Drake Beats Taylor Swift On The Albums Chart With Multiple Comebacks
Drake and Taylor Swift often trade places when it comes to which artist claims the most real estate on the Billboard 200. Sometimes it's the hip-hop superstar, while at other times, the singer-songwriter takes the crown. This frame, Drake occupies the most spots on the ranking of the biggest full-lengths and EPs in the U.S. — but not by much. He edges out the female powerhouse by just one placement, as two of his projects return to the tally.
A pair of Drake albums bounce back onto the Billboard 200 this week, landing almost side by side. Thank Me Later returns at No. 187 on the 200-spot ranking, which blends sales and streaming activity. More Life follows close behind at No. 189.
According to Luminate, just 10 equivalent units separate the two titles. Both collections moved between 8,480 and 8,500 equivalent units in the past tracking frame, with pure sales making up a tiny fraction of those numbers. One managed almost 20 pure purchases, while the other didn't even crack double digits.
Drake lays claim to eight positions on the Billboard 200 this week. Most of his collections are climbing, while a handful remain steady.
His collaborative set with PartyNextDoor, Some Sexy Songs 4 U, is still his highest-rising effort. That's unsurprising, as it's only been on the roster for 10 weeks, and it is still being promoted with a slew of big singles. That project holds at No. 5.
Another reliable performer, For All the Dogs, is stationary at No. 93. Meanwhile, Take Care lifts to No. 40, Views rises to No. 79, Certified Lover Boy ascends to No. 101, and Scorpion moves up to No. 134.
Taylor Swift fills seven spaces on the Billboard 200 this frame – just one fewer than Drake. In most weeks, that would be more than enough for her to dominate, but the rapper's resurgence gives him the edge this time around.
Swift appears on the list with The Tortured Poets Department (No. 11), Lover (No. 52), Folklore (No. 64), Midnights (No. 65), 1989 (Taylor's Version) (No. 70), Reputation (No. 115) and Red (Taylor's Version) (No. 159).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
TikTok Launches New Platform to Help Musicians Maximize Their In-App Presence
This story was originally published on Social Media Today. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Social Media Today newsletter. It may not be of much consequence to me or you (unless you can actually carry a tune), but TikTok has announced the launch of a new 'TikTok for Artists' platform for musicians, which will help individuals and bands manage their in-app presence, with enhanced data and insight tools to help them maximize their in-app presence. As explained by TikTok: 'TikTok for Artists provides daily-updated analytics dashboards which display a wealth of detailed, actionable data about the performance of an artist's music and posts on TikTok, and comprehensive insights into how the community is engaging with the artist and their music on the platform. The tool has been designed with the goal of helping artists and their teams boost fan engagement, optimize their promotional strategies and inform content creation on TikTok.' As you can see in this example, TikTok's new artists dashboard provides a range of insights into content performance, community growth, and more. It's also got a promotions element, which includes pre-release campaigns that can be launched from the platform itself. As you can see in this example, through pre-release campaigns, fans will be able to pre-save an album or track directly to their Spotify or Apple Music library, enhancing connection between TikTok and full content. Music has become a critical part of the TikTok experience, which has also impacted music discovery more broadly, with 84% of songs that reached the Billboard 200 list in 2024 gaining traction on TikTok first. U.S. TikTok users are also 74% more likely to discover and share music in the app, and the record industry now relies on TikTok trends to help drive discovery and reach. Indeed, some record labels have even changed the names of songs to better align with TikTok trends, while many trending artists have emerged from TikTok clips. With this in mind, it makes sense for TikTok to enhance this connection where possible, through improved artist collaboration tools than can help them expand their presence in the app. You can learn more about 'TikTok for Artists' here. Recommended Reading TikTok Announces Celebrity-Led Live Shopping Streams for the Holidays
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Fact Check: Taylor Swift didn't activate 'Eras Tour' wristbands to inform fans about regaining rights to her music
Claim: Taylor Swift activated wristbands from her "Eras Tour" as a way to signal her fans that she'd regained control of her original recordings. Rating: In May 2025, superstar recording artist Taylor Swift announced she'd regained ownership of her first six albums following a public battle with investor Scooter Braun. In 2019, Braun bought the label that released Swift's first six albums, Big Machine Records. This prompted the artist to begin rerecording her early albums as a way to regain control of her music. Braun subsequently sold Swift's original recordings to a capital investment firm and she had been trying to reacquire them since. Excited fans celebrated Swift's victory, which included many users on TikTok sharing videos (archived, archived, archived) of a special bracelet they'd taken home from Swift's "Eras Tour" — a career-encompassing stadium tour in which Swift performed songs from all of her "eras" — seemingly lighting up in celebration. One TikTok video (archived) even called the allegedly glowing bracelet a "Swifty bat signal," suggesting Swift was using the device as a mode of communication with her fans. Some users seemed to interpret the claim as fact, thinking Swift remotely activated the bracelets as a way to fill them in on the good news. @saronthings I mean … how special is that, what a lovely way for #taylorswift to include her fans it this well earned moment. #popculture #erastour #swiftie #swifttok ♬ Cruel Summer — Taylor Swift However, there is no evidence that Taylor Swift remotely activated the "Eras Tour" bracelets to celebrate the acquisition of her master recordings. The claim is false. As one TikTok video (archived) pointed out, the bracelets can be activated by removing a plastic tab on the side of the device and deactivated by replacing it. Remote activation of the bracelets requires proximity to a console that controls smart lights. Snopes reached out to Swift's management and the creators of the device, a company called PixMob, for comment. The wristbands are meant to sync with other production effects during a show, providing something of a light show using the audience members, as shown below. (Getty Images) The PixMob website detailing its contribution to the "Eras Tour" reads, "When fans enter each venue … they are handed a PixMob LED wristband to become part of the show … the light up wristbands are controlled live with PixMob wireless DMX technology over infrared light." DMX technology is short for Digital Multiplex, which is "the standard digital communication protocol that is used to remotely control intelligent lighting fixtures," according to stage lighting company Stage Electrics. Typically this is controlled from a console plugged directly into lighting equipment, but PixMob's use of infrared wireless technology is what allows it to control the lighting effects of its wristbands. However, the range of infrared technology is limited, which is why it works within a stadium during the performance but would not be able to be controlled as remotely as the claims assert. Put simply, think of it as the remote control of a television being out of range. PixMob created similar experiences for artists including Coldplay, Shakira and Bad Bunny as well as sporting events such as the 2024 Olympic Games and the 2025 Super Bowl. Digital Multiplex - What Is DMX | Stage Electrics. Accessed 3 June 2025. Ingham, Tim. "Why Did Shamrock Capital Spend $300 Million on Old Taylor Swift Albums?" Rolling Stone, 17 Nov. 2020, "PixMob | LED Wristbands for Fan-Favorite Immersive Experiences." PixMob, Accessed 3 June 2025. Stivale, Shelby. "Eras Tour Bracelet Theory Explained After Taylor Swift Buys Masters." Us Weekly, 2 June 2025, "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | PixMob | All Wristbands." PixMob, Accessed 3 June 2025. "Taylor Swift Has Regained Control of Her Music, Buys Back First 6 Albums." AP News, 30 May 2025, Accessed 3 June 2025.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘Reputation (Taylor's Version)': Clues, Theories and More About Taylor Swift's Rerecord Release
Taylor Swift is continuing to drop clues about the upcoming release of Reputation (Taylor's Version). The hints started coming in 2023 and continued into 2025, including Easter eggs dropped in music videos and during live performances. After Taylor announced the release dates of Speak Now (Taylor's Version) and 1989 (Taylor's Version) at two different Eras tour shows, fans were convinced that news about Reputation (TV) was coming before her final show in 2023. However, she did not make any announcement about the album while finishing the tour in Brazil on November 26, 2023. Leading up to her final 2023 concert, Taylor seemed to be dropping hints that a Reputation (TV) announcement was coming. Fans theorized that she was 'counting down' to the announcement with the order of surprise songs she played at