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The Tortured Poets Department sold 1.914 million copies in traditional album sales in its first week (purchases of digital downloads, CDs, vinyl LPs and cassette tapes). That marks the third-largest sales week for an album in the modern era — since Luminate began electronically tracking music sales in 1991.
The Tortured Poets Department’s sales were bolstered by its availability across 19 different physical configurations (nine CDs, six vinyl LPs and four cassettes, with four of the physical configurations exclusively sold by Target stores) and two digital download offerings (the standard 16-song album, and a surprise deluxe 31-song edition that was released two hours after the original album bowed). All of the variants are itemized later in this story.
Of The Tortured Poets Department’s first-week sales of 1.914 million, physical sales comprise 1.64 million (859,000 vinyl LPs — a modern-era single week record for an album on vinyl, 759,500 CDs and a little over 21,500 cassettes) and digital downloads comprise 274,000.
The Tortured Poets Department is the seventh Swift album to have sold at least 1 million copies in a single week, following the debuts of 1989 (Taylor’s Version), Midnights, reputation, the original 1989, Red and Speak Now. She is the only act with seven different albums to each sell at least 1 million copies in a single week in the modern era. In total, there have been 26 instances — by 24 different albums — in which an album has sold at least 1 million copies in a week in the modern era. One of those albums, Adele’s 25, sold more than 1 million in three separate weeks.
Six of the top 10 million-selling weeks occurred in the early 2000s, in the pre-digital and pre-streaming heyday of the CD — when essentially the only way to listen to music on-demand was by purchasing an album. The year 2000 was the high-water mark in the modern era for album sales, when 785 million albums were sold in the U.S. Comparably, in 2023, there were 105.32 million albums sold, and Swift sold the most of any act — accounting for 6% of all U.S. album sales in 2023. (Popular streaming services Spotify and Apple Music did not launch in the U.S. until 2011 and 2015, respectively.)
Here’s a recap of the top 10 biggest-selling weeks by albums in the modern era (1991-present), ranked in order by sales volume.
Rank, Artist, Title, Sales, Chart Date1, Adele, 25, 3.378 million, Dec. 12, 20152, *NSYNC, No Strings Attached, 2.416 million, April 8, 20003, Taylor Swift, The Tortured Poets Department, 1.914 million, May 4, 20244, *NSYNC, Celebrity, 1.88 million, Aug. 11, 20015, Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP, 1.76 million, June 10, 20006, Backstreet Boys, Black & Blue, 1.591 million, Dec. 9, 20007, Taylor Swift, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), 1.359 million, Nov. 11, 20238, Eminem, The Eminem Show, 1.322 million, June 15, 2002*9, Britney Spears, Oops! …I Did It Again, 1.319 million, June 3, 200010, Taylor Swift, 1989, 1.287 million, Nov. 15, 2014(Sales source: Luminate. *All weeks are debuts, except for The Eminem Show, which debuted on the chart dated June 8, 2002, from a partial week of sales due to an off-cycle early release. The June 15, 2002, chart reflected the album’s first week of availability.)
Rihanna talked music, makeup, motherhood and the Met Gala at the launch of her new Fenty Beauty Soft’lit Foundation in Los Angeles on Friday (April 26), a celebration ringing in what she called “a new era in foundation for the brand.”
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The singer and businesswoman talked up the new cosmetics product’s “soft, luminescent finish, like a nice, glowy, natural-skin look” inspired by what sounds like very lovely golden hours in Barbados.
But this is what you came for: a music update! Rihanna seems aware everyone has long been pining for R9, which would be the long-awaited follow-up her 2016 album Anti, and humored some questions about her next album in an interview with Extra on the carpet at Friday’s event.
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In a nutshell, Rihanna is firm on making a new album worth the wait.
“It’s gonna be amazing,” she said of what’s to come from her as an artist. “It has to be — that is the only reason it’s not out yet. If I’m not feeling it and I’m not feeling like it represents the evolution, the time I spent away …There should be a show of growth, right?”
“I want to play, and I feel like music is a playground, and I want to have fun with it and show truly where I am at,” Rihanna said, adding that she only intends to collaborate with another artist if it’s “very intentional. I’ll know when I have the record.”
