Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) Shatters UK sales records
In a year filled with remarkable accomplishments, Taylor Swift has achieved another outstanding milestone. The re-release of her iconic pop album, “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” has captured the title of the UK’s fastest-selling album of 2023.
During its debut week, “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” sold an impressive 184,000 copies, surpassing the original 2014 album’s opening-week sales by more than double. This extraordinary feat not only makes it the only album this year to reach gold status within a single week but also marks Swift’s 11th album to claim the number one spot in the UK.
Among female artists, only Madonna boasts more chart-topping albums than Swift, who now stands just one record away from matching Madonna’s impressive record of 12.
The story of “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” goes beyond the album’s success on the charts. It also emerges as the best-selling vinyl record of the week, with nearly 62,000 vinyl copies sold. In addition to its chart-topping album, three previously unreleased “from the vault” tracks from the album have made their debut in the UK’s top 10 singles chart.
This success has propelled “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” to become the best-selling album of the year in the US, surpassing Swift’s own 2022 release, “Midnights.” Taylor Swift now holds the distinction of having the top three best-selling albums of the year in the United States, with her re-recorded version of her 2010 album, “Speak Now,” claiming the third position.
Taylor Swift’s impact on the music industry is undeniable. She also achieved the top-grossing tour of 2023 with her Eras stadium shows, amassing $300 million at the box office. Furthermore, she was recently declared a billionaire by the business publication Bloomberg, a distinction shared by only three other musicians: Rihanna, Beyoncé, and Jay-Z.
The Beatles, the renowned quartet from Liverpool, could potentially briefly interrupt Swift’s UK chart dominance with their latest song, “Now and then.” This ballad quickly became the UK’s most-streamed song upon its release, surpassing Swift’s “Is It Over Now?” on Spotify. If this momentum continues, The Beatles could secure their first UK number one single since “The Ballad of John and Yoko” in 1969.