the two shows leading up to November 26. The November 24 show featured surprise songs from 1989 (TV) and Speak Now (TV), while the November 25 show had surprise songs from Red (TV) and Fearless (TV). Swifties were certain that Taylor was going backwards from the most recent rerecord release (1989) to the first rerecord release (Fearless) and wondered if she would use the November 26 show to play 'I Did Something Bad,' the only song left from Reputation that hadn't been played yet on the Eras tour, before announcing the Taylor's Version release date. Then, while she was performing in Milan in July 2024 during the European stretch of the Eras tour, fans were convinced that a stage malfunction was all an act. Taylor's piano seemingly broke during night two at the San Siro stadium and she later fixed it on stage. However, Swifties quickly shared theories on why they thought it was planned online. A fan reshared a photo via X that read, "The piano 'breaking' was not accidental. It was on purpose. The piano was broken and Taylor claimed it was 'haunted.' Then Speak Now was announced shortly after." "Did you guys hear the hiss too????" the person wrote in response. Of course, all of this theorizing ended up being for nothing, as Taylor made it through her show without any special announcement. Taylor closed out the European leg of the Eras tour with five shows at Wembley Stadium in August 2024, and fans once again started guessing that a Reputation announcement would be coming. At the August 17 show, Taylor finally performed 'I Did Something Bad,' but it did not coincide with the announcement of Reputation like many originally theorized. However, she continued to hint at Reputation's upcoming release while leaving the stage of the same concert. As she was lowered to the ground, she noticeably made a snake-like motion with her body, slithering from side to side. Snake imagery has represented Reputation since Taylor first announced the original album's release in 2017. Taylor seemingly gave one of her biggest hints yet that Reputation (TV) was on the way when after 131 shows of her Eras tour, the singer finally changed up her costume for the Reputation set while opening up her final leg in Miami, Florida, on October 18, 2024. When the "Don't Blame Me" songstress hit the stage, Taylor appeared in a black Roberto Cavalli bodysuit with gold snakes in place of the red ones from her previous look. The reptiles also appeared at different angles, with one featuring an opening mouth, looking as if it was about to strike. Fans went wild over the new Reputation costume, with many believing it was a major Easter egg that Taylor's re-recorded version of the album was on the way. The Reputation "era" costume was the only one that remained the same throughout Taylor's world tour until her final North American stops. The clues continued when a snippet of 'Look What You Made Me Do' was featured in the May 20, 2025, episode of The Handmaid's Tale. While Taylor hasn't publicly commented about the show using the new version of the song, fans quickly noticed that her voice sounded more mature on the show. Meanwhile, star and director Elisabeth Moss confirmed that the show used 'Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor's Version)' for the episode. 'I said to my editor, Wendy [Hallam Martin], 'I really want to find a place for a Taylor track in the last two episodes of the show,' and we wanted to find a music queue for the opening of [episode] 9, and all the credit goes to Wendy for picking this track for this moment!' she told Billboard after the episode premiered. Although Taylor has not confirmed a release date for Reputation (TV) yet, she has dropped many hints leading fans to believe that it is her next rerecorded album to come out. In May 2023, the pop star released her music video for 'Karma.' At the time, she had already announced Speak Now (TV) and was starting to hint that 1989 (TV) would be coming out after that. The video featured several 1989 Easter eggs, as well as some nods to Reputation. Fans immediately realized this was Taylor's way of telling us that Reputation (TV) was coming after 1989 (TV). In one scene, she held a coffee cup with two of her fingers visible. One nail was painted blue for 1989 and the other was painted black for Reputation. The coffee had a clock design on top, with the black nail pointing toward the 2. It was originally theorized that this means Reputation (TV) would come out in the second month (February) of 2024, which did not end up being the case. She also appeared to style her hair in a Reputation era 'do at one point in the video. In August 2023, Ed Sheeran revealed that he had not yet rerecorded his verse for 'End Game,' the song he's featured on from Reputation. However, that same month, a trailer