NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – AUGUST 28: Taylor Swift attends the 2022 MTV VMAs at Prudential Center on … [+]
Taylor Swift returns to the top spot on the Billboard 200 this week with her latest album Midnights, which doesn’t just start at No. 1, it scores the largest debut sales sum in years.
Midnights lands atop the Billboard 200–Billboard’s weekly chart that ranks the most-consumed albums in the U.S.–on the newly-published list. The title opens in first place with an eye-popping 1.578 million equivalent units shifted in its first seven days of availability, according to Billboard.
That sizable figure is comprised of 1.140 million pure sales, 419,000 streaming equivalents (made up of 549.26 million streams), and 19,000 track sale equivalents (which are comprised of fans buying one or more songs, but not the entire set). That purchase figure is unheard of these days, when the vast majority of music fans opt to stream—not buy—the latest from their favorite artist.
Swift’s Midnights performed especially well on vinyl, as the title was bought by 575,000 fans on the format in just its first week. Just how massive is that sum? In less than seven days, the latest from the Grammy winner toppled the all-time record for the largest sales year for any album in the U.S.
Midnights now claims the largest debut of the year, easily stealing that honor from Harry Styles’ Harry’s House, which launched with 521,500 copies in June. In fact, the set earns the most impressive launch atop the tally since Adele’s 25 managed 3.482 million units in a week back in 2015.
Midnights is Swift’s tenth album of all-original material, and her first since she shared sister releases Folklore and Evermore in 2020. Including a pair of re-recordings she doled out in 2021, Swift has now conquered the Billboard 200 with all of the following 11 albums: Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, Reputation, Lover, Folklore, Evermore, Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Red (Taylor’s Version), and Midnights.
Including all of the aforementioned works, Swift has broken into the top 10 on the Billboard 200 with a total of 13 titles–her lucky number. In addition to her 11 chart-toppers, she’s also spent time inside the highest tier on the tally with both her self-titled debut (No. 5) and her Beautiful Eyes EP (No. 9).
With 11 No. 1 albums to her credit, Swift is now tied for the third-most Billboard 200 leaders of all time. She is currently on the same level as Barbra Streisand, Drake, and Bruce Springsteen. The four powerhouses come in behind only The Beatles (19 No. 1s) and Jay-Z (14).
Swift announced Midnights nearly two months before it dropped, shocking the world during an acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards with the news. While there was plenty of lead time, the singer-songwriter didn’t preview the album with any singles. Despite that fact, Swift currently claims the entirety of the top 10 on the Hot 100, a first in the chart’s history.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2022/11/01/taylor-swift-charts-her-eleventh-no-1-album-with-midnights-with-the-largest-debut-in-years/