Taylor Swift – “The Life of a Showgirl”: It’s no secret that so far she is the biggest artist of this century. It’s cool to see almost everyone in our industry reacting to the moment and making Taylor Swift the center of their product. Giveaways, concert tickets, listening parties, merch and Taylor-themed events have become the standard for any station wanting to fit in with this massive occasion or for that matter any time she does something worth talking about.
Over the last five days, stations have changed their logos, played the whole album and even flipped to all-Taylor! Her 12-track album has already broken numerous records, many previously held by her, but most impressively, it is the most pre-saved album in Spotify history and the most-streamed album in a single day less than 12 hours after its release. In the US, it sold 2.7 million copies on its first day, instantly making it the best-selling album of 2025. It marked Swift’s largest opening week ever, surpassing The Tortured Poets Department, and the second-largest sales week for any album, behind Adele’s 25 from 2015.
The average #1 song on Spotify gets 1.3-1.8 million streams per day on Spotify in the US. All 12 Taylor tracks occupied all the top spots, with the lead single and first cut “The Fate of Ophelia” getting 13+ million streams in the first day just in the US. That number has since fallen to a “mere” 6 million streams and all 12 tracks still lead the charts, with the least spun track, “Honey, still getting 2.9 million streams in the last 24 hours.
I expected her collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter, the title track, to be the lead single, given its pre-release event status. But it could still happen, as this album appears easily capable of producing at least three hits, unlike The Tortured Poets Department, which despite its sales success didn’t lead to lasting radio hits. Midnights gave us “Anti-Hero”, “Lavender Haze” and “Karma”. The average person cannot name a single song off TTPD.
As time goes by, Swift just gets bigger and solidifies her position as the Madonna or Michael of our time. Max Martin and Shellback are two of the greatest producers in history, responsible for making many of the most popular songs of the past 25 years. Never forget that they are the ones who hold it all together and put their special touch on each track.
Last Friday on Liveline, we played the whole album in its entirety, with three tracks spread throughout each hour. Our first request of the night was for “The Life of a Showgirl”, followed by “Honey”, “Wood”, “Eldest Daughter” and “CANCELLED!”. We set up each song by playing the “track by track” recordings she released, telling the story of each cut.
With live listener phone calls and dozens of her superfans calling and texting in all night, it was a spectacular night of radio to remember. Connecting with the enthusiastic fans and actually hearing their excitement was unbeatable. The interactions put electricity into the night. For the people who ask, “what did you do for her album’s release?” or “why does being live matter so much?” this is why! It cannot be duplicated with canned voicetracks just talking about it or playing the songs. The news and Spotify have that covered. Live interaction is radio’s superpower magnet to build fans!
In the past two days, we’ve surprisingly had no requests for any of her new songs. Why that is or what it means, I’m not sure. But for now, that’s all there is to report.
Tate McRae – “TIT FOR TAT”: Pretend Taylor Swift does not exist for the duration of this paragraph. “TIT FOR TAT” is #2 on Spotify in the US (behind “Golden”) and #19 on Liveline last week. It’s her diss track to The Kid LAROI who she dated for a year until their recent breakup. He started the war by releasing “A COLD PLAY” which hasn’t become a US radio factor. Tate is on top right now with a very successful tour and run of hit songs. (The title phrase, by the way, goes back to the 15th century and is not specifically anatomical.)
It’s a really big song and another pop culture moment worth getting behind as their relationship feud steepens. Aside from Taylor, it’s quite arguably the only song with notable movement and significant audience passion this week. With “Revolving Door” still in the CHR airplay top 10, radio hasn’t yet caught up with the other activity, including a No. 3 Billboard Hot 100 debut, but look for that to change with adds at WHTZ (Z100) New York and KYLD (Wild 94.9) San Francisco this week. A great follow up to the still-popular “Sports Car.”
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