Entertainment
Taylor Swift’s ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ Smashes Spotify Record with Most Streams in a Single Day
On the day of the release of “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” Taylor Swift made history on Spotify by becoming the artist with the most streams in a single day in the streaming service’s history.
Spotify also revealed that “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” had set a record as the most-streamed album in a single day on the platform in 2023. However, specific streaming numbers were not disclosed, as Spotify typically doesn’t release exact figures when announcing records.
One notable achievement was the debut of the new Vault track, “‘Slut!’ (Taylor’s Version),” which premiered at No. 1 in the United States with 5.2 million streams and globally with 11.3 million streams.
Additionally, another non-Vault track, “Style (Taylor’s Version),” had a strong debut with 11.6 million streams on the global chart.
Taylor Swift had previously set the single-day record for an individual artist on Spotify, surpassing her own record from when her last album of all-new material, “Midnights,” was released in October the previous year.
The impact of “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” on Spotify’s charts was remarkable. On the daily U.S. top 50 ranking, all 21 tracks from the standard edition of the album occupied the top 21 positions.
Furthermore, a 22nd track, the remix of “Bad Blood” featuring Kendrick Lamar, was included in the “deluxe edition” and reached the 23rd position. Another Taylor Swift song not on “1989,” “Cruel Summer,” appeared at No. 25, giving Taylor Swift 23 out of the top 25 songs on Spotify’s daily domestic chart.
On Spotify’s global top 50 chart, the album was also dominant, with the first 17 songs on the chart coming from “1989 (Taylor’s Version).” All 21 of the album’s tracks were within the top 25.
American listeners showed a preference for the new Vault tracks. In the U.S. chart, four of the top five tracks were Vault songs, with “‘Slut!’” taking the top spot. On the global chart, “Style (Taylor’s Version)” claimed the No. 1 position.
The first-week performance of “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” was highly anticipated, with expectations that it would surpass the success of “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” released a few months earlier. The opening-week sales numbers for “Speak Now (TV)” were reported to be 716,000 units, with a significant portion being pure album sales.
Whether “1989 (TV)” could outperform its predecessor would depend on both its streaming performance and its sales. Sales figures for the first week were set to be reported in the following week, and the availability of multiple vinyl variants was expected to boost sales.
Regarding the least popular tracks on the album, the two ballads from the original “1989,” “This Love” and “You Are in Love,” had around 2.5 and 2.4 million daily streams in the U.S., respectively. In contrast, eight songs on the album registered more than 4 million daily streams in the U.S., with “‘Slut!’” leading with 5.3 million streams.
Commercial expectations for the “Taylor’s Version” of “1989” were high, with predictions that it would likely surpass the performance of “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” and possibly even rival the opening numbers of her mega-blockbuster album “Midnights” from the previous year.
The original “1989” album from 2014 is considered one of Taylor Swift’s most popular and impactful albums, although it ranks just behind “Fearless” in sales.
The re-release of “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” is expected to shift fans’ allegiance from the original to the new version, potentially affecting its chart performance.
