New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Seven days ago, Taylor Swift surprised fans with the unexpected release of her critically-acclaimed 5 star album, folklore. Since its release, folklore has cemented itself as the top selling album of 2020.
folklore stands out as the #1 album in the world with global sales over 2 million worldwide and over half a billion total streams on audio and video in just one week. It has reached #1 on iTunes in more than 85 countries. The album marks the biggest UK debut for a female artist in 2020 and becomes her most streamed album in its first week in the UK.
The stunning lead single from the album, "cardigan," debuted #1 on the Global Spotify chart, claiming the most daily Spotify streams in 2020. It also reaches #1 on iTunes song chart and was the most added song at Top 40 and Hot AC radio airplay charts nationwide. The song was also added straight to the A list on BBC Radio 1 in the UK
Taylor Swift is the only female artist to have seven albums each sell at least 500,000 copies in a single week (Fearless, Speak Now, RED, 1989, reputation, Lover and folklore). She is the first and only female artist in the 21st century to score five #1 studio albums in the UK. folklore marks the biggest first week album streams by a female artist in the UK in 2020 and biggest first week album streams of Taylor Swift's career in the UK.
These latest achievements follow a series of records set by folklore. Last week, it shattered the global record for first day album streams on Spotify by a female artist with 80.6 million streams and delivered the most-streamed pop album on Apple Music in 24 hours with 35.47M streams. Additionally, folklore set the U.S. and Worldwide Amazon Music Indie/Alternative Streaming Record.
folklore is the ten-time GRAMMY® Award-winning, record-breaking superstar's eighth album. In addition to all the incredible success of folklore this week, Taylor received five 2020 MTV Video Music Award nominations. "The Man" received nominations in top categories including "Video Of The Year" and "Best Direction" - which marks Taylor's first award nomination in a directing role. Taylor also received nominations in categories including "Best Pop," "Best Art Direction," and "Video For Good."
HERE ARE WHAT CRITICS ARE SAYING ABOUT "FOLKLORE"
"5 Stars" - The Guardian, Laura Snapes
"Folklore proves that she can thrive away from the noise: if you interpret "classmates" as pop peers, Swift is no longer competing." - The Guardian, Laura Snapes
"Taylor Swift's surprise album 'Folklore' is her best yet." - USA Today, Patrick Ryan
"A Rating" - Entertainment Weekly, Maura Johnston
"...a content smile of an album on which one of the world's biggest pop stars, charts be damned, forges her own path and dares listeners to come along for the ride…" - Entertainment Weekly, Maura Johnston
"5 Stars" - Top40-Charts.com
"These are beautifully turned songs filled with empathy for downtrodden characters battered by life but always ready to fight back, bridging social distance with langorous melodies and deep emotion. The lockdown may have been a terrible moment for music and musicians, but it has resulted in Taylor's Swift's most powerful and mature album to date." - The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick
"Thank you, Taylor, for this masterpiece of an album." - Buzzfeed, Ryan Schocket
"The mainstream deity wears well the role of a solemn storyteller, who's more comfortable than ever weaving her tales without happy endings (and whose goth-inspired album cover looks like an Opeth throwback). Such an approach reminds of the darker tones found in Bruce Springsteen's The River, the double-album that first saw the Boss wholly embrace the idea of telling other folks' tales in the first-person — a formula that would guide him for decades. Swift may not be far behind on Highway 9." - Spin, Bobby Oliver
"A dazzling, timeless surprise album." - i Newspaper, Sarah Carson
