Taylor Swift has claimed her 10th number one album with her re-recorded version of her third studio album Speak Now.
The record, which peaked at number six when it was originally released in 2010, has outsold the rest of the top 10 combined, according to the Official Charts Company.
The new Taylor’s Version has shifted more than 67,000 chart units in its first seven days while the 2010 release totalled 28,200 units in its opening week.
It’s here. It’s yours, it’s mine, it’s ours. It’s an album I wrote alone about the whims, fantasies, heartaches, dramas and tragedies I lived out as a young woman between 18 and 20. I remember making tracklist after tracklist, obsessing over the right way to tell the story. I had… pic.twitter.com/I2cLH76EIH
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 7, 2023
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This means the US pop superstar has produced 10 chart-topping albums faster than any other female solo artist, with 10 years and eight months separating her first number one Red in 2012 and now.
Swift has five other albums in this week’s top 40 including 2022’s Midnights at number nine, 2014 release 1989 in 10th place, 2019’s Lover in 12th spot, 2017’s Reputation at number 21 and 2020’s Folklore at number 25.
Following its release last October, Midnights debuted at number one in the charts and became Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day.
It was a Speak Now (my version) album release party at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City this weekend, full of surprises 😆 I got to premiere the video for ‘I Can See You’ on the big screen and hearing the crowd’s reaction to it is something I’ll never forget. THEN @JoeyKing,… pic.twitter.com/buuEmVgMG7
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 10, 2023
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The remake of Speak Now includes six unheard songs, which the 33-year-old said had filled her with “nostalgia and appreciation”.
The singer had announced the release of the album on social media and said: “It’s here. It’s yours, it’s mine, it’s ours.
“It’s an album I wrote alone about the whims, fantasies, heartaches, dramas and tragedies I lived out as a young woman between 18 and 20.”
Swift first embarked on the re-recording of her first six albums after the master recordings were acquired by the prominent talent manager Scooter Braun when he bought her former label, much to her fury.
The masters have since changed hands following a deal with investment firm Shamrock Capital, but Swift has continued with a bid to regain ownership of the music by creating new versions of the songs.
Really can’t contain my excitement because… we’re adding 14 new shows to The Eras Tour. And I get to travel the world doing shows with @paramore!! Hayley and I have been friends since we were teens in Nashville and now we get to frolic around the UK/Europe next summer??? I’m… pic.twitter.com/kl1aijxR2o
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 5, 2023
Prior to the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), the Shake It Off singer had already released new versions of Fearless (2008) and Red (2012), which both came out in 2021.
At the moment Swift is in the middle of her Eras tour, which will come to the UK and Ireland in 2024 for dates in London, Liverpool, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Dublin.
For her US dates, Swift has been revolving a number of opening artists, including indie singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers, American band Paramore, English singer beabadoobee, indie pop project girl in red, indie pop band Muna, and three-piece sister band Haim.
Elsewhere in the official albums chart this week, 1980s pop duo Wham claimed the number two spot with The Singles: Echoes From The Edge Of Heaven.
Angels And Queens by Gabriels has landed at number three and The Highlights by The Weeknd, which was released in 2021, is in the number four spot whilst PJ Harvey’s I Inside The Old Year Dying is new at number five.
Over in the singles charts, English rappers Dave and Central Cee have held on to the top spot with Sprinter, whilst American singer Olivia Rodrigo has not budged from the number two spot with Vampire.
Cruel Summer by Swift has also climbed from sixth to third place, followed by Who Told You by rappers J Hus and Drake at number four and (It Goes Like) Nanana by South Korean DJ Peggy Gou at number five.
