Taylor Swift's ‘folklore’ is Breaking Records
Bruce Haring, reporting for Deadline:
Taylor Swift’s new folklore album has had a fabled sales beginning.
Since its Thursday release, the album surpassed 1.3 million global sales in its first twenty-four hours, according to her Republic Records label.
Beyond that, folklore also dominated on the global streaming platforms. Spotify said Swift’s total of 79.4 million streams is a new record for an album by a female artist. Apple Music’s total of 35.47 million is a new high for a pop album.
That means the album will easily debut at No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart, and will have the best showing since Swift’s Lover album came out in 2019.
Taylor Swift is an icon and that’s all there is to it.
A thorough ‘folklore’ review is forthcoming, but I do want to jot down a few quick thoughts.
At first I thought the songs all sounded a bit too similar, but the more you listen, the more distinct they really are. Plus, it was one in the morning the first time I listened to it, so I was a bit tired and not at my most aurally discerning.
The vibe of the album was much slower and more mellow than any of her previous albums, and it’s her first to be categorized as “alternative” instead of “country” or “pop”.
Each song has layers of rich detail that weave myth, reality, past, and present in a way that’s truly incredible. Not only that, but there are themes, story lines, and lyrics that recur throughout the album, almost like a puzzle or riddle waiting for listeners to parse together; Taylor is quickly becoming a lyrical J.K. Rowling. That said, as a history major and someone who really appreciates stories, this album feels like it was made for me. One song in particular felt remarkably specific to one of the most emotionally monumental events I’ve experienced this year, and it came a mere 18 hours after said event. Crazy.
I was right about the harmonica!