Taylor Swift makes history with ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’

She becomes first artist to achieve three simultaneous No. 1 debuts on Billboard 200 and Hot 100 chart

Taylor Swift has made history once again presenting the definitive version of her 2012 classic, Red (Taylor’s Version). Marking her 10th album to move over one million album equivalents during its release week and arriving to worldwide critical acclaim, Red (Taylor’s Version) adds a brilliant new chapter to her legacy.

The album boasts a staggering 30 songs, including nine previously unreleased tracks – “Better Man (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault),” “Nothing New (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” [feat. Phoebe Bridgers], “Babe (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault),” “Message in a Bottle (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault),” “I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” [feat. Chris Stapleton], “Forever Winter (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault),” “Run (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” [feat. Ed Sheeran], “The Very First Night (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault),” and “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” [10 Minute Version].

Red (Taylor’s Version) debuted at No. 1 in the US with total consumption reaching an astounding 605k units, while moving over 1.2 million album equivalents globally in its first week. It also marked the biggest album sales debut in the US with 369k units and the highest first week sales of any female artist in 2021.

In addition to being the first artist ever to simultaneously debut atop the Billboard 200 and Billboard Hot 100, Swift has now become the only artist to do so for a third time, and in less than 16 months. Swift’s new version of “All Too Well” marks her fourth No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hot 100. Clocking in at over 10 minutes, it is the longest song to enter and reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, surpassing the previous record holder, Don McLean’s “American Pie,” which was first released in 1971 with a run time of 8 minutes and 42 seconds. Red (Taylor’s Version) also sees an astounding 26 songs enter the Billboard Hot 100 this week, all from the new release.

Upon going live, Red (Taylor’s Version) surpassed Spotify’s biggest opening day streams of all-time for a female with over 90 million, a record previously held by Swift herself. It’s Swift’s fifth consecutive album to exceed 50 million Spotify streams in 24 hours. With over 300 million streams, the album has achieved the largest streaming week of 2021 for an album by a female artist. Red (Taylor’s Version) immediately captured No. 1 on iTunes Overall Top Albums Chart and Apple Music.

The project also secured the biggest streaming week for a country album with the largest sales week for a country album since 2013, becoming the biggest release week for a country album since the Billboard 200 began ranking titles by equivalent album units. “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” also hits No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart. It debuts as Swift’s ninth Hot Country Songs leader and her second this year, after “Love Story (Taylor’s Version).”

What’s more, it has achieved the largest vinyl album sales week since tracking first began in 1991 with 114k sold, surpassing the last record that was also set by Swift in 2021 with Folklore’s sister album, Evermore. With the release of Red (Taylor’s Version) she also secures the record for fastest accumulation of four No. 1 albums by a solo artist in history.

Red (Taylor’s Version) debuted at No. 1 in multiple countries around the world including the UK 00 where she topped first week numbers set by the original version of the album, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and Norway. “All Too Well” also debuted at No. 1 in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and more.

Swift now has an unbroken streak of eight consecutive No. 1 albums in the UK, where this release marks her fifth No. 1 album in less than three years following Lover (August 2019), Folklore (August 2020), Evermore (December 2020) and Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (April 2021). Red (Taylor’s Version) has also become her 10th No. 1 album debut in both Canada and New Zealand, her ninth No. 1 in Australia and her seventh No. 1 in Ireland, extending her record as the woman with the most chart-topping albums in these countries for this millennium.

To celebrate the release, Swift wrote and directed a short film entitled All Too Well The Short Film, inspired by the 10-minute-plus fan favorite song of the same name. The 13-minute film stars Sadie Sink, Dylan O’Brien and Swift.

She also launched a full-scale television takeover appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night With Seth Meyers, Good Morning America and Saturday Night Live –– where she performed a captivating 10 minute version of “All Too Well” that lit the internet on fire along with a digital skit

The excitement continued with the release of the official music video for “I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” featuring Chris Stapleton. The cinematic release was directed and co-written by Blake Lively and stars actor Miles Teller and Taylor.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn