Taylor Swift helps New Heights dethrone Joe Rogan on Spotify
On August 12, the hosts teased a mystery guest for their return episode, later revealing Swift as the special guest. Released on August 13, the episode included Swift announcing her upcoming album, The Life of a Showgirl, which quickly went viral across social media.
According to Spotify's Podcast Charts, New Heights secured the top position in three categories: Top Episodes, Trending Podcasts, and the Sports subgenre. In the overall trending rankings, it surpassed The Joe Rogan Experience, Good Hang with Amy Poehler, and The Mel Robbins Podcast. In sports, it beat Pardon My Take, The Bill Simmons Podcast, and Fantasy Footballers.
The momentum extended beyond Spotify. On TikTok, Swift's album reveal clip gained over 8 million views, with thousands of fan comments. A tracklist reveal clip earned similar numbers. On YouTube, the video version has been viewed over 15 million times, with fans speculating it could challenge the Guinness World Record for the most-watched podcast episode, currently just over 110 million views.
This is not the first time a Kelce-led project has unseated Joe Rogan. In 2024, Jason Kelce's wife, Kylie, debuted her podcast Not Gonna Lie, which also took the top spot after one episode.
With Swift's global fanbase and the Kelce brothers' rising popularity, New Heights has firmly established itself as a podcast powerhouse.
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