Pakistan man breaks world record after identifying 34 Taylor Swift songs in a minute

Bilal Ilyas Jhandir identified a whopping 34 songs in just a minute. (Image: Guinness World Records)

It is safe to say that Taylor Swift is a global icon. The 34-year-old singer-songwriter has amassed a massive fan base for herself. A special name, “Swifties”, has also been given to her army of fans. Among the millions of “Swifties”, there is Bilal Ilyas Jhandir well. Jhandir has etched his name in the prestigious Guinness Book of World Records after identifying a whopping 34 Taylor Swift songs in just a minute.

The 20-year-old correctly named a total of 34 songs just from their lyrics in sixty seconds. The previous record was held by Dan Simpson, a man from UK, who identified 27 songs in 2019.

According to Guinness World Records, Swift’s 50 best-selling songs were compiled into a list in a random order, from which Jhandir identified each song from the beginning, read aloud by a human without any accompanying music.

“I have been listening to Taylor Swift since my childhood. I am a die-hard fan of her,” Bilal revealed. “I have listened to each and every song of hers. I can identify almost any song of hers from the lyrics.”

Here's Bilal Ilyas Jhandir and his super knowledge of Taylor Swift lyrics which allowed him to set his record for most Swift songs identified by their lyrics in one minute pic.twitter.com/YtEdAtDoG7— Guinness World Records (@GWR) January 29, 2024

He decided to break the record as he believed it was the “best way on Earth” to show his “extraordinary love” for the singer. Although, he is a huge fan of Swift and listens to her songs regularly, he took 13 weeks to prepare for his achievement. This involved "extensive listening sessions" which etched the songs in his mind permanently.

Jhandir has been listening to Swift since he was 13 and describes "Folklore" as his favourite album. "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."

"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," he added.

This is Jhandir's third world record title. As per Guinness World Records, he achieved his first in 2021 for identifying most animals for their sound in a minute (23). Last year, he broke the record for the most Justin Bieber songs identified from their lyrics in one minute (29), surpassing the previous record by seven.

“This record is my favourite of all of them,” Bilal said. “Being called a ‘Certified Swiftie’ or ‘Officially Amazing Swiftie’ is such an incredible feeling.”