Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is breaking records as it has now given the singer her best first week for an album ever.
After its October 27 release, the re-recorded version of Swift’s 2014 pop album debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart with 1.653 million equivalent album units, a new record that blasts her previous best of 1.578 million for Midnights out of the water. Globally, the album has sold 3.5 million equivalent units.
The original version of the album moved just 1.297 million units in its first week when it released nearly a decade ago.
With the new accolade, Swift, 33, has now become the first ever artist to score six No. 1 album debuts with over 1 million units sold.
Additionally, the album marks the biggest release for any artist since Adele’s 2015 album 25, which debuted with a whopping 3.482 million album units.
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With the release of 1989 (Taylor’s Version), Swift now officially owns 80 percent of her discography. The singer has yet to announce release dates for the two album re-records which have not been released.
She first made plans to re-record her music in 2019 after music executive Scooter Braun purchased her former label, Big Machine, for a reported $300 million. Via the purchase, Braun received majority ownership of Swift’s master recordings.
The “Out of the Woods” singer was outspoken in her unhappiness with this deal and repeatedly said she asked for a chance to own her own work but was denied.
In response to Braun, Swift quickly announced plans to re-record her early discography, thus releasing a version of her music with masters that she owns. The new versions of her original albums are dubbed “Taylor’s Version” in all titles and releases and come with the additional previously unreleased “From The Vault” tracks.
Swift previewed her plans for the “Taylor’s Version” takeover during an appearance on CBS Sunday Morning on Aug. 21, 2019. In the interview, the singer maintained that she had learned of Braun’s deal “when it was online” for everyone else to see, reiterating her desire to own the music she’d written and performed.
Since making the announcement, Swift has released three more original albums — Folklore, Evermore and Midnights — and released three re-recordings — Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Red (Taylor’s Version) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). In addition to her busy release schedule, Swift took all her music on the road with the launch of her Eras Tour.
Dates for the release of her first, self-named album, Taylor Swift, and Reputation have not been announced yet.
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