Taylor Swift Hits the Elusive Million Mark by Making ‘Midnights’ an Inescapable Event

The early numbers are in for Taylor Swift‘s Midnights, and while it was safe to assume her 10th studio album would be a hit, fans might not have predicted just how big it could be.

According to initial reports to Luminate on Monday, the album earned more than 1.2 million equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first three days alone. With that news, Midnights has the biggest week for an album, by units, since Swift’s own reputation in 2017 and is already the year’s top-selling album, year to date.

On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith discuss all the circumstances that allowed Swift to reach that elusive million mark again, from the curiosity surrounding the album and the awareness campaign that included a prominent Thursday Night Football teaser to the positive word-of-mouth from early listeners and dozens of collectible (and clock-building) variations.

Listen below to hear all about it:

Also on the show, we’ve got chart news on how Sam Smith and Kim Petras hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart with “Unholy” — the first chart-topper for both acts — and how Lil Baby captures his third No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with “It’s Only Me.” Plus, listen to the show for even more early numbers from Swift’s blockbuster album-release week.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard‘s senior director of charts Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)