HITS 4/26: #1 Taylor Swift 2.6M/1.92M pure, #5 Pearl Jam 60k

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

can't say I'm surprised, amazing numbers.

number of weeks with at least 800k units in the last 15 years:

9 Taylor Swift (Speak Now, Red, 1989, Reputation, Lover, folklore, Midnights, 1989 TV, TTPD)
5 Adele (25, 25, 25, 25, 30)
1 Drake (Views), Lady Gaga (Born This Way), Lil Wayne (Tha Carter IV), Justin Timberlake (The 20/20 Experience)

also:

TTPD: 2,400,000?
every #1 this year (17 weeks so far) combined: 2,193,000

[BlueSwan]

Damn, Adele had 4 weeks over 800k with just the 25 album. That is insane.

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

UPDATE: POETS JACKPOT CONTINUES TO GROW

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Did we mention it’s Taylor Swift week? Our prognosticators have another update on THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT’s first week total. Analysts are now certain that TTPD will clear 2.5m units in its first week, as the 31-track blockbuster continues to raise the bar. For those keeping score at home, that puts TTPD behind only Adele’s 25 for the largest all-time debut. How much bigger than huge can it get? Stay tuned.

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

[Caviar]

I predicted 2.5! I think she can clear 2.7M and maybe 3M with more agreessive album variants.

[balletgirlmom]

Those one-week numbers are mind numbing.  

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

I guess HITS will need to up their projection further, since Billboard just reported TTPD has reached the pure sales projected yesterday and that it is only 100k SPS from their revised projection for today.

[musiclife]

Is it really true we have no data for CD sales? If that's true could she come close to Adele?

[dremolus - solarpunk]

I find it so funny that like people are still trying to say Taylor making "non-upbeat music" means she isn't making music that won't be replayed or revisited by people who aren't her core audience. folklore still gets good streams to this day and that album's coming in at being three years old, still being talked about.

Will TTPD have that same longevity? Time will tell but let's not act like she created this avant-garde experimental art project like The Beatle's White Album that's completeley devoid of commercial appeal. As Ling-Ling said, it's just a long Taylor Swift projeect. If you're really crying about her squandering her momentum, then about how the woman who's led the most successful concert tour of all time (even adjusted for inflation) and has had two projects open to 2M units sold in the streaming age, feel free to write about how she's somehow "not fulfilling her commercial potential"

[👑 Eloquent ™]

Apr 25, 2024 11:36:04 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

I find it so funny that like people are still trying to say Taylor making "non-upbeat music" means she isn't making music that won't be replayed or revisited by people who aren't her core audience. folklore still gets good streams to this day and that album's coming in at being three years old, still being talked about.

Will TTPD have that same longevity? Time will tell but let's not act like she created this avant-garde experimental art project like The Beatle's White Album that's completeley devoid of commercial appeal. As Ling-Ling said, it's just a long Taylor Swift projeect. If you're really crying about her squandering her momentum, then about how the woman who's led the most successful concert tour of all time (even adjusted for inflation) and has had two projects open to 2M units sold in the streaming age, feel free to write about how she's somehow "not fulfilling her commercial potential"

I think there is a median here. I'm not going to say TTPD is a whole new sound and completely alternative, but at the same time it's not obvious radio fodder. This certainly isn't anywhere NEAR as accessible as 1989, Reputation, Lover, Midnights, Red etc and that absolutely can be noted and still be sensible, while also noting it isn't distinctly avant-garde.

[areyoureadytojump]

Apr 24, 2024 22:27:00 GMT -5 musiclife said:

Is it really true we have no data for CD sales? If that's true could she come close to Adele?

The estimates include cd sales.

[avamaxstan]

Apr 22, 2024 11:09:35 GMT -5 theycallmedualian said:

Apr 22, 2024 10:28:09 GMT -5 avamaxstan said:

I know, I said that the Folkmore era "jumpstarted" her career renaissance - it took public opinion of her as an artist to new heights, expanded her fanbase and restored her critical darling status. I think there's fairly broad agreement it was a calculated risk that paved the way for the domination of 2022-present and for her to smash again with mainstream pop. 

Yeah but that’s the problem - after all the years of rebuilding since folklore, she’s finally at the highest point of her career again, and yet she opted to NOT do mainstream pop but instead do something with a much more limited commercial viability.

I’m confused by this idea that TTPD is some sort of non mainstream, inaccessible record. From the standard album, 11 of 16 tracks are Antonoff-produced synth pop that would be right at home on Midnights. The other 5 are Dessner acoustic down/midtempos in a similar aesthetic to Folklore and even Fearless (BDILH). It’s all pop.

