November 5, 2023 – Continuing an unprecedented and historic run at the top of the charts and popular culture, Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) bows at #1 on the Billboard 200, Top Album Sales, Vinyl Albums and Top Streaming Albums charts this week with over 1.6 million units in the U.S. and over 3.5 million globally. This achievement notably makes her, “The First Artist To Score Six #1 Album Debuts With Over 1 Million Units Sold” in history. Impressively, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) has notched the “Biggest First-Week Sales for a Re-recorded Album Ever” and emerged as the “First Album To Debut With 1 Million Units Sold First-Week Twice” in 2014 and 2023. Plus, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) actually eclipsed the 2014 first-week sales of 1989, making it “The First Taylor’s Version To Net a Bigger Debut than the Original” with over 1.6 million total consumption.
With the incomparable success of 1989 (Taylor’s Version), each Taylor’s Version has eclipsed the sales of its predecessor, becoming bigger with every successive release. It has tallied the “Biggest Sales Week for an Album in 2023” and became the "#1 Best Selling Album in 2023 by traditional sales” in under 1 week, besting the success of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) as well. With this achievement, she currently has the #1, #2 and #3 top-selling albums of 2023 with 1989 (Taylor’s Version), Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and Midnights.
She is now “The First Female Artist To Earn 13 #1 Debuts on the Billboard 200,” and she has extended her record as “The Female Artist with the Most Weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200.” She has tied Drake for “Most #1 Albums on the Billboard 200 this Century” with 13.
Taylor soars as the “The #1 Best-Selling Artist of the Year in US Pure Album Sales” and “#1 Best-Selling Artist of the Year in US Equivalent Album Units.” Not to mention, she has lengthened her previous record for “Most Weeks at #1 on the Billboard Artist 100”with 84 weeks and her record for “Most Consecutive Albums to Bow at #1 in Billboard 200” with 13.
On Spotify, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) has shattered records in historic fashion. It mints a new record for “Biggest Album Debut on Spotify in 2023” with 176 million streams and “The Second Biggest Album Debut in Spotify History”—only behind her own Midnights. As such, she has earned the “Top 2 Biggest Global Streaming Album Debuts in History in a Little Over a Year” and achieved the “Top 5 Biggest Global Streaming Album Debuts for a Female Artist in Chart History.” She smashed her own Midnights-era record for “Most Single-Day Streams for an Artist Catalog in Spotify History” with1989 (Taylor’s Version).
“Style (Taylor’s Version)” clinched #1 on the Global Spotify Chart with 11.6 million streams, scoring the “Biggest Chart Debut for a Taylor’s Version.” On its heels, “Is It Over Now (Taylor’s Version)” replaced “Style (Taylor’s Version)” at #1 on the Global Spotify Chart and became the longest-running #1 from the album. “Slut” also entered the US Spotify Chart at #1 with 5.2 million streams, making for the “Biggest Single-Day Streams for any Song in 2023.” Given this success, she has attained “The Top 10 Biggest Debuts for Solo Songs by Female Artists in Global Spotify History.”
On Apple Music and iTunes, she has extended her record for “Most #1 Hits on US iTunes Among all Artists.” Meanwhile, “Slut!” has vaulted to #1 on both US and Global Apple Music charts. At Amazon Music, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) generated the “Biggest First-Day Global Streams for Any Album in History,” eclipsing a record she set with Midnights.
Internationally, so far it has arrived at #1 in 14 countries, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. In the UK, she has emerged as the “First and Only Female Artist to Log 11 UK #1 Albums in the 21st Century” with the “Highest Streaming Debut for Any Artist in 2023” and “Biggest Selling First Week of 2023”. In Australia, she not only notched her “Biggest First-Week ARIA Album Ever,” but also the “Largest Vinyl First-Week in ARIA history.”
WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING ABOUT 1989 (Taylor’s Version)
“5 Stars” – Rolling Stone, Angie Martoccio
“5 Stars” – The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick
“5 Stars” – Rolling Stone UK, Mark Sutherland
“5 Stars” – NME, Hollie Geraghty
“5 Stars” – The Guardian, Rachel Aroesti
“5 Stars” – The Times, Will Hodgkinson
“5 Stars” – iNews, Ed Power
“5 Stars” – The Sun, Jack Hardwick
“Instant Classic” – Rolling Stone, Angie Martoccio
“1989 is the album that changed everything for Swift, but also for us. After 1989, everyone became a Swiftie…” – Rolling Stone, Angie Martoccio
“1989 (Taylor’s Version) shines a lot brighter. Standing on the beach, in the clear and out of the woods, so does Swift.” – Rolling Stone, Angie Martoccio
“…the sheer quantity/quality of anthems… remains astounding.” – Rolling Stone UK, Mark Sutherland
“And so, to put things in equally extraordinary context, ‘1989’ could have been the greatest pop album of 1989. It was undoubtedly the greatest pop album of 2014. And now, this new version could well be the greatest pop album of 2023.” – Rolling Stone UK, Mark Sutherland
“‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ feels more symbolic than her previous re-releases. Not only is it another step closer to having a full back catalogue of albums that she will own, but it’s also a celebration of the moment Swift really took ownership of her pop sound.” – NME, Hollie Geraghty
“As we’re witnessing the biggest year of Swift’s career so far, the artist’s ability to reinvent herself while honouring her core blueprint is only becoming more impressive. By journeying into the past, it’s a reminder that the future of Taylor Swift may hold so much more that will continue to surprise us.” – NME, Hollie Geraghty
“1989 (Taylor's Version) is an impeccable remake of her best album.” – The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick
“All of the new songs are satisfyingly deft and clever, replete with sinuous melodies, burbling synths and agitated percussion that correspond with the updated eighties stylings of the original.” – The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick
“It’s the kind of dazzling songcraft and pointed delivery that reminds us that, when it comes to Swift, we should accept no substitutes.” – The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick
“Swift’s revamp of her 2014 smash is her most faithful re-recording yet: a time capsule enhanced by pertinent cutting room floor tracks that show she never goes out of style” – The Guardian, Rachel Aroesti
“It’s over for the doubters: you just can’t argue with Taylor Swift any more. You can’t argue with her fanbase, immaculately devout and mind-bogglingly populous. You can’t argue with her songcraft: masterfully generic in a sonic sense; startlingly distinctive in a lyrical one. You can’t argue with her positive impact on the lives of her devotees.” – The Guardian, Rachel Aroesti
“The singer’s new recording of her first pure pop album is a triumph” – The Times, Will Hodgkinson
“…it all adds up to a masterclass in mainstream songwriting. This is the album that turned Taylor Swift into the biggest singer of modern times. Nine years after it was first released, you can see why.” – The Times, Will Hodgkinson
“It is a snapshot of an artist going places at the speed of light ... How thrilling to travel back in time and watch Swift achieving lift-off all over again.” – iNews, Ed Power
“This re-recorded 2014 album – and the five vault tracks – confirm that few pop stars can compete with Swift’s effervescence as a songwriter.” – iNews, Ed Power
“The album documents young adulthood, the most exhilarating and error-strewn period of a person’s life, in the highly engineered setting of the perfect pop song.” – The Financial Times, Ludovic Hunter-Tilney
“These “From the Vault” tracks are among the best of those to appear so far in the re-recording project.” – The Financial Times, Ludovic Hunter-Tilney
“4 Stars” – The Evening Standard, David Smyth
“It’s no wonder she’s so far ahead of everyone else.” – The Evening Standard, David Smyth
“It’s a reminder that in the quest for living your truth, reinvention is not only possible, but necessary.” – TIME, Raisa Bruner
“9/10” – Clash, Alex Berry
“…there is a clear elevation in ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ compared to its original.” – Clash, Alex Berry
“The instrumentals, which are plentiful on this album, are cleaner and more impressive. Her vocals are some of her best yet, with crystal clear pronunciation and a powerful impact that separates this in quality from even some of her recent albums.” – Clash, Alex Berry
“She knows what never goes out of style…” – Variety, Chris Willman
“Every song is still as all-encompassing and anthemic as the next and, if anything, Swift’s vocals are more powerful and punchy than ever.” – The Line of Best Fit, Kelsey Barnes
“1989 (Taylor’s Version) should reignite the excitement that its original era brought for fans and pop music as a whole – it's Swift being reborn, again, in her own way.” – The Line of Best Fit, Kelsey Barnes
“Taylor Swift is the most confident she’s ever been on her version of 1989.” – Notion, Rachel Martin
“Swift invites us to revisit that moment when she came into her own — not only as an artist, but as a mastermind of her own image and identity.” – Harpers Bazaar, Dani Maher
“Taylor Swift outdid herself in the hit department with this record.” – American Songwriter, Alex Hopper
“With “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” the pop superstar has given us her most ambitious rerecorded album yet.” – The Daily Beast, Helen Holmes
“On ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’, Taylor Swift Bends Time” – Esquire UK, Henry Wong
“Amid sonic updates and new tracks, the most startling aspect of this album is how viscerally it both transports you to 2014 and also reminds you how huge Swift is in 2023. You don’t need to ask why so many fade. That’s obvious: they don’t have the talent or the work ethic. And why is Swift still here? That was obvious then, but it’s even more obvious now.” – Esquire UK, Henry Wong
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