State Champ Radio Speak Now
Taylor Swift’s third re-recorded album, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), blasts in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated July 22), launching with the year’s biggest week for any album, and gives Swift her 12th No. 1, surpassing Barbra Streisand for the most No. 1 albums among women.
Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) bows with 716,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending July 13, according to Luminate, of which 507,000 are in traditional album sales. Both figures represent the largest week for any album in 2023 and the best since Swift’s last studio album, Midnights, debuted with 1.58 million units, of which 1.14 million were in album sales, last year (week ending Oct. 27, 2022; as reflected on the Nov. 5-dated Billboard 200).
2023’s previous largest week, by equivalent album units earned, was tallied by Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time, which launched with 501,000 units in the week ending March 9, as reflected on the Billboard 200 chart dated March 18. The year’s largest sales week was held by the debut frame of Stray Kids’ 5-STAR with 235,000 copies sold in the week ending June 8, as reflected on the June 17-dated charts.
Further, Swift has a total of four albums in the top 10 at the same time on the new Billboard 200, as Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is joined by her former chart-toppers Midnights (falling 4-5), Lover (8-7) and Folklore (13-10). She is the first living act to have four albums in the top 10 at the same time since the April 2, 1966-dated chart, when Herb Alpert also had four albums in the top 10 (Going Places at No. 2, Whipped Cream & Other Delights at No. 3, South of the Border at No. 9, and The Lonely Bull at No. 10).
Between Alpert and Swift, only one other act has placed at least four titles in the top 10 concurrently, and that was Prince, following his death in 2016, when he had five albums in the top 10 dated May 14, 2016. (Swift is the only woman with four albums in the top 10 at the same time since the Billboard 200 was combined from its previously separate mono and stereo album charts into one all-encompassing list in August of 1963.)
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new July 22, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on July 18. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is a re-recorded version of Swift’s 2010 No. 1 Billboard 200 studio album Speak Now. The 22-track re-recorded edition includes new recordings of the original album’s 14 standard tracks, along with bonus cuts and previously unreleased “From the Vault” recordings. Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) follows Swift’s re-recorded Red and Fearless albums, released in 2021. Both debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Swift announced the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) on May 5, the same day she began taking pre-orders for the album via her official webstore. The set sold as a digital download album, double-CD, double-cassette and in three color vinyl LP variants (orchid marbled, violet marbled and a Target-exclusive lilac marbled color). It was also available to stream in its standard 22-track edition. On the final day (July 13) of the album’s debut tracking week, Swift released a deluxe digital album download of the set exclusively sold through her official webstore, which added two bonus live tracks recorded during her ongoing The Eras Tour (“Dear John” and “Last Kiss,” both of which were originally released in their studio form on the Speak Now album in 2010).
Swift celebrated the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) during her Kansas City stop of The Eras Tour on July 7, where she premiered the music video for the album’s “From the Vault” track “I Can See You.” On stage, Swift was joined by the clip’s three co-stars, actors Taylor Lautner, Joey King and Presley Cash.
12 No. 1s: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) marks Swift’s 12th No. 1 on the Billboard 200, pushing her past Streisand (with 11 No. 1s) for the most chart-toppers among women since the chart began publishing on a regular, weekly basis in March of 1956. Swift ties Drake for the third-most No. 1s among all acts, with only The Beatles (19) and Jay-Z (14) ahead of them.
Five Years in a Row of New No. 1 Albums: Swift is the only act to have achieved a new No. 1 album in each of the last five calendar years — 2019-23. She topped the list in 2019 with Lover; in 2020 she led with Folklore and Evermore; in 2021 she ruled with Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version); in 2020 Midnights arrived; and in 2023 Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) has now debuted. Swift is the only woman with five consecutive years of new No. 1 albums. Previously, she was tied with Miley Cyrus for the most consecutive years of new No. 1s (Cyrus did it four years in a row, from 2006-09, including titles billed to her former Disney Channel alter ego Hannah Montana). The only other acts with at least five years in a row of new No. 1s are The Beatles (seven years, 1964-70), Drake (five years, 2015-19), Jay-Z (five years, 2000-04) and Paul McCartney (five years, 1973-77).
Of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’s 716,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending July 13, album sales comprise 507,000, SEA units comprise 206,000 (equaling 269.33 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 22 songs – the third-largest streaming week of 2023 and the second-largest streaming debut frame of the year) and TEA units comprise 3,000.
Country Time: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) scores the largest week, by equivalent album units earned, for a country album since the Billboard 200 began ranking titles by units in December of 2014. It surpasses the previous best week in that span of time, notched by the opening week of Swift’s own Red (Taylor’s Version), with 605,000 units in 2021. Plus, with 507,000 copies sold in its first week, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) garners the largest sales week for a country album in nearly 10 years, since the debut frame of Luke Bryan’s Crash My Party (528,000 on the chart dated Aug. 31, 2013). (Country albums are those that have charted on, or are eligible for, Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart.)
