Taylor Swift Is Blazing to a U.K. Chart Double
Written by djfrosty on October 25, 2022
Midnights is on the brink of earning Taylor Swift a rare U.K. chart double.
Swift’s 10th studio album dropped last Friday (Oct. 21) and immediately caught fire on streaming platforms, smashing Spotify’s global 24-hour record. There’s a lot of love for Midnights (via EMI) in the U.K., with the album pushing past 140,000 combined sales in just three days, good enough for the best opening-week result for any title this year.
Midnights should dominate the singles chart, too.
Based on midweek sales and streaming data captured by the Official Charts Company, Swift is on the brink of a 1-2-3. Currently, Midnights track “Anti-Hero” leads the chart blast, ahead of “Lavender Blaze” and “Snow on the Beach,” respectively.
Swift should unseat Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” (EMI), ending its four-week run at the top. “Unholy” slips 1-4 on the midweek survey, ahead of David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue)” (via Parlophone), down 2-5.
The challenger to Midnights is Arctic Monkeys’ The Car (Domino Recordings). Like Midnights, The Car powers the full complement of three Arctic Monkeys songs into the midweek chart, with “I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am” new at No. 16, “Sculptures of Anything Goes” new at No. 17 and “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball” reentering at No. 20.
Meanwhile, two versions of “Miss You” continue to impact the U.K. top 40. Oliver Tree and Robin Schulz’s version, released by Atlantic Records, rises 12-10 on the Official Chart Update, while Southstar’s version, via B1/Ministry of Sound, dips 26-27.
Southstar has accused his fellow German Schulz of releasing a “copycat version,” a claim that places Sony Music and Warner Music at loggerheads. WMG’s Atlantic Records has responded. “Oliver Tree and Robin Schulz’s version of ‘Miss You’ is the definitive version of the song that uses both the recording and underlying composition from Oliver Tree’s original track ‘Jerk,’ says an Atlantic Records U.S. spokesperson via email. “Southstar remixed ‘Jerk’ without permission and then released a version with re-recorded vocals to avoid fully compensating Oliver Tree and his label.”
Further down, Joel Corry and Tom Grennan are eyeing another U.K. top 40 with “Lionheart (Fearless)” (via Atlantic), which starts at No. 36 on the chart update. If it holds its position, “Lionheart” would give Corry a ninth top 40 appearance, and Grennan a seventh.
Finally, Meghan Trainor’s “Made You Look” (Atlantic) appears to be en route to the top 40. It’s at No. 37 on the chart blast, and should enjoy a nudge following Trainor’s performance of the song Monday (Oct. 24) on The Tonight Show.
All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Singles Chart is published late Friday.