for Prime Video's show Wilderness featured the Taylor's Version of 'Look What You Made Me Do' from Reputation, proving that at least one of the tracks had already been rerecorded. Part of 'Delicate (Taylor's Version)' also appeared in season 3 of The Summer I Turned Pretty. Before 1989 (TV) came out, Taylor dropped snippets of the songs 'Wildest Dreams,' 'Bad Blood' and 'This Love' in movie and television trailers. Reputation also features a song called "New Year's Day," which sparked theories that the Taylor's Version of the album could be released (or at least announced) on December 31. While that didn't happen, Taylor gave new hope for a Reputation (TV) announcement on the morning of February 4, 2024, which also happened to be the day of the Grammys. Fans noticed that the 'Bejeweled' songstress changed her social media profile pictures to be black and white, just like the original Reputation album cover. Theories flooded in claiming that this could mean Taylor would announce the release date for Reputation (TV) while attending the Grammys. It wouldn't be the first time that she used an award show to announce a new album. In August 2022, she revealed that her album Midnights would be coming out in October of that year. In the end, Taylor actually announced a brand new album, The Tortured Poets Department, at the Grammys instead. It came out in April 2024. All of Taylor's rerecorded albums feature new versions of all the songs from the original album. In this case, there are 15 songs from the 2017 version of Reputation that Taylor will rerecord. Every rerecord also has a handful of tracks 'from the vault,' which were written at the time of the original album's release but didn't make the final cut. Taylor has not confirmed how many vault songs will be on Reputation (Taylor's Version) or what the titles are. Many fans are certain that 'I Don't Wanna Live Forever,' Taylor's 2016 duet with Zayn Malik from the movie Fifty Shades Darker, will appear as a vault track. There's also speculation that she could release her own version of 'This Is What You Came For,' the 2016 song she wrote for Calvin Harris and Rihanna, as part of the Reputation (TV) release. In a December 2023 interview, Taylor confirmed that the vault tracks from Reputation (TV) are 'fire' while discussing the album. 'It's a goth-punk moment of female rage at being gaslit by an entire social structure,' she explained. Taylor is rerecording her first six albums to earn the rights back to her masters of the songs. She started the process in 2020 after leaving her original record label, Big Machine. Before Taylor left Big Machine, she tried to buy the rights to her masters from owner Scott Borchetta. However, she was given a stipulation that she had to record one new album under Big Machine for every album she wanted to earn back (six in total). Taylor voluntarily left the label in 2018 and signed with Republic Records, as she did not want to be tied down to that deal. In 2019, it was revealed that Scott had sold Big Machine – along with the rights to Taylor's work – to Scooter Braun, who was funded by private investors, for more than $300 million. Because Taylor had a troubled history with Scooter – mostly due to his relationship with Kanye West – she was upset about the sale. Taylor pointed out that she had never been given the chance to buy back her masters for the same price that Scooter was able to purchase them for without a stipulation. She later revealed that she also tried to buy the masters from Scooter himself, but claimed she was told she'd need to sign an 'ironclad NDA stating [she] would never say another word about Scooter unless it was positive.' She rejected this deal. When Scooter sold the masters to Shamrock Holdings in 2020, Taylor once again tried to negotiate a deal to earn her work back. However, when she found out that Scooter would continue to profit off of her work under Shamrock, she said it was a 'non-starter' and began to rerecord her music once she was legally able to in November 2020. Taylor released Fearless (TV) in April 2021, followed by Red (TV) in November 2021. Speak Now (TV) came in July 2023 and 1989 (TV) dropped that October. In addition to Reputation, Taylor also still has to rerelease her debut self-titled album. Taylor further discussed her decision to rerecord her albums when she was honored as Time's Person of the Year in December 2023. 'I'd run into Kelly Clarkson and she would go, 'Just redo it,'' she recalled. 'My dad kept saying it to me too. I'd look at them and go, 'How can I possibly do that?' Nobody wants to redo their homework if on the way to school, the wind blows your book report away.' The 'Delicate' singer added that it's all about 'how you deal with loss,' adding, 'I respond to extreme pain with defiance.'
