LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 09: Taylor Swift performs onstage during the 2018 American Music Awards … [+]
Taylor Swift continues to dominate the U.S. music industry in 2023, despite not having released a new album thus far this year. Her latest offering, 2022’s Midnights, has been performing exceptionally well since it arrived, but what is truly astounding is that it isn’t the only album from the star that has been moving hundreds of thousands of copies this year.
According to a report from music industry publication HitsDailyDouble, four of Swift’s albums have already surpassed the half-million mark in equivalent units sold in the U.S. in 2023. While it’s not uncommon for major artists to see one or two recent albums perform well, having four albums achieve this feat, and in just the first half of the year, is truly remarkable.
Leading the charge among Swift’s albums is Midnights, which has already moved 1.8 million equivalent copies in 2023 alone. This adds to the impressive figure of over 3.2 million copies shifted in 2022. The album has been sustained by her ongoing promotion efforts, including the release of new singles and her performances during The Eras Tour.
The second highest-performing album is Lover, which has reportedly moved over 667,000 equivalent copies. Lover has greatly benefited from the momentum of The Eras Tour. Since Taylor Swift was unable to perform the songs from the album live in 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fans are eagerly streaming and singing along to the tracks now, propelling the title back up the charts and keeping it alive.
The third top-performing album for Swift in 2023 is Folklore, which is nearing the 600,000 equivalent units mark. This introspective and mellow project, released in mid-2020 amidst the pandemic, was both a commercial success and received critical acclaim. It spawned several hits and earned Swift her third Album of the Year Grammy award.
Surprisingly, an even older album, 1989, Swift’s first proper pop offering released in 2014, is also experiencing strong sales and streaming performance in 2023. It has surpassed half a million equivalent copies shifted, primarily driven by streaming numbers. It is remarkable to see such an older title achieving such high streaming rates.
By the end of 2023, Taylor Swift is expected to have at least one more album surpass the 500,000 equivalent units mark, or possibly even two. Her re-recording Red (Taylor’s Version) is nearing that notable milestone, and she has plans to release Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) in early July. Both albums are anticipated to rank among the top-performing titles of the year before 2024 arrives.