Sure, I can understand the argument that some of the writing is less accessible than her big pop albums. But she is *Taylor Swift* - she is the music industry and whatever she makes *becomes* the standard of mainstream pop.

[ificanthaveyou]

I need TTPD to lock down at least 10 weeks at #1… any big releases coming up?

[thatpolishboy]

Apr 25, 2024 18:18:35 GMT -5 ificanthaveyou said:

I need TTPD to lock down at least 10 weeks at #1… any big releases coming up?

Billie

[ificanthaveyou]

Apr 25, 2024 18:23:02 GMT -5 thatpolishboy said:

Apr 25, 2024 18:18:35 GMT -5 ificanthaveyou said:

I need TTPD to lock down at least 10 weeks at #1… any big releases coming up?

Billie

I hope Taylor drops the Anthology Vinyl during her release week and blocks her tbh. Billie has been saying THE MOST lately.

[👑 Eloquent ™]

Apr 25, 2024 22:28:44 GMT -5 ificanthaveyou said:

Apr 25, 2024 18:23:02 GMT -5 thatpolishboy said:

Billie

Billie has been saying THE MOST lately.

Out of sheer curiosity...what do you mean?

[dremolus - solarpunk]

Apr 25, 2024 18:18:35 GMT -5 ificanthaveyou said:

I need TTPD to lock down at least 10 weeks at #1… any big releases coming up?

We have Dua Lipa next week, then Billie two weeks after and RM's second album the week after HIT ME HARD AND SOFT debuts.

[avamaxstan]

Apr 26, 2024 2:20:08 GMT -5 👑 Eloquent ™ said:

Apr 25, 2024 22:28:44 GMT -5 ificanthaveyou said:

Billie has been saying THE MOST lately.

Out of sheer curiosity...what do you mean?

She’s been shading Taylor for being anti-environment with all her endless physical album variants.

[clsvltn]

Apr 26, 2024 8:52:33 GMT -5 avamaxstan said:

Apr 26, 2024 2:20:08 GMT -5 👑 Eloquent ™ said:

Out of sheer curiosity...what do you mean?

She’s been shading Taylor for being anti-environment with all her endless physical album variants.

She didn't, people assumed it.


Billie tried to clear up matters by posting a simple statement to her Instagram Stories, while also tagging her original Billboard interview so that fans could confirm that she didn't single Taylor or any other performers out.

'okay so it would be so awesome if people would stop putting words into my mouth and actually read what i said in that billboard article,' which had focused on her efforts to make her professional life more ecologically sustainable.

'i wasn't singling anyone out, these are industry-wide systemic issues,' she explained.

Beyond making clear that she wasn't pointing fingers, Billie even admitted that she was guilty of releasing variants to encourage fans to buy the same album multiple times, though it wasn't clear if she makes those decisions or if her record label has the final say over releases.

'& when it comes to variants, so many artists release them — including ME ! which i clearly state in the article,' she said.

The Bad Guy singer concluded by trying to focus on the bigger picture.

'the climate crisis is now and its about all of us being part of the problem and trying to do better sheesh,' she added.

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

SONG STREAMS: SWIFT SETS STREAMING RECOR

With all 31 songs debuting in the Top 50 of our Streaming Songs chart—six of them logging 40m+ streams—Taylor Swift's THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT (Republic) has set a new record for most streams in a week.

Swift's 11th LP will earn 864 million streams in its first week, surpassing the previous record-holder, Drake's Scorpion (746m), by more than 100m. TTPD's first single, "Fortnight" f/Post Malone, opens at #1 on the chart with 65m streams—the most streams in a week for a song in 2024. The album has already done nearly 1.2 billion Spotify streams.

TTPD's record-setting stream count and physical sales numbers are likely to be somewhere between massive and ginormous. Stay tuned for the final HITS Top 50 projection later today.

[avamaxstan]

Apr 26, 2024 9:12:52 GMT -5 clsvltn said:

Apr 26, 2024 8:52:33 GMT -5 avamaxstan said:

She’s been shading Taylor for being anti-environment with all her endless physical album variants.

She didn't, people assumed it.


Billie tried to clear up matters by posting a simple statement to her Instagram Stories, while also tagging her original Billboard interview so that fans could confirm that she didn't single Taylor or any other performers out.

'okay so it would be so awesome if people would stop putting words into my mouth and actually read what i said in that billboard article,' which had focused on her efforts to make her professional life more ecologically sustainable.

'i wasn't singling anyone out, these are industry-wide systemic issues,' she explained.

