Taylor Swift (Dethrones Herself on Soon to Change Billboard Charts)

Taylor Swift Dethrones Herself on Soon to Change Billboard Charts

These days it seems like Taylor Swift makes some sort of chart history every week. Last night, it was announced that for the third week in a row, Taylor Swift would be number one on both Billboard's albums and singles charts. This time it's with a new song, as "Blank Space" jumps up 12 spots to number one, replacing "Shake It Off" after four non-consecutive weeks on top. The song's jump is largely due to the premiere of its much-discussed video, which lands it on top the streaming chart, and download sales, where the song climbs 2-1 this week. With the change in chart-toppers, Taylor becomes the first solo female in Hot 100 history (and only the tenth artist of any kind) to replace herself ontop the Hot 100.

On the albums side, it's still 1989 that's getting it done for Taylor, moving over 300k in its third week, hurtling itself past the two million mark in overall sales. (Reminder: No other 2014 album has even sold one million yet.) It's Taylor's third week on top the Billboard 200, but things are about to get tricky for her and everyone else, as the magazine just announced an overhaul in chart-tabulating formula that will represent the biggest change in methodology for the service since the introduction of SoundScan technology over 20 years ago.

Currently, the Billboard 200 is measured strictly on album sales alone. Starting next month, chart placement will be determined by album sales and streaming numbers (as measured by services like Beats Music, Google Play and the now Taylor-absent Spotify), and even song sales. Ten digital track sales will now be equivalent to an album sale, the makeover reveals, as will 1,500 album streams. "The new methodology for the Billboard 200 is a welcome and necessary evolution of Nielsen and Billboard's album chart data," says Sony exec Darren Stupak. "The ways in which fans consume music, and the ways in which music is monetized, have grown beyond the traditional metrics of album sales."

Hard to tell exactly how much these changes will affect Taylor and her ilk, but it's true that when a list of 2014 album chart-toppers includes Barbra Streisand, Tom Petty and "Weird Al" Yankovic, it might be time for a little bit of contemporizing. We'll have much to discuss on this front next month, no doubt.

Adric wrote:On the albums side, it's still 1989 that's getting it done for Taylor, moving over 300k in its third week, hurtling itself past the two million mark in overall sales. (Reminder: No other 2014 album has even sold one million yet.)

Credit where it's due, to be fair. Someone likes her.

Currently, the Billboard 200 is measured strictly on album sales alone. Starting next month, chart placement will be determined by album sales and streaming numbers (as measured by services like Beats Music, Google Play and the now Taylor-absent Spotify), and even song sales. Ten digital track sales will now be equivalent to an album sale, the makeover reveals, as will 1,500 album streams. "The new methodology for the Billboard 200 is a welcome and necessary evolution of Nielsen and Billboard's album chart data," says Sony exec Darren Stupak. "The ways in which fans consume music, and the ways in which music is monetized, have grown beyond the traditional metrics of album sales."

Oh dear, goodbye baby, goodbye bathwater.

Hah, yeah ... I welcome any changes that Billboard will make to be more "accurate" and could care less about Taylor in any form. I just hope the "changes" Billboard makes will reflect on a better era of music in the longrun. Praying that songs will enter and drop out at a faster rate allowing room for more debuts and such. I only keep up with today's industry out of habit, so any change peaks my interest in this depressing era.

Taylor Swift: American Beauty
A reflective look from around 2010, amusing for its recreations of Taylor's progress. Her personal stories were seen as a strength, but something she needed to move on from. The KanYe incident apparently gave people sympathy for her.

Focus On... Taylor Swift
Phil & Sophie again, with the familiar tale of the country chick who has crossed over to pop, and written repeatedly about her ex-boyfriends (I Knew You Were Trouble being about Harry Styles, whilst We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together was about Jake Gyllenhall). Her early stuff sounds twee at times (Tears On My Guitar), but she's certainly got the chops to carry it all off. Her feud with Katy Perry might be over now too.

As somewhat predicted all week, Taylor Swift's return has led to her 1st ever UK #1 single, at the head of an all-female Top 3

Taylor Swift's new album has been another mega-selling #1 smash.