Just a week and a half ago, it should be noted, Rihanna stated, “I already got stuff that I feel like I could make hits out of.” She referring to her work in progress as “so good.”
While Rihanna’s new music master plan remains unknown, she did confirm plans to attend the Met Gala, and revealed right now she’s got two options for her dress on the big night — but don’t expect anything too wild.
“I’m actually just keeping it real simple this year,” said Rihanna of what she’s got in mind for the prestigious May 6 event. “Very simple. I think it’s gonna come to what my makeup and what my hair is going to do. We wanna play with that, but I have no idea what I’m gonna do with that.”
“Very simple-ish, compared to everything I’ve ever done,” she said of her idea to arrive in an understated look. “I’m showing up for dinner! Shout out to Anna Wintour.”
The star, who’s a mother to an almost two-year-old (son RZA turns two in May) with A$AP Rocky, explained her experience with fashion since entering parenthood.
“When you become a mom, your style goes from like ‘blah’ to ‘let’s see what fits’ to ‘I’m gonna be a bad bitch today,’” said Rihanna. “You’ve got to remind yourself a little bit sometimes, you know, bad bitch is still in there somewhere.”
Salma Hayek helped Madonna bring her career-spanning Celebration Tour to a close in Mexico City, where the actress appeared on the Queen of Pop‘s stage during her performance of “Vogue” at the Palacio De Los Deportes Friday night (April 26).
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The number had Hayek, dressed in an ensemble inspired by Frida Kahlo, joining in to guest judge the tour dancers’ vogueing. (Hayek portrayed the iconic painter in the 2002 biopic Frida, for which she received an Oscar nomination for best actress.)
Hayek reacted to her experience with Madonna on Instagram in a post on Saturday, writing, “Thank you so much @madonna for letting me be a part of your iconic celebration tour. This unforgettable night goes in my bag of precious treasures.”
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Madonna has just one show left on her current itinerary, a free concert on May 4 at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that Visit Rio officials said is forecast to bring in two million fans. Entrance to the show, sponsored by Itaú Bank, is on a first-come, first-served basis on the day of the event. Fans who can’t attend will be able to watch the show broadcast live on TV Globo.
Mexico City hosted Madonna for a series of five concerts at the Palacio De Los Deportes. Last weekend, on Saturday, April 20, the singer spoke of her love of Mexican culture and Kahlo, telling the audience how she discovered the painter’s art as a young girl.
“As you know, I have a great history, a long history with Mexico,” said Madonna, who reportedly met with the Kahlo family at their home in the city neighborhood of El Pedregal.
“When I was a girl,” she said, “I discovered Frida Kahlo. I went to the only museum that existed in Detroit, and there were Diego Rivera murals everywhere, but to be honest, I was more interested in a small picture in a corner, of a beautiful woman with her hair gathered in braids and intense eyes.”
The Celebration Tour kicked off in the fall, after a delayed start due to Madonna’s hospitalization for a serious bacterial infection over the summer.
See a clip of Hayek’s visit to Madonna’s “Vogue” set in Mexico City below.
Ariana Grande is offering up some behind-the-scenes footage as fans eagerly await her next single.
On Saturday (April 27), the 30-year-old pop superstar shared black-and-white footage from early recordings of her Billboard Hot 100 hit “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love),” which blasted to No. 1 on the chart in mid-March.
“found some more behind the scenes of We Can’t Be Friends and couldn’t wait to share with you…,” the Wicked star wrote alongside the video on Instagram.
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In the clip, Grande is seen “piecing together the first two melody passes, resulting in the bridge you know today” with the assistance of co-writer and producer Max Martin. Also heard is the “first voicenote I texted to [songwriter Ilya Salmanzadeh] after he sent me the original beat,” she wrote in the post.
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The R.E.M. Beauty founder added, “this song holds such a special place in my heart and i can’t thank you enough for all of the love you’ve shown (and continue to show) it.”
“We Can’t Be Friends” is the second single from Grande’s seventh album, Eternal Sunshine, which launched at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. “Yes, And?,” the lead single from the set, released on Republic Records, premiered at the summit in January.
Grande concluded her IG post by teasing the next single from Eternal Sunshine.
