Midnights - Chart Tracker (1.5m+ US debut)

[Iguana]

Taylor Swift becomes the latest artist to achieve the relatively rare [UK] Official Chart Double, as her tenth studio record Midnights and its breakout hit Anti-Hero claim Number 1 on the Official Albums and Singles Chart simultaneously.

Proving she’s an artist at the top of her game over 13 years after her debut, Taylor fends off competition from Arctic Monkeys to land straight in at Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart with Midnights with the most explosive opening week of her career so far. 

According to new Official Charts Company data released today, Taylor has shifted a staggering 204,000 UK chart sales in seven days – that’s more than double her previous personal best of 90,300, which she managed when her album 1989 debuted on the chart in 2014.

Taylor Takeover! Taylor Swift scores biggest opening week of her career to land the Official Chart double with Midnights and Anti Hero

Taylor Swift becomes the latest artist to achieve the relatively rare Official Chart Double, as her tenth studio record Midnights and its breakout hit Anti-Hero claim Number 1 on the Official Albums and Singles Chart simultaneously.

www.officialcharts.com

 

[POP!]

Does anyone have her UK sales to date for each album? The fact that her imperial period has lasted over a decade…

 

[Jark]

latest figures



which should make it the 7th biggest opening week ever

 

[Jark]

Does anyone have her UK sales to date for each album? The fact that her imperial period has lasted over a decade…

from OCC today

103k Fearless TV
190k Red TV
198k Taylor Swift
235k evermore
331k Speak Now
379k folklore
411k Lover
548k reputation
679k Fearless
826k Red
1.5m 1989

Here are Taylor Swift's Official biggest albums in the UK

Blondie's biggest albums on the UK's Official Charts, revealed for the first time.

www.officialcharts.com

 

[Iguana]

Keeps gettin' betta

 

[Iguana]

Oh wait no it doesn't, I assumed those were in chronological order but they're ordered by sales increase

 

[Iguana]

I thought Red TV was bigger than that!

 

[Iguana]

Midnights has almost sold as much as Evermore!

 

[Iguana]

OK I'm done.

 

[POP!]

1.578m in the end for the USA first week total.

Pure sales comprise 1,141,000:

575,000 on vinyl
395,000 on CD
161,000 on digital album
10,000 on cassette

 

[Jark]

huge. legend.

 

[Cerro de Casa]

Wow. A woman single-handedly holding up the physicals market

 

[Sheena]

Wow. A woman single-handedly holding up the physicals market

But how "real" is it? Out of that 1.1 million pure sales, you've got to think it's at least thirded by multiple purchases. I mean, how many of those 10000 cassettes is being played any time soon

It's still amazing, yes, but still...

 

[octophone]

They don't call it the bundle era for nothing...

 

[octophone]

Quite surprised at how the low the sales are for folklore and evermore in the UK but I guess 400K is a success during a pandemic. 235K less so.

 

[Pipo]

 

[Devil]

I mean just short of 600k vinyls in one country is pretty out of this world isn’t it?

 

[Pipo]

plus, that's a win for Lana Del Rey

 

[POP!]

But how "real" is it? Out of that 1.1 million pure sales, you've got to think it's at least thirded by multiple purchases. I mean, how many of those 10000 cassettes is being played any time soon

It's still amazing, yes, but still...

Adele and others of a similar stature have released all these variants on their latest projects and haven’t done half of Midnight’s opening. I never had an issue with the variants, if people are willing to buy then so be it. they are less problematic than certain artists selling their albums for 99 cents for 1million opening week imo, and the tour/album bundles that have been disqualified in recent years.

 

[POP!]

plus, that's a win for Lana Del Rey

Her first top five hit on the Hot 100.

 

[Alla]

they are less problematic than certain artists selling their albums for 99 cents for 1million opening week imo, and the tour/album bundles that have been disqualified in recent years.

Are we also talking about another certain artist who had loads of #1s with very underpriced singles?

