USA
Billboard Report (excerpt)
Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift
Tuesday, October 14, 2025
by Keith Caulfield & Gary Trust, Los Angeles

Swift monopolizes the top 10 thanks to her new album, The Life of a Showgirl. She does so for a third time — no one else ever has at all. Taylor Swift claims the top 12 spots on the latest

Billboard Hot 100, all via her new album, The Life of a Showgirl. On the chart dated Oct. 18, “The Fate of Ophelia” leads her dozen debuts at No. 1 — as the 12-song set becomes the first album ever to place all its songs uninterrupted from the top of the chart on down. Swift was already the only artist ever to hold the Hot 100’s entire top 10 and now achieves the feat for a third time. She first filled the top 10 thanks to her album Midnights in November 2022 and outpaced herself via The Tortured Poets Department in May 2024 — when she stormed the chart’s top 14 positions. With “The Fate of Ophelia,” Swift scores her 13th career Hot 100 No. 1, tying for the fourth-most over the chart’s 67-year history. She also ups her count to 69 top 10s, the most among women. “The Fate of Ophelia,” which arrives as the 1,184th No. 1 in the Hot 100’s history, drew 92.5 million official streams and 38.5 million radio airplay audience impressions in the United States Oct. 3-9.

It, like all tracks from The Life of a Showgirl, has no sales counting toward the list, as they were not available for purchase individually during the album’s first week of release. The single is Swift’s 10th leader on the Streaming Songs chart, the most among women (and second overall only to Drake’s 21). On Radio Songs, it debuts as her 22nd top 10 at No. 7; it’s just the fifth song to start in the top 10 since the ranking began measuring all-format airplay in December 1998, joining Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” (No. 6, 2022); Adele’s “Easy on Me” (No. 4, 2021); Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” (No. 6, 2011); and Janet Jackson’s “All for You” (No. 9, 2001). Taylor Swift achieves her 15th No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Oct. 18) in record-breaking fashion with the debut of The Life of a Showgirl. Swift breaks out of a tie with Drake and JAY-Z for the most No. 1 albums among soloists and becomes the sole act with the second-most No. 1s. Only The Beatles, with 19 No. 1s, have more, dating to when the chart began publishing on a regular, weekly basis in 1956. The Life of a Showgirl debuts with 4.002 million equivalent album units (which include pure album sales and streaming activity) earned in the United States in the week ending Oct. 9, according to Luminate, following its Oct. 3 release. Of that sum, pure album sales total 3,479,500. Those are the largest weekly sums for an album, by both equivalent album units and pure album sales, since Luminate started electronically collecting data in 1991, beginning the modern era of weekly music tabulation. Previously, the modern-era records for single-week equivalent album units, and pure album sales, for an album were set by the opening frame of Adele’s 25, with 3.482 million units, of which 3.378 million were pure album sales, in November 2015. Of The Life of a Showgirl’s 4.002 million first-week equivalent album units, pure album sales (purchases of the physical and digital versions of the album) comprise 3,479,500 (it debuts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales) and SEA units comprise 522,600 (equaling 680.9 million on-demand official streams of the tracks on the album; it also debuts at No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums). The album has zero TEA units, as none of its tracks were available to purchase individually on digital retail services. The Life of a Showgirl is the only debut in the top 10 on the latest Billboard 200. The KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack is pushed down to No. 2 with 96,000 equivalent album units for the week (down 7%) and the rest of the top six titles are also former No. 1s. Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem falls 2-3 (82,000, down 7%), Cardi B’s Am I The Drama? shifts 3-4 (63,000, down 24%), Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend is a non-mover at No. 5 (50,000, down 12%) and Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS jumps 10-6 (41,000, up 5% after he hosted the season premiere of NBC’s Saturday Night Live on Oct. 4). Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving rises 8-7 in its second week on the Billboard 200 (35,000, down 19%), Alex Warren’s You’ll Be Alright, Kid lifts 11-8 (32,000, down 6%), SZA’s chart-topping SOS steps 12-9 (nearly 32,000, down 2%) and Morgan Wallen’s former leader One Thing at a Time ascends 13-10 (31,000, down 2%).