“i know everyone is antsy and excited for the next single (so am i — literally typing this to you while working on …a something…) but i appreciate your patience, allowing wcbf to continue doing her thing. i promise, i’ll do my best to make it worth the wait,” she wrote.
Grande’s mother, Joan Grande, took to the comments section to show her support for her daughter. “I love hearing you in the studio… pure magic! Pure genius!! Incredible… magnificent song, singer!!” she wrote. The singer’s brother, Frankie, added, “We know it’s going to be worth the wait and I’m so happy to continue celebrating WCBF! It’s a triumph!”
Salmanzadeh, who co-wrote “We Can’t Be Friends,” noted that the recording showed “Magic in the making. Such a special record. We are lucky to know and work with U my incredibly brilliant friend!”
In early April, exactly one month after dropped Eternal Sunshine, Grande shared additional behind-the-scenes video of her in the studio and revealed that she’s just getting started on promoting the project.
“i cannot wait for everything that has yet to come within this eternal sunshine cycle (that has only just begun & may it never end),” she wrote. “thank you for your love.”
See Grande’s “We Can’t Be Friends” behind-the-scenes footage post on Instagram below.
Florence Welch is looking back on working alongside Taylor Swift.
The Florence + the Machine leader and Swift co-wrote the song “Florida!!!,” which appears on the pop superstar’s new double album, The Tortured Poets Department. In an interview with British Vogue, published Thursday (April 25), Welch reflects on her collaboration with Swift.
“I almost didn’t think of the scale of it,” Welch told the publication. “There’s the sort of bigness of [Taylor Swift the phenomenon], and then there’s the Taylor I spend time with in the studio, who is just the sweetest and most down to earth.”
The Florence + the Machine singer said that Swift came to her with “a concept and a story” for the song, which is “my favorite way to start songwriting.” She added, “We had such a fun time. And then when it came out I was like, ‘Oh, s—!’”
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Swift previously explained the narrative that inspired “Florida!!!” during an interview with iHeartRadio.
“‘Florida!!!’ is a song I wrote with Florence and the Machine, and I think I was coming up with this idea of like, what happens when your life doesn’t fit, or your choices you’ve made catch up to you,” Swift said.
She added that she’s a fan of Dateline and noticed how “people have these crimes that they commit, where do they immediately skip town and go to? They go to Florida.”
The Tortured Poets Department is Swift’s eleventh studio album and her her first release of new music since 2022’s Grammy-winning Midnights. The 31-track double album also features a collaboration with Post Malone, as well as writing and production contributions from Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner.
Although The Tortured Poets Department is Swift’s first album of new music since Midnights, she has steadily pumped out her re-recorded Taylor’s Version albums in the interim. In between the two aforementioned albums, Swift topped the Billboard 200 with both Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version), the latter of which became the star’s record-extending sixth album to debut with over one million pure sales in its first week.
Watch Latin American Music Awards Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift have been longtime BFFs, and now that they’re dating Benny Blanco and Travis Kelce, respectively, it would make sense that the group would go out on a double date. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news However, it hasn’t […]
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NewJeans get down to some classic pop group hijinks in the new video for their effervescent single “Bubble Gum.” The K-pop girl group comprised of members MINJI, HANNI, DANIELLE, HAERIN and HYEIN put together a perfectly manicured fun weekend hang in the clip directed by Youngeum Lee that dropped on Friday (April 26).
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In the latest preview from the quintet’s upcoming double single album How Sweet — a two-track offering due out on May 24 featuring “Bubble Gum” and the title song — fans get to see the women relaxing for the camera while engaging in the time-honored tradition of making a band seem more like a high school clique of besties than a K-pop juggernaut.
The action begins in a van, naturally, where the women blow bubble gum bubbles and weave friendship bracelets as the summery, hang-loose track builds. The rest is a montage of the five playing marbles in their apartment, where they make balloon animals and play with soap bubbles, eventually making their way to the beach for some more bubble blowing, wave frolicking and, yes, even more bubble action via bubble guns.
It’s a lot of bubbles, to be honest.
The trip ends with them packing back into the van, grooving along to the song’s laid-back beat and then running through the night with flashlights while, of course, blowing bubbles.