Beyond making clear that she wasn't pointing fingers, Billie even admitted that she was guilty of releasing variants to encourage fans to buy the same album multiple times, though it wasn't clear if she makes those decisions or if her record label has the final say over releases.

'& when it comes to variants, so many artists release them — including ME ! which i clearly state in the article,' she said.

The Bad Guy singer concluded by trying to focus on the bigger picture.

'the climate crisis is now and its about all of us being part of the problem and trying to do better sheesh,' she added.

Yep I saw her follow up. And I agree with her stance on the eco-waste. Regardless, Miss Billie knew what she was doing. She knew everyone would fill in Taylor's name when she called out "the biggest artists in the world" who produce mass variants to inflate sales figures. It was smart - referencing Taylor automatically gets you headlines, it brought a lot of public attention to the issue she was highlighting. 

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

Apr 26, 2024 10:03:12 GMT -5 avamaxstan said:

Apr 26, 2024 9:12:52 GMT -5 clsvltn said:

She didn't, people assumed it.


Billie tried to clear up matters by posting a simple statement to her Instagram Stories, while also tagging her original Billboard interview so that fans could confirm that she didn't single Taylor or any other performers out.

'okay so it would be so awesome if people would stop putting words into my mouth and actually read what i said in that billboard article,' which had focused on her efforts to make her professional life more ecologically sustainable.

'i wasn't singling anyone out, these are industry-wide systemic issues,' she explained.

Beyond making clear that she wasn't pointing fingers, Billie even admitted that she was guilty of releasing variants to encourage fans to buy the same album multiple times, though it wasn't clear if she makes those decisions or if her record label has the final say over releases.

'& when it comes to variants, so many artists release them — including ME ! which i clearly state in the article,' she said.

The Bad Guy singer concluded by trying to focus on the bigger picture.

'the climate crisis is now and its about all of us being part of the problem and trying to do better sheesh,' she added.

Yep I saw her follow up. And I agree with her stance on the eco-waste. Regardless, Miss Billie knew what she was doing. She knew everyone would fill in Taylor's name when she called out "the biggest artists in the world" who produce mass variants to inflate sales figures. It was smart - referencing Taylor automatically gets you headlines, it brought a lot of public attention to the issue she was highlighting. 

Is there a way she could have mentioned it without people assuming it was a dig at Taylor? Similarly, no one can talk about private jet usage without people linking it to Taylor so should everyone simply avoid it as a talking point? Taylor isn’t even in the top 10 celebs with most private het usage yet she’s become the poster child for that too. Billie likely knew the connection would be made to Taylor but she still raised a valid point. The issue is with how things get reported and how annoying social media trends are around soundbites and people being accused of “saying the most” even though they were asked a question and responded just one time.

[85la]

Apr 26, 2024 10:03:12 GMT -5 avamaxstan said:

Apr 26, 2024 9:12:52 GMT -5 clsvltn said:

She didn't, people assumed it.


Billie tried to clear up matters by posting a simple statement to her Instagram Stories, while also tagging her original Billboard interview so that fans could confirm that she didn't single Taylor or any other performers out.

'okay so it would be so awesome if people would stop putting words into my mouth and actually read what i said in that billboard article,' which had focused on her efforts to make her professional life more ecologically sustainable.

'i wasn't singling anyone out, these are industry-wide systemic issues,' she explained.

Beyond making clear that she wasn't pointing fingers, Billie even admitted that she was guilty of releasing variants to encourage fans to buy the same album multiple times, though it wasn't clear if she makes those decisions or if her record label has the final say over releases.

'& when it comes to variants, so many artists release them — including ME ! which i clearly state in the article,' she said.

The Bad Guy singer concluded by trying to focus on the bigger picture.

'the climate crisis is now and its about all of us being part of the problem and trying to do better sheesh,' she added.

Yep I saw her follow up. And I agree with her stance on the eco-waste. Regardless, Miss Billie knew what she was doing. She knew everyone would fill in Taylor's name when she called out "the biggest artists in the world" who produce mass variants to inflate sales figures. It was smart - referencing Taylor automatically gets you headlines, it brought a lot of public attention to the issue she was highlighting. 

And is there anything wrong with that? It IS wasteful, producing massive amounts of physical variants, especially vinyl, that no one needs.

