© 2024 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WECS · WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM · WVOF
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Taylor Swift isn't done. She's found new ways to stay at the top of the charts

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Taylor Swift grossed more than $2 billion on her Eras Tour. It wrapped up this month after two years on the road. Think she's done? Of course not. Her book about the Eras Tour is doing big business right now, and she's found new ways to keep her name at the top of the charts. Here's Stephen Thompson of NPR Music.

STEPHEN THOMPSON, BYLINE: Taylor Swift has seized on the season's second most lucrative holiday, Black Friday. She's reclaimed the No. 1 position on the Billboard albums chart thanks to the first-ever physical release of "The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology." That's the epic version of Swift's album from April that extends its track list from 16 to 31 songs. If you wanted a copy of the full 31-song set on vinyl or CD, you couldn't get it until Black Friday. And you could only score a copy at Target.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE PROPHECY")

TAYLOR SWIFT: (Singing) Hand on the throttle - thought I caught lightning in a bottle. Oh, but it's gone again.

THOMPSON: This anthology, as with most things Taylor Swift has touched this side of the "Cats" movie, proved to be a massive success. In one week, the album registered more than 400,000 equivalent album units. That's Billboard's metric for the cocktail of sales and streaming that informs the album rankings. That blows past even the blockbuster number posted by Kendrick Lamar's album "GNX" last week. She bumps him to the No. 2 spot.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IMGONNAGETYOUBACK")

SWIFT: (Singing) Whether I'm going to be your wife or going to smash up your bike, I haven't decided yet. But I'm going to get you back.

THOMPSON: With the Eras Tour behind her, Swift's victory lap now includes a 16th nonconsecutive week at the top of the charts for the year's biggest album.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IMGONNAGETYOUBACK")

SWIFT: (Singing) I hear the whispers in your eyes.

THOMPSON: Stephen Thompson, NPR Music.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IMGONNAGETYOUBACK")

SWIFT: (Singing) I'll make you want to think twice. You'll find that you were never not mine. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Stephen Thompson is a writer, editor and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist on All Songs Considered. Since 2010, Thompson has been a fixture on the NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created and developed with NPR correspondent Linda Holmes. In 2008, he and Bob Boilen created the NPR Music video series Tiny Desk Concerts, in which musicians perform at Boilen's desk. (To be more specific, Thompson had the idea, which took seconds, while Boilen created the series, which took years. Thompson will insist upon equal billing until the day he dies.)

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.