The two-song follow-up to NewJeans’ Jan. 2023 single album, OMG, will be followed by another single album on June 21, Supernatural, which will mark the band’s official debut in Japan; that one will feature the title track along with “Right Now” and two instrumental tracks.
To celebrate their Japanese debut, the group will host a two-day fanmeet concert, on June 26-27.
Watch the “Bubble Gum” video below.
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Even before the release of Beyoncé’s Billboard 200-topping album Cowboy Carter, Ryan Beatty was having a banner 2024. His name is in the liner notes to Bleachers’ self-titled fourth album as a co-writer, and he’ll open for Noah Kahan this summer and Maggie Rogers in the fall — all in support of his own acclaimed 2023 third album, Calico, which earned praise from Elton John, who hosted Beatty on his Apple Music Radio show Rocket Hour last year, saying his songwriting is “beautiful, intense and meaningful.”
But his contributions to Cowboy Carter have been quietly in the works throughout his wins, extending across the past four years. Beatty, a California native and teen pop prodigy turned tender singer-songwriter, is credited with co-writing four songs on the blockbuster, including standouts “Bodyguard” and “II Hands II Heaven.” A closely guarded secret he has kept since 2020 (Beatty, 28, says he “worked on this pretty much from beginning to end”), his collaboration proved to be an inspirational boost. “It gave me this silent confidence for years,” he says. “I think when you’re patient through the process, you almost feel ready for all the things that happen.”
Below, he explains how he scored such major co-writes and what’s up next for his solo career.
Ryan Beatty
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Even though Calico came out a year ago, do the past couple months feel like a milestone for you?
I think when you’re patient through the process, you feel ready for all the things that happen. I don’t mean to sound jaded, because it’s unreal all of the things that I’ve done and am getting to do. When I put my record out, I knew what I made and I knew how special it was to me. I’d hoped that it’d feel just as special to the people listening to it. I also know what I was willing to do and not willing to do. And I’m very adamant about staying authentic in every single decision I make when it comes to my music. And I think because I’ve been so protective of it, it’s been such a nice slow burn that the discovery of the record has been happening so naturally and effortlessly.
I didn’t realize how much this record affected people until I started touring it. Seeing people really show up and really be there with me was really special. It’s nice to know that staying true to yourself pays off, because it’s so easy for you to bite the apple and try things that don’t feel right for you and you think, “Oh, this worked for somebody else so maybe it will work for me.” But I think every artist has that feeling in their gut when they know something is right for them or not, you just have to listen closely.
You were working on Cowboy Carter and Calico simultaneously. What was it like deciding which ideas and lyrics should be for which albums?
There was never a moment where I thought, “Should this go here or there?” Anytime I went in to work on music, it was very intentional to focus on where things existed. At the end of the day, my writing is going to be my writing. But it never blended too much; it was always “I’m making this song for Calico,” or “I’m making this song for Cowboy Carter.” I felt really propelled in my artistry and could feel myself growing as an artist, so working on something of such magnitude at that time also helped hone in on my album. I always call Calico a small record because it’s so close to the chest, and it’s really interesting being in both those worlds. Knowing that [Cowboy Carter] will be heard by every person on Earth, whereas on my record I’m whispering into the mic, I kind of enjoyed that.
How did you keep Cowboy Carter a secret for so long?
It was hard, but I also sort of enjoyed it. There were people in my life who didn’t know until the day it came out. I got phone calls and texts all day, like, “What are you talking about?” The entire time I wanted to honor what was being made, and I really believe in letting the work speak for itself. Not having expectations is the best move.
Your work is usually autobiographical. How does that affect your writing for other artists?
I put my own perspective into these songs. Even on a song like “Just for Fun,” [Beyoncé] sings about Clovis, which is the town I grew up in [in California]. So if you really look into the details of it, you can hear my perspective in there, I think.
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How easy was it deciding whether or not to reflect your own queerness in your work?
It was instant for me. What excites me about making music is talking about my own life. So it wasn’t about should I or shouldn’t I. It was like, this is what excites me, let me be very forward about it.
What did you learn from working with Beyoncé and her team?