[avamaxstan]

Apr 26, 2024 10:58:05 GMT -5 85la said:

Apr 26, 2024 10:03:12 GMT -5 avamaxstan said:

Yep I saw her follow up. And I agree with her stance on the eco-waste. Regardless, Miss Billie knew what she was doing. She knew everyone would fill in Taylor's name when she called out "the biggest artists in the world" who produce mass variants to inflate sales figures. It was smart - referencing Taylor automatically gets you headlines, it brought a lot of public attention to the issue she was highlighting. 

And is there anything wrong with that? It IS wasteful, producing massive amounts of physical variants, especially vinyl, that no one needs.

Literally the second sentence of my post is "I agree with her stance on eco-waste." Good on Billie for being media savvy and knowing how to get this issue into the headlines when it normally would've been buried in an interview. 

[Az Paynter]

God forbid anyone ever say anything for fear of being set upon by The Tortured Swifties Department... stan culture is the absolute worst.

[HEADOFTHEPACK]

Apr 26, 2024 11:38:47 GMT -5 avamaxstan said:

Apr 26, 2024 10:58:05 GMT -5 85la said:

And is there anything wrong with that? It IS wasteful, producing massive amounts of physical variants, especially vinyl, that no one needs.

Literally the second sentence of my post is "I agree with her stance on eco-waste." Good on Billie for being media savvy and knowing how to get this issue into the headlines when it normally would've been buried in an interview. 

No. This has been discussed before. Billie Eilish does not need to bring in specific names to get a point out there. The point stands whether it's Taylor or any other artist releasing vinyl variants.

[avamaxstan]

Apr 26, 2024 11:53:34 GMT -5 HEADOFTHEPACK said:

Apr 26, 2024 11:38:47 GMT -5 avamaxstan said:

Literally the second sentence of my post is "I agree with her stance on eco-waste." Good on Billie for being media savvy and knowing how to get this issue into the headlines when it normally would've been buried in an interview. 

No. This has been discussed before. Billie Eilish does not need to bring in specific names to get a point out there. The point stands whether it's Taylor or any other artist releasing vinyl variants.

It feels like we're talking in circles, so this will be my final comment on this. I agree that the point is valid and correct regardless of whether it involves Taylor. I remarked that Billie - like most major celebrities - knows how the press operates and that they'll salivate over any possible reference to Taylor, no matter how vague, and she cleverly leveraged that to get an important message into the headlines.

[Choco]

Billie to me is serving major lack of PR training. Her Rolling Stone interview this week had a lot of stuff we didn't need to know and she came off poorly imo.

That doesn't negate the fact that anyone (Billie and TayTay included) still dropping major quantities of physicals is polluting in the long run. 90% of those copies will get played once if at all before people go back to streaming. Specially when people do crap like Pink Friday 2 or TTPD when the physical doesn't even have the entire album. Her comment about variants was actually one of the least eyeroll worthy of her recent press tour.

[👑 Eloquent ™]

Well hopefully anyone could see the environmental impact by having 60 different variants per release. I mean Billie is not wrong. It's also giving capitalistic queen to the fullest, but this is like synonymous with Taylor at this point. Fan or not there are no ethical billionaires, she isn't the most environmentally conscious artist, and she is absolutely all about maximizing her wallet at the expense of her fans. That's one thing I think personally will cause her future issues. Her relatability factor, the very thing that helped sell her to the masses, is dwindling by the second with the continued growth of her status, wealth, and lifstyle. I feel like these are all kind of inarguable facts tho. lol I hadn't even heard the Billie interview. I'ma go check it out!

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

Idk, I mean if someone is giving an interview to any publication, they’ll be asked questions that might be personal in nature or not. If they choose to answer, those answers will be used as bite-sized info to be shared across social media by every other publication because it’s an easy reaction. All Billie, or anyone, has to say is something one time, even as a passing comment, and suddenly that’s the only story being told. Or, she might drop multiple random comments. Then there are days’ worth of stories but the general audience response is “why is she saying all these stupid comments over and over?”
I’m seeing the same thing with the Pet Shop Boys apparently saying Taylor’s music is disappointing. Now it reads as if they volunteered this thought to anyone who would listen rather than they were probably asked an off-the-cuff question and gave an 8-second response that now everyone is running with.

Reporter: “do you, maybe, indulge in weed from time to time?”
Artist: “I’ve tried it and liked it.”

Headlines for the next week:
ARTIST HAS DRUG ADDICTION
ARTIST ADMITS TO LOVING ABUSING DRUGS
ARTIST LOVES THE FEELING OF WEED
MOVE OVER SNOOP AND WILLIE, NEW ARTIST IS COMING FOR YOUR SEAT
Etc

General public: “oh ffs, is that all that artist talks about now? They must think they’re soooo cool to be on drugs all the time.”