Based on the rapturous welcome that Taylor Swift’s latest re-recorded album, Red (Taylor’s Version), already received, it’s no surprise that the project cinched a No. 1 debut on the Billboard charts. The inclusion of a 10-minute version of her critically-acclaimed song, “All Too Well,” a Phoebe Bridgers collaboration, and a viral SNL performance of the lengthy new track all helped the album remain the center of the cultural conversation last week. This week, the subject will be Taylor’s record-breaking tenth No. 1 with Red (Taylor’s Version), as she comes in directly behind Barbara Streisand, who has eleven albums at the top position.
It seems pretty clear that Taylor will at least tie with Barbara, whenever the even more pop-friendly 1989 gets the re-release treatment. And hell, at the rate she’s going, she might even have a brand new album written, recorded, and ready to drop on us when we’re least expecting it. For now, the first-week numbers for Taylor’s Version of the new 30-track version of Red are as follows: 605,000 equivalent album units sold, just barely trailing the 613,000 that Drake put up for Certified Lover Boy earlier this year. As far as traditional album sales, the record did 369,000, which is the highest number of the year so far — though keep in mind, Adele is coming.