Record Of The Month
'Where Is My Husband?' is the new smash by British singer / songwriter
Rachel Agatha Keen, known professionally as Raye.
The song was billed as the lead single of her upcoming second studio album.

United Kingdom
Music Week Report (excerpt)
Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift
Monday, October 13, 2025
by Alan Jones, London
 
Not for the first time in her glorious career, Taylor Swift makes chart history this week, becoming the first artist ever to have simultaneous new entries at No.1, No.2 and No.3. It’s the first top three made up entirely of debuts since 28 November 2014 - 568 weeks ago – when Band Aid 30’s Do They Know It’s

Christmas debuted at No.1 (312,928 sales), Clean Bandit’s Real Love (feat. Jess Glynne) at No.2 (81,837 sales) and Olly Murs’ Wrapped Up at No.3 (75,081 sales). Justin Bieber (2016) Ed Sheeran (2017), Harry Styles (2022) and Sabrina Carpenter (2024) are the only acts to previously fill out all the medal positions in a week – but none of them did so with new entries alone. Swift’s feat is courtesy of The Fate Of Ophelia (No.1, 132,501 sales), Opalite (No.2, 93,017 sales) and Elizabeth Taylor (No.3, 90,636 sales), tracks from her blockbuster new album, The Life Of A Showgirl (TLOAS) which achieve their lofty positions from sales-equivalent streams alone – no track on TLOAS is available physically or for download. The Fate Of Ophelia’s DUS tally is the highest for a No.1 since LadBaby’s Sausage Rolls For Everyone (feat. Ed Sheeran & Elton John) opened its account with 136,445 units 198 weeks ago, in December 2021. Swift’s first new hits in