Version Vs. Version: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) logs the biggest week of the three re-recorded Swift albums, surpassing the opening frames of Red (Taylor’s Version) (605,000 in 2021) and Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (291,000; 2021). First-week sales of Red (Taylor’s Version) were enhanced by the availability of CDs signed by Swift sold in her webstore and via independent retailers. Fearless (Taylor Version)’s first-week did not include any signed copies or vinyl LP sales — which are traditionally quite large for Swift — as its vinyl did not arrive until months after the set’s initial release.
Swift Has Four of the Top Five Biggest Weeks Since 2019: Since January 2019, four of the top-five biggest weeks, by units earned, have been tallied by the debut frame of a Swift release: Midnights (1.578 million; 2022), Lover (867,000; 2019), Folklore (846,000; 2020) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (716,000; 2023). The only non-Swift week among the top five largest frames since January 2019 is the opening week of Adele’s 30, with 839,000 units in 2021.
Second-Largest Vinyl Sales Week in Modern Era: Of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’s 507,000 first-week copies sold, vinyl sales comprise 268,500 — the second-largest sales week for a vinyl album since Luminate began electronically tracking music sales in 1991. It is second only to the first week of Midnights’ vinyl LP, with 575,000 sold in its opening frame.
2023’s Second-Biggest Selling Album After One Week on Sale: After only one week on sale, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is 2023’s second-largest selling album. The year’s top-seller remains Swift’s own Midnights, with 636,000 sold in 2023. Midnights was the top-selling album of 2022, with 1.818 million sold that year.
Nine Albums With Half-Million-Plus Sales in a Single Week: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) marks the ninth Swift album to have sold at least 500,000 copies in a single week in the U.S. Since Luminate began electronically tracking music sales in 1991, Swift is the only act with nine different albums to sell at least a half-million copies in a single week.
As for the rest of the top 10 on the new Billboard 200… Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time is a non-mover at No. 2 with 104,000 equivalent album units (down 6%). One Thing at a Time has earned in excess of 100,000 equivalent album units in all 19 of its chart weeks. It extends its own record as the album with the most weeks of 100,000-plus units since the Billboard 200 began ranking titles by units in December of 2014.
Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape falls 1-3 on the Billboard 200 in its second week (61,000 equivalent album units earned; down 64%), Peso Pluma’s Génesis dips 3-4 (59,000; down 14%) and Swift’s Midnights is pushed down 4-5 (55,000; though up 2%).
Wallen’s chart-topping Dangerous: The Double Album falls 5-6 (46,000 equivalent album units; down 4%); Swift’s Lover climbs 8-7 (45,000; up 3%); SZA’s former No. 1 SOS descends 6-8 (44,000; down 1%); and Gunna’s A Gift & a Curse falls 7-9 (42,000; down 3%). Swift’s Folklore returns to the top 10 for the first time in nearly two years, as the set rises 13-10 (33,000; up 5%). Folklore was last in the top 10 on the chart dated Aug. 7, 2021, when it ranked at No. 9.
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
Sparks are still flying for Taylor Swift, who is continuing her Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) rollout with a new deluxe digital version of the album released on Thursday (July 13). Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The superstar took to her Instagram Stories to announce the news, […]
A small number of Swifties got a major surprise when they received their vinyl editions of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), as the vinyls didn’t play Taylor Swift at all and treated listeners to British electronica music instead. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The accidental mis-press of […]
The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week (for the upcoming charts dated July 22), Taylor Swift once again leaves the rest of the pop world in the dust with perhaps her best-performing Taylor’s Version full-album recreation yet.
Taylor Swift, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (Republic): When it was released in 2010 as her third album, Speak Now became Taylor Swift’s first set to sell over a million copies in its first week. Her Taylor’s Version re-recording of the fan-favorite album might not post a seven-digit debut, but it’s already come closer than any other album in 2023. Billboard reported on Tuesday (July 11) that this Speak Now had passed 575,000 equivalent album units in just its first four days — already blowing past the 501,000 moved by previous mark-setter, Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time, in its first frame.
Those would be incredible numbers for any new release in 2023, let alone one where 16 of the 22 tracks included are near-soundalike re-dos of 13-year-old songs. Making the 400,000 in direct sales that the album has already accrued even more impressive is that the album is only available in a handful of physical editions – three vinyl variants (including an exclusive color for Target), a CD, a cassette, and a digital release – compared to many 2020s best-sellers (including Swift’s own 2022 blockbuster Midnights), which are released in dozens of physical editions to maximize fan purchases.
Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) has already put Swift’s peers in its rearview, but how will it compare to her own recently set standards? It’s unlikely to get close to the first-week numbers of Midnights, which scored an unthinkable-for-2022 1.578 million units. But it has a very good chance of passing 2021’s Red (Taylor’s Version), which debuted with 605,000 units, to become the biggest first week for any of her three re-recordings to date.
To pass Red (Taylor’s Version) would also be pretty staggering for this Speak Now, considering it has fewer tracks (22 to Red (TV)’s 30) and lacks a song driving as much pre-release excitement as that set’s “All Too Well (10-Minute Version),” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 the same week the new Red topped the Billboard 200. (“I Can See You,” one of the set’s six first-time recordings, did receive a music video co-starring Speak Now-era Taylorverse fixtures Joey King, Taylor Lautner and Presley Cash, and looks to be due for a major Hot 100 debut next week.)
In the Mix
Lucki, S*x M*ney Dr*gs (EMPIRE): One of the most acclaimed rappers from the current rising wave of Chicago MCs, Lucki reached a career-best No. 12 on the Billboard 200 with 2012’s Flawless Like Me set. He may do even better with this month’s S*x M*ney Dr*gs mixtape, which only features one guest (fellow cult favorite Veeze) on its 15 tracks, but is already posting career-best streaming numbers that most rappers would be, well, lucky to have in 2023.
Dominic Fike, Sunburn (Columbia): If you listened to Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist last week, you might have noticed that the lead track was not from Taylor Swift’s latest, but rather from the long-awaited second album for singer-songwriter Dominic Fike. Columbia executives still have big hopes for Fike, who greatly increased his profile last year with a big role on HBO phenomenon Euphoria, and he may have something of a breakout hit with the album’s “Mona Lisa” — written for and briefly included on the deluxe edition of Metro Boomin’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack — which climbs to No. 36 on Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart this week.
Lana Del Rey, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (Polydor/Interscope): Lana Del Rey’s ninth album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in April — and while it’s remained on the chart for the past 15 weeks, it’s dropped all the way to No. 184. It should rebound significantly next week, though. thanks to a recent vinyl reissue with a cover featuring a partially nude photo of Del Rey. (She had previously considered the image for the album’s original cover, before deciding to “let the songs do the talking for now.”)
Back when Taylor Swift was writing Speak Now, she wasn’t afraid to use some cryptic references to her real life experiences — “Dear John” being the prime example. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news So when Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) arrived on Friday (July 7), Swifties immediately […]
Taylor Swift unveiled Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) on Friday (July 7) and the superstar kept the nostalgia for her 2010 third studio album alive with a moving prologue reminiscent of her original Speak Now liner notes that remain popular among Swifties. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news […]
When Taylor Swift announced the arrival of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) back in May, a lot of fans and journalists wondered if she might change the lyrics on one of the album’s most controversial songs, “Better Than Revenge.” Now that the re-recording has arrived, what’s the verdict? She lit a match to the infamous lyrics. […]
The story starts when it was hot and it was summer — and Taylor Swift finally dropped Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). The superstar’s re-recording of her 2010 studio album arrived at midnight on Friday (July 7), includes all 16 songs from the original and deluxe versions of the project, plus seven never-before-heard “From the Vault” […]
Taylor Lautner reacts to the news that Taylor Swift is releasing the re-recording of ‘Speak Now,’ BLACKPINK’s Jennie and BTS’ V were reportedly spotted out together, and Billie Eilish and Jesse Rutherford have split. The first weekend in June is set to be a party at OUTLOUD at WeHo Pride with major performances. Labrinth talks about his new album ‘Ends & Begins’ and his experience performing with Billie Eilish and Zendaya at Coachella during an exclusive interview with Billboard News!
TETRIS KELLY:We’ve got updates on the love lives of Billy Eilish and BLACKPINK’s Jennie. We’re running down what to expect at WeHo Pride. Labrinth tells us about his epic Coachella sets with Billie and Zendaya. And we learned Colombian slang from Goyo.
I’m Tetris Kelly and this is Billboard News. It’s Thursday, May 18th. We’ve got some romance rumors, breakups, and friendly exes to talk about. Billie, V and Jennie, Tay and Tay, and Halle and her prince — so much relationship tea to around up. Let’s dive in! The star of ‘The Little Mermaid’ was asked by People if her real-life boyfriend, DDG, was also a Prince Charming, to which she responded, “People love to talk about this. Yeah, I would say that.” And Taylor Lautner is saying John Mayer better watch out as his ex Taylor Swift prepares to release “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).” Both his and John’s relationships with the pop star will resurface. He posted #PrayforJohn. And it’s the K-pop power couple everyone’s talking about. Alleged video of BTS’ V and BLACKPINK’s Jennie holding hands and being cozy in Paris have surfaced sending fans into a frenzy with most asking to respect them, their decisions, and privacy. And lastly, Billie Eilish and her boyfriend Jesse Rutherford have split after seven months of dating. The two were last spotted together at Coachella as Eilish showed up to the Met Gala alone. Now we wait to see if Jesse’s new music will address it all.