 

[Alla]

And anyway, the farmer didn't break any record, you can't compare this to what the Beatles did back in the day, it's like pears and apples.

 

[Jark]

Adele and others of a similar stature have released all these variants on their latest projects and haven’t done half of Midnight’s opening. I never had an issue with the variants, if people are willing to buy then so be it. they are less problematic than certain artists selling their albums for 99 cents for 1million opening week imo, and the tour/album bundles that have been disqualified in recent years.

there is no issue with variants. everyone out there is doing it. it's not cheating, it's legit. who cares if 1.1m individuals didn't buy the album.

 

[POP!]

And anyway, the farmer didn't break any record, you can't compare this to what the Beatles did back in the day, it's like pears and apples.

The Beatles pre dated Soundscan by about 20 years. I don’t think we could try comparing even if we wanted. Anyway, I think most swiffers are content with saying the album is doing really really well in a climate where album sales are pretty much extinct. And yes occupying an entire top ten on the Hot 100 will probably never happen again, unless it’s another Taylor release. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Hot 100 employs a similar rule as the UK limiting new entries to 3 per artist.

 

[Devil]

Are people seriously downplaying her success? It’s not like she’s a brand new artist that has hype getting her these utterly RIDICULOUS sales in 2022, she’s been shifting these kind of figures for a decade.

It’s utter madness to be doing these (and the UK) numbers in 2022 whether you like her or not.

 

[Alla]

Are people seriously downplaying her success?

No, those numbers are absolutely insane and she probably broke all the records from the streaming era, I'm just seeing all these crazy Spanish fans saying she broke some old records when you can't even compare it.

 

[RJN]

Well she did break a record with the top ten... but surely nobody actually thinks that she’s bigger than the Beatles

 

[Alla]

but surely nobody actually thinks that she’s bigger than the Beatles

Oh you don't know any proper Swiftie, do you?

 

[Alla]

To be fair, even when I don't have time for her, her success is undenaible. And I don't think the multiformat thing is wrong. Ok, 20 formats is a bit too extreme, but is that worse than those artists that 4 or 6 months after releasing an album come up with a deluxe version with a few new songs? Now that's ripping off your fans.

 

[RJN]

Oh you don't know any proper Swiftie, do you?

Tell that to the (mostly white) American teens and college students I work with

 

[Alla]

Tell that to the (mostly white) American teens and college students I work with

I have a good friend who is a hardcore swiftie (other than that quite a normal person) who just proclaimed her more successful than the Beatles in his whatsapp stories. Good for her

 

[RJN]

From biggest to smallest:

1. Taylor Swift
2. The Beatles
3. Jesus

 

[Alla]

From biggest to smallest:

1. Taylor Swift
2. The Beatles
3. Jesus Jones

Much better

 

[Alla]

Still about charts but sort of Off Topic, talking about Jesus Jones I wonder how fixed the Billboard charts were in the pre Soundscan era. Jesus Jones sencod hit in the US, Real real real, peaked at #30 on airplay and #67 on sales, still managed to hit #4 in the Hot 100. Sure Jan.

 

[RJN]

Still about charts but sort of Off Topic, talking about Jesus Jones I wonder how fixed the Billboard charts were in the pre Soundscan era. Jesus Jones sencod hit in the US, Real real real, peaked at #30 on airplay and #67 on sales, still managed to hit #4 in the Hot 100. Sure Jan.

Where’d you find that? I can’t find sales charts from the 90s

 

[Alla]

Where’d you find that? I can’t find sales charts from the 90s

I found some Billboard books in bargain shops in London back in the day.

Spoiler: Billboard facts

 

[RJN]

I found some Billboard books in bargain shops in London back in the day.

Spoiler: Billboard facts

I NEED that book

 

[RJN]

I hope it’s on Amazon

 

[Alla]

I think I downloaded an ebook version that didn't really work in my kindle but maybe in another ebooks does

 

[Alla]

Btw @RJN before you spend a fortune, sales and airplay aditional info is only available since 1984, when they started publishing them in the magazine.