more than a year raise her all-time tallies to 77 Top 75, 58 Top 40, 33 Top 10, 17 Top 3 and five No.1 hits. They all eclipse the previous highest consumption in any week of any track so far this year. Although not coming near the record 193,799 sales-equivalent streams that Adele’s Easy On Me derived from 19,422,185 audio streams and 4,577,520 video streams when it debuted at No.1 in 2021 (207 weeks ago), the tally turned in by The Fate Of Ophelia – from 13,580,262 audio streams and 1,271,829 video streams – is very impressive. The rest of the 12 tracks on TLOAS – all co-written and co-produced with Swedish songwriters Max Martin & Shellshock – are ‘starred-out’. Were it not for the change in chart regulations which limited primary artists to three simultaneous hits, after Ed Sheeran occupied nine of the Top 10 slots in 2017, Taylor would this week have equalled the record. The ‘starred-out’ tracks: Father Figure (80,195 sales), The Life Of A Showgirl (with Sabrina Carpenter) (72,088 sales), Actually Romantic (67,893 sales), Eldest Daughter and Wood (both 66,017 sales), Cancelled (65,721 sales), Wish List (65,349 sales), Ruin The Friendship (63,344 sales), and very much bringing up the rear, Honey (53,000 sales). Swift’s triple whammy means lower chart berths all round for the rest of the Top 10, namely Man I Need (1-4, 69,816 sales) and Nice To Each Other (4-8, 33,066 sales) by Olivia Dean, Golden (2-5, 64,331 sales) by Huntr/X, Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami & KPop Demon Hunters Cast, Where Is My Husband? (3-6, 47,557 sales) by Raye, Soda Pop (5-7, 34,172 sales) and Your Idol (8-9, 28,684 sales) by Saja Boys, Andrew Choi, Neckwav, Danny Chung, Kevin Woo, samUIL Lee & KPop Demon Hunters Cast, and 12 To 12 (7-10, 28,428 sales) by Sombr. Overall singles consumption is up 1.81% week-on-week to 31,024,333 units, their highest level for 12 weeks, and 4.56% above same week 2024 consumption of 29,672,017 units. Paid-for sales are up 0.28% week-on-week at 267,595, 5.40% below same week 2024 sales of 282,878. Even swifter: 18 months after The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD) exploded to a No.1 debut on first week consumption of 270,091 units – the highest for any album for seven years, and the highest of Taylor Swift’s career to that point – follow-up The Life Of A Showgirl (TLOAS) soars even higher, racking up first week consumption of 423,444 units, a tally that includes 194,596 CDs, 125,592 vinyl albums, 2,652 cassettes, 16,535 digital downloads and 84,069 sales-equivalent streams. TLOAS’ consumption is the highest achieved in a week since Ed Sheeran’s ÷ (Divide) racked up 671,542 units on debut 448 weeks ago, in March 2017, and the 12th highest ever. The 10th different album to secure consumption of this level, it falls short of the all-time mark of 800,307 set by Adele’s 25 in 2015 – and that album’s subsequent 439,337 and 449,870 frames – but is the highest by a woman since then, and the highest ever by an overseas artist, eclipsing the estimated 350,000 that Michael Jackson’s Bad sold on debut in 1987. Selling nearly 17 times as many copies as any other album in the latest frame, TLOAS outsold the rest of the Top 100 combined, and singlehandedly secured a 14.39% share of the overall album market, and 48.31% of the vinyl market. With The Fate Of Ophelia debuting atop the singles chart, Swift does the double for the fourth time in her career, following Midnights/Anti-Hero in 2022; 1989 (Taylor’s Version)/Is It All Over Now (Taylor’s Version) in 2023; and TTPD/Fortnight (feat. Post Malone) in 2024. The only acts to do it more are The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Ed Sheeran. For the vinyl version of the album to sell 125,592 units is staggering. It replaces TTPD (66,388 sales) as the album which has sold most copies on vinyl in a week in the Kantar (Millward Brown) chart era (1994 onwards). James Morrison is back in the Top 10 with a studio album for the first time in 10 years, with sixth studio set, Fight Another Day, debuting at No.5 (7,844 sales). In the interim, his last studio album, You’re Stronger Than You Know, peaked at No.14 in 2019, while his 2022 Greatest Hits set reached No.6. His first album for Cooking Vinyl, Fight Another Day consists entirely of new songs co-written by Morrison and extends his chart career – in which has had two No.1s and seven Top 15 albums with total consumption exceeding 3m units – to more than 19 years. No.1 for 10 weeks in its initial chart run in 1995/1996, Oasis’ second album, 1995’s (What’s The Story) Morning Glory reached its highest chart placing in nearly 29 years in July, reaching No.2 when the band’s Live ’25 Reunion Tour was in full swing. 13 weeks on, its 30th anniversary is marked by the release of deluxe editions across CD, vinyl and digital, prompting it to revisit that position, surging 21-2, with consumption up 276.44% week-on-week to 24,963 units. That is its highest tally for 1,502 weeks (nearly 29 years), and elevates its all-time consumption to 5,551,710 units. Oasis’ compilation Time Flies: 1994-2009 remains in the Top 10, holding at No.6 (7,825 sales). The rest of the Top 10: The Art Of Loving (1-3, 22,727 sales) by Olivia Dean, Man’s Best Friend (2-4, 13,954 sales) by Sabrina Carpenter, The Highlights (9-7, 7,717 sales) by The Weeknd, 50 Years: Don’t Stop (10-8, 7,626 sales) by Fleetwood Mac, +-=÷× Tour Collection (8- 9, 7,490 sales) by Ed Sheeran and You’ll Be Alright Kid (7-10, 7,479 sales) by Alex Warren. Thanks to the Swift effect, overall album sales are up 15.35% week-on-week to 2,942,015 units, their highest level since Christmas week 2018 (355 weeks ago), and 10.54% above same week 2024 sales of 2,661,465. Physical product accounts for 632,313 sales, a 42-week high, and 21.49% of the total.