Taylor Swift has been taken to court over the phrase "haters gonna hate":

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-43056814

The phrase "haters gonna hate" is too "banal" to be copyrighted, a US judge has declared.
Judge Michael W Fitzgerald made the comments while dismissing a copyright case against Taylor Swift.
Songwriters Sean Hall and Nathan Butler sued the star last year, arguing her single Shake It Off stole from their composition, Playas Gon' Play.

Dear oh dear

Our highest debut this week is 'Earth' by a terribly bad named Lil Dicky. Seems unless the debut is at #1 the highest debut is most likely to not succeed. Likely take the nestea plunge next week. Still, I think Billboard is resorting to shock value.  

 
 In other news, 'ME! - Taylor Swift Feat. Brendon Urie' makes it's debut at #100. My money says that next week this will sky rocket to #1 (even if BB has to fudge a few numbers), thus, breaking a previous record.

Biggest jump to number one ... Changes in when the eligibility of a single first begins, as well as more accurate digital download totals, have made abrupt chart jumps more commonplace. From 1955-2001, under Billboard's previous methodologies, only two singles ascended directly to #1 from a previous position beneath the Top 20: The Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love", which jumped from #27 to the top slot in April 1964, and Brandy and Monica's "The Boy Is Mine" which jumped from #23 to #1 in June 1998.

97 - 1 --- My Life Would Suck Without You - Kelly Clarkson (2-7-09)
96 - 1 --- Womanizer - Britney Spears (10-25-08 )
80 - 1 --- Live Your Life - T.I. feat. Rihanna (10-18-08 )
78 - 1 --- Crack A Bottle - Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent (2-21-09)
72 - 1 --- We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift (9-1-12)
71 - 1 --- Whatever You Like - T.I. (9-6-08 )
64 - 1 --- Makes Me Wonder - Maroon 5 (5-12-07)
60 - 1 --- What's My Name? - Rihanna feat. Drake (11-20-10)
58 - 1 --- Right Round - Flo Rida (2-28-09)
53 - 1 --- Take A Bow - Rihanna (5-24-08 )
53 - 1 --- Break Your Heart - Taio Cruz feat. Ludacris (3-20-10)

It's a wonder nobody has done 100 - > 1 before. Perhaps typical if it's Taylor Swift is the one to claim the stat.

Adric wrote: 
 In other news, 'ME! - Taylor Swift Feat. Brendon Urie' makes it's debut at #100. My money says that next week this will sky rocket to #1 (even if BB has to fudge a few numbers), thus, breaking a previous record. 

Ooh... close! 

Taylor Swift won big at the MTV EMAs last week, with her patronising drivel You Need To Calm Down winning Best Video. Me! is a far better video, mind.

Her new album Lover is also #1 in the UK.

At the launch of a new documentary on her, Miss Americana, Taylor revealed her battles with an eating disorder.

Her latest single, The Man, is notable for featuring Ms Swift dragged up as a man.

Well, guess who's been busy and creative during lockdown?

New indie album called Folklore

Folklore went straight to #1 in the UK, and 3 singles from it went Top 10  

She sent packages with signed copies of the CD to various independent record stores in the US, and also some outside the US too:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-54207344

"currently the best-selling album of 2020" 

More publicity news, as Folklore has now sold a million copies.

Taylor has "revealed" that mystery credited co-writer on her Folklore album is after all her latest boyfriend Joe Alwyn:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-55076602

misery guts wrote:Well, guess who's been busy and creative during lockdown?

New indie album called Folklore

She's apparently knocked out another one, called Evermore.

And, presto, Evermore entered the UK album chart at #1! 

It's not all good news, as a theme park of the same name are going to sue her for borrowing it 

misery guts wrote:It's not all good news, as a theme park of the same name are going to sue her for borrowing it 

They've settled the matter.

Hmm, I see I've not previously mentioned her ludicrous scam scheme to re-record her old albums because she no longer has a good working relationship with her early manager.

Her new version of Fearless went to #1 this week, which sets her a new record for the shortest time span between 3 #1 albums (after Folklore and Evermore of course). The previous record-holders were the Beatles, so that's a 50+ year record broken.