Pride Month is almost upon us and here in Los Angeles, we celebrate in part with music, and OUTLOUD at WeHo Pride is bringing the party this year. With headliners like Carly Rae Jepsen, Grace Jones, Idina Menzel and Jessie Ware, OUTLOUD at WeHo Pride is about to be a banger. More acts for the first weekend in June include Tinashe, Orville Peck and ‘Drag Race’ winner Kylie Sonique Love.
Kylie released a cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” as a message of support to the trans and drag communities who are under attack through hundreds of bills being passed around the United States. Tickets are still available for OUTLOUD at WeHo Pride and we’ll be there to talk to all your favorite performers.
Let’s move on to our interview with Labrinth. He told Billboard’s Jason Lipshutz that he worked on his latest album ‘Ends & Begins’ for a full year, but it was Coachella that helped him finally release it.
LABRINTH:I started putting the show together. And I was like, ‘If I’m going to do a show, I just want it to be the sickest thing that I think I’ve ever seen or haven’t seen.’ And so I just started kind of composing what my set would be. Me and Billie ended up doing the record ‘Never Felt So Alone.’ And I was like, “Do you want to maybe come to Coachella and perform it with me?” And she was like, “Yeah.” and I was like, “Really?” She’s like, “Okay.” That’s wild. And you know, me and Billie really loved the record that we did together. And it kind of felt like a natural progression into us performing it. And like actually ground-testing this record and seeing how the fans really enjoyed it. And it was wild. I was like, “[Zendaya], I’m going to perform at Coachella, I would love to do our songs together.” And she was like, “I would love to but I don’t have the time.” I didn’t think she could make it. And then I think last minute something happened that made her have to pass through. And she was like, “Lab, I want to do the show.” And I was like, “Really?” As soon as she said she wanted to do it. I was like, this is a moment. Like, I just knew it straight away. But then when we actually performed it, it was like, “Oh… right!” It was more than I thought it was going to be, like it was insane. We couldn’t hear ourselves. That’s how loud it was in there.
I share this quite often because I know there are a lot of people that have this experience or have had this experience where, like, I have ADHD, and I didn’t know I had it. Even for season one, I didn’t know I had ADHD. And before discovering that it made it very difficult for me to finish anything. Even though I did a lot for the show. It was very intense and very, like grueling. I think I’ve learned the process of taking care of my brain and my mind and mental health so that I can make sure I can deliver the things I want to deliver and also know my capacity as well, you know. So I think that’s been the process is kind of going okay, how do you achieve the thing you want to achieve? But also how do you make sure you don’t become a vegetable by the end of it? You know?
TETRIS KELLY:For the full interview head to Billboard.com!
CARLY PEARCE:Hey, Billboard, it’s Carly Pearce, and I’m so excited to see all of you on June 7th for the Women of Country Panel. Get your tickets now. See you then!
TETRIS KELLY:Before you go, we learned some new slang from Goyo at Billboard’s Latin Women in Music.
GOYO:¿Mi frases favoritas de mi países por ejemplo? Mi nombre es Goyo, soy de Colombia. Cuando hablo con slang, mi gusta mucho decir “clean”m porque estar clean es estar como con el outfit, con la pinta. Otra palabra qué me encanta mucho es “chévere”, porque es una palabra que mucha gente conoce que no solamente se conoce en Colombia, sino en diferentes lados de Latinoamérica, y suena… “¡chévere!” Otra palabra la verdad uso mucho, “chimba”. Yo soy del Chocó y en Medellín es donde más se usa, pero yo la uso todo el tiempo. “¡Esto es una chimba!”, cuando digo que algo está así como hard, lo máximo, una chimba. Estas fueron mis palabras o frases favoritas desde Colombia.
TETRIS KELLY:That’s it for today. Come back tomorrow for our Friday Music Guide and we’ll see how well Saweetie and Baby Tate know each other.
Taylor Swift‘s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) rollout has been nothing short of enchanting so far. The superstar’s official Taylor Nation Twitter page revealed on Thursday (May 18) that the vinyl for the upcoming re-recording of Swift’s 2010 album is available for pre-order at Target. The vinyl perfectly fits the Speak Now color scheme with a […]
