.
Jhandir has been listening to the Grammy-awarded singer since he was 13. That's why he can "identify almost any song of hers from the lyrics."
"The thing I like about her is her way of writing out-of-this-world songs that always hit the bottom of my heart," the new Guinness World Record holder said.
He continued, "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 about Taylor Swift."
While he holds multiple Guinness World Records, he said naming the most Taylor Swift songs in one minute is his "favorite of all of them."
"Being called a 'Certified Swiftie' or 'Officially Amazing Swiftie' is such an incredible feeling," he said.
Jhandir also holds two other Guinness World Records -- naming the most animals identified from animal sounds in 2021 (23) and identifying the most Justin Bieber songs from their lyrics in one minute in 2023 (29).
