While it was widely speculated that Taylor Swift's 1989 would have a big debut when it hit the Billboard 200 album chart dated Nov. 15, 2014 — after all, it was coming off three consecutive million-selling No. 1 sets — no one knew just how big it would be .
And then… it exploded to the top of the chart.
After 1989upon its release on October 27, 2014, the project not only sold more than one million copies in its first week in the United States — 1.29 million to be exact, according to Luminate — but also achieved the longest sales week for an album in over a decade (by Eminem The Eminem Show debuted with 1.32 million in 2002).
“Another way to look at it,” Bulletin board further noted at the time, “1989 topped albums #2-107 overall on the Billboard 200 dated November 15.”
Yes, 10 years since then 1989upon its arrival, it's only been three weeks in which an album has sold more copies — and two of those weeks are also from Swift: her 2023 debuts re-recorded 1989 (Taylor Edition) and 2024 Department of Tormented Poets. (The third: Adele's opening week 25 in 2015, when it recorded a one-week Luminate-era record of 3.38 million.)
Swift called 1989 A “bit of a renaissance” when he announced the set during a livestream event on August 18, 2014. He said he “woke up every day recording this record not wanting to, but needing, to make a new style of music than what I'd done never before.”
He added: “And for the record, this is my first documented official pop album.”
While that might seem odd today, as the Swift we know in 2024 is a globalized, arena-filling, mega-mega pop star with a capital P, back in 2014, she was following four albums that straddled the worlds of country and pop. She had reached No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart with her first four studio full-lengths, and also topped the Pop Airplay chart with “Love Story,” from her second LP, Fearlessand “I Knew You Were Trouble,” from her third, Red.
But by decisively declaring the “official pop album,” Swift was moving into new territory. Would the move pay off? Would the pop-influenced sonic shift of the late 1980s yield even more success than he had already experienced? Turns out, yes! The set spent 11 weeks atop the Billboard 200, spawned three genre-wide No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100, the most of any Swift album, and five sustained No. 1s on Pop Airplay: “Shake It Off,” ” Blank Space , “Style,” “Bad Blood” and “Wildest Dreams,” also the most from a Swift LP.
1989 it would also earn Swift her first nomination and win for Best Pop Vocal album at the Grammy Awards. In addition, she won album of the Year – the second of her record four trophies in the coveted category.
1989 arrived with a blitz advertising campaign and wall-to-wall media. During the week of the release, Swift interacted with her fans on social media, leaning heavily on Twitter (now called X) and Tumblr to reach out to existing and newly converted Swifties. Covered terrestrial media during the album's release, including appearances at ABC's MTV Video Music Awards Good morning America and CBS' The Late Show with David Letterman. It had promotional ties with Subway and Diet Coke, while the album was sold in non-traditional retailers such as Kroger, Starbucks and Walgreens supermarkets.
particularly, 1989First week sales were boosted by a lack of availability on streaming services. a deluxe edition exclusive to Target, with six bonus tracks. His CDs are packaged with one of five sets of 13 collectible Polaroid-like images of Swift (with fans not knowing which set they will get). and a contest, called the “1989 Swiftstakes”, where every purchase of the album by the last day of the first week of the set could be entered to win one of 1,989 prizes. (Such contests are no longer allowed to count Bulletin boardcharts of.)
1989 spent more than 500 non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200, the most of any Swift album. She is one of its 14 leaders on the list, the most among women. She boasts 12 No. 1s on the Hot 100, tying Madonna and The Supremes for the sixth-best total among all acts.
In 2023-24, 1989 has been featured as one of the eras on Swift's retrospective The Eras tour. The journey began on March 17, 2023, in Glendale, Ariz., and is scheduled to end on December 8 in Vancouver, BC. his release 1989 (Taylor Edition). It hits retail and streamers on October 27, 2023 — exactly, nine years after the original 1989 was released. The re-recorded album continued the saga 1989 history as it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, boosted by even bigger first-week sales than the original 1989: 1.36 million sold.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/taylor-swift-1989-chart-rewind-2014-1235829365/