She makes things with so much intention, and I’ve always tried to do the same thing. Just seeing the work that goes into it definitely reminded me, “Oh, this is how you make greatness.” That was incredible to be around, and I felt highly respected through the entire process.
What can you share about “BODYGUARD,” which seems to be a fan favorite?
The line “Sometimes I hold you closer just to know you’re real” is one of my favorite lines I wrote for the whole record. Melody and lyric together can make something feel so much more beautiful. I think that melody, the way she sings it, and the line itself feels cute and intimate. I love that part of the song.
What can you reveal about collaborating on the Bleachers album? You are credited as a co-writer on “Call Me After Midnight.”
For that record, it’s one we started working on in 2017. It’s a song I wrote a long time ago. Jack [Antonoff, Bleachers frontman] was working on Kevin Abstract’s record, and I think they pulled that one up to revisit and Jack loved it and asked us if he could rework it and we were like, “Yeah, go for it.” To my surprise, it was on the latest Bleachers record and I’m really happy it went on there. It’s such a fun, beautiful record and I’ve been a fan of Jack’s for a really long time since way before I knew him, so that was a full circle moment at the same time, too.
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It was just announced that you’ll be opening up for Maggie Rogers on her upcoming tour. Do you ever spitball ideas with her?
Maggie is one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. She’s just fun to talk to and she wears her heart on her sleeve. I think that I do the same, so I enjoy our conversations.
Are your recent experiences influencing how you’ll write your next album?
Probably, but I wouldn’t know yet. I’d say, I’m grateful to know that the best way for me to write a record is for me to just live life. That sounds really simple, but I try not to go in “record-making mode” and to be honest, I don’t even know what that means. Calico was made over a time where I was like, “Okay, ‘I’m ready to write” and then I’d stop for six weeks. Then I’d go back and work on it a little more. I just want to live a beautiful life, make beautiful things and what comes of it, comes from it. That sounds really simple, but I think if you grip it too hard it ends up being over thought. There has to be ease and intention at the same time.
This story will appear in the April 27, 2024, issue of Billboard.
Ne-Yo is one of the genre-defining R&B singers of the 2000s, and his invite to NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series was long overdue. The long-time bad-boy R&B singer made his Tiny Desk debut on Friday (April 26), which saw him run through a medley of soulful hits from his catalog, in addition to bops he’s […]
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In October, Taylor Swift‘s “Cruel Summer” unexpectedly climbed its way to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, four years after it was released as a non-single on 2019’s Lover. And in an interview with People published Friday (April 26), St. Vincent — who co-wrote the smash with the pop star and producer Jack Antonoff — revealed that she was just as stunned as everyone else by the song’s delayed success story.
“[Swift’s] just so incredibly intelligent and so hardworking,” the indie rock star, born Anne Clark, told the publication. “That’s a given. I am so incredibly blown away and amazed by Taylor’s fans because they are just a force of nature. They took a song that was, what? Almost four records ago now, that was not a single off a record.”
“They were like, ‘No, this song’s a hit,’” she continued. “Then, by force of will, they made that song a worldwide hit.”
Clark also opened up about her friendship with Olivia Rodrigo, who retroactively credited St. Vincent, Swift and Antonoff as writers on her Sour hit “Deja Vu” in 2021 after listeners drew comparisons to the track and “Cruel Summer.” Last fall, the “Vampire” singer said in a New York Times interview that Clark had been a “mentor” to her during the process of making her sophomore album, Guts, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
“I love Olivia, she’s just a wonderful person,” Clark told People. “But I don’t lead with advice. The only advice I have ever given Olivia was just to trust her instincts and to make exactly the record that she wants to make that’s in her heart. That’s it.”
“What’s going to resonate with people is her authentic voice, and she did,” added the “Los Angeles” musician. “She made a great record.”
The new interview arrived on the same day St. Vincent’s latest album, All Born Screaming, hit streaming services. It features the previously released singles “Broken Man,” “Flea” and “Big Time Nothing.”
“All we have is love and the people we love, and it’s the only reason to do anything, and the only reason to be alive,” Clark told People of the project. “So the first part of the record is a little bit of a season in hell, but you get to this place and the record ends with an ecstatic mantra of, ‘We’re all born screaming.’”