Bilal Ilyas Jhandir has achieved a phenomenal feat. On January 26, the Guinness World Record platform announced that the 20-year-old from Pakistan had broken the record for identifying the most Taylor Swift songs in a minute.
He managed to name 34 of these randomly listed hits from a roster of top 50 best-selling numbers of the pop artist. This record was previously held by radio host Dan Simpson from UK, who had recognized 27 tracks in 2019.
The initial lyrics of these Taylor Swift hits were read aloud in monotone by a man as Bilal was tasked to recognize their titles. The task was essentially difficult because the lyrics were not accompanied by any music. Proclaiming himself to be a “die-hard” Taylor Swift fan, Bilal revealed “I have listened to each and every song of hers. I can identify almost any song of hers from the lyrics”.
How did Bilal prepare to break the Guinness World Record
Bilal decided to break the record believing that it was the “best way on Earth” to express his admiration for the pop singer. In order to achieve the same, he indulged in a 13-week-long period of preparation. During this time, he dove into “extensive listening sessions” to the extent that Taylor’s lyrics got imprinted on his mind. Sometimes, he would even recite them while sleeping.
Regardless of the training session, Bilal considered it to be an “easy task” since he anyway listened to her songs regularly and had naturally memorized the lyrics. Despite finding it rather difficult to match Taylor’s songs with the lyrics spoken by a man in a dry tone, Bilal is proud to be have earned the title ‘Officially Amazing Swiftie’.
Watch Bilal Ilyas Jhandir become a ‘Certified Swiftie’:
He’s been listening to the Anti-Hero singer since he was 13 years old, and claims Folklore to be his favorite TS album. The 20-year-old is particularly fond of the artist’s authenticity and her lyrics’ emotional depth. Jhandir even made a note of Swift’s ability to touch listeners’ hearts in his comments post securing the record.
This isn’t the first time for Bilal to have clinched a big record like this. He previously holds two more Guinness World Record titles. He won his first one in 2021 for identifying most animals (23) from animal sounds in one minute. The other followed in 2023 when he smashed the record for identifying most Justin Bieber songs (29) from their lyrics in a minute.
