Taylor Swift is back on top of the Billboard 200, and the comeback was massive.The Life of a Showgirljumped from No. 21 all the way to No. 1 on the Oct. 10 chart, marking its 13th nonconsecutive week at the summit. The surge follows the Sept. 25 release ofThe Encore, a reissue that added four previously unreleased songs:“Patient Zero,”“Cleveland!,”“Pink Clouding”and“Babylon.”In the week ending Oct. 1, the album earned 173,000 equivalent album units, a 619% increase from the week before, with about 78% of that driven by streaming.
“Patient Zero”is the focus track, and its music video premiered during the MTV VMAs on Sept. 27, giving the whole rollout a perfectly timed pop culture moment. The strategy of holding songs back for a deluxe drop is clearly paying off, and it’s a playbook other artists are watching closely.
The top 10 had more to celebrate too. Tinashe earned her first top 10 album ever withPopstardebuting at No. 6, a career milestone years in the making, while Kenny Chesney collected his 17th top 10 withSilver Sands Marinaat No. 7. Which of these albums are you streaming the most right now? Let us know in the comments.
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.