USA
Billboard Report (excerpt)
Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
by Keith Caulfield & Gary Trust, Los Angeles

The superstar’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl, concurrently adds a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, following its modern-era-record debut with 4.002 million equivalent album

units two weeks earlier. Thanks to the set and the song, Swift makes more history. Two weeks ago, she logged the 17th instance of an artist launching atop the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 simultaneously. It marked the record seventh time that she earned the honor (which she inaugurated in August 2020 with Folklore and “Cardigan”). In only two of the first 16 such double debuts, an album and song tallied a second consecutive week atop the charts — both by Swift, via Midnights and “Anti-Hero” in 2022 and The Tortured Poets Department and “Fortnight,” featuring Post Malone, in 2024. Now, The Life of a Showgirl and “The Fate of Ophelia” make for the first occurrence of an artist debuting atop the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 side-by-side and both titles maintaining their respective commands for their first three weeks. “The Fate of Ophelia,” Swift’s 13th career Hot 100 No. 1, drew 33.6 million official streams (down 31%) and 49.4 million radio

airplay audience impressions (up 17%) and sold 6,000 (down 42%) in the United States Oct. 17-23. The single secures a third week at No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart and a second week atop Digital Song Sales and holds at its No. 5 high on Radio Songs. Swift scores four songs in the top 10 of the latest Hot 100, all from The Life of a Showgirl, following her eight top 10s a week ago and all 10 songs in the region the week before: No. 1 this week, “The Fate of Ophelia” (No. 1 last week), No. 4, “Opalite” (No. 2 last week/peak), No. 5, “Elizabeth Taylor” (No. 5 last week/No. 3 peak), No. 6, “Father Figure” (No. 6 last week / No. 4 peak). Olivia Dean’s “Man I Need” surges 17-8 on the Hot 100 (besting its prior No. 12 peak). The song drew 14.3 million streams (up 1%) and 17 million in airplay audience (up 36%) in the tracking week. Leon Thomas’ “Mutt” sprints 18-10 on the Hot 100 (after reaching a previous No. 11 high), with 7 million streams (up 2%) and 59.7 million in radio reach (up 1%). Elsewhere in the Hot 100’s top 10, Huntr/x’s “Golden,” from Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters, rises 3-2, following eight weeks at No. 1 beginning in August. Alex Warren’s “Ordinary,” which led the Hot 100 for 10 weeks starting in May, pushes 4-3, while topping Radio Songs for a 19th week, up 1% to 79 million in audience — a new weekly best for the track. Plus, Justin Bieber’s “Daisies” jumps 15-7 on the Hot 100, after hitting No. 2, and Morgan Wallen’s “I Got Better” climbs 16-9, after reaching No. 7. Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl adds a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Nov. 1), with 194,000 equivalent album units earned (down 43%) in the United States in the week ending Oct. 23, according to Luminate. The Life of a Showgirl is only the second album in 2025 to spend its first three weeks at No. 1, following Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem, which spent its first eight weeks atop the list (of its total 12 at No. 1). Of The Life of a Showgirl’s 194,000 equivalent album units earned in the latest tracking week, SEA units comprise 156,000 (down 34%, equaling 200.68 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks — it ranks at No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums for a third week), album sales comprise 38,000 (down 63% — it’s No. 1 on Top Album Sales for a third week) and TEA units comprise less than 1,000 (down 42%). The chart-topping KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack holds at No. 2 on the latest Billboard 200 (96,000 equivalent album units, down 8%) and Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem is stationary at No. 3 (83,000, up 5%). Tame Impala’s first full-length studio album in five years, Deadbeat, debuts at No. 4 with 70,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, pure album sales comprise 37,000 (it debuts at No. 2 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 33,000 (equaling 41.72 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks; it debuts at No. 7 on Top Streaming Albums) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. Deadbeat is the third top five (and top 10) project for Tame Impala, following 2020’s The Show Rush (No. 3) and 2015’s Currents (No. 4). Sabrina Carpenter's’s chart-topping Man’s Best Friend is steady at No. 5 on the latest Billboard 200 (43,000 equivalent album units, down 5%) and Cardi B's former leader AM I THE DRAMA? falls 4-6 (40,000, down 21%). Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving is pushed down 6-7, though it gains 1% in its fourth week on the chart (and fourth week inside the top 10). SZA’s former No. 1 SOS holds at No. 8 (31,000 equivalent album units, down 2%), Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time rises 10-9 (30,000, down 3%) and Alex Warren’s You’ll Be Alright, Kid dips 9-10 (nearly 30,000, down 7%).

Record Of The Month
'Where Is My Husband?' is the new smash by British singer / songwriter
Rachel Agatha Keen, known professionally as Raye.
The song was billed as the lead single of her upcoming second studio album.

United Kingdom
Music Week Report (excerpt)
Olivia Dean's 'Man I Need' remains still at no.2
Monday, October 27, 2025
by Alan Jones, London
 
In a tightly packed Top 3, Taylor Swift wins out again with The Fate Of Ophelia securing its third consecutive week at the summit, although with consumption falling 24.73% week-on-week to 67,888 units (1,892 digital downloads, 65,996 sales-equivalent streams). With parent album The Life Of A Showgirl

No.1 throughout, Swift is the first artist to spend three weeks at No.1 on both the singles and albums charts simultaneously since Ed Sheeran in 2017; the first woman since Adele in 2011; and the first American since Beyoncé ruled with Crazy In Love and Dangerously In Love in 2003. Swift continues to have three songs in the Top 10, with Opalite falling 4-5 (42,743 Sales) and Elizabeth Taylor 6-7 (31,244 sales). The other nine songs on The Life Of A Showgirl remain ‘starred-out’ between positions eight and 17. Their consumption falling at a lower rate than The Fate Of Ophelia, former No.1s Man I Need (2-2, 63,197 sales) by Olivia Dean and Golden (3-3, 62,687 sales) by Huntr/X, Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami & KPop Demon Hunters Cast effectively draw closer. The latter act simultaneously register their second Top 10 hit with How It’s Done (12-9, 22,718 sales) and their third hit in all with What It Sounds Like, which debuts at No.13 (19,734 sales). Thus filling

all three chart slots available to tracks from the Kpop Demon Hunters soundtrack album under primary artist rules, they are fortunate that many of the others – including Your Idol – which was No.10 last week for Saja Boys, Andrew Choi, Neckwav, Danny Chung, Kevin Woo, samUIL Lee & Kpop Demon Hunters Cast – are hampered by ACR. On a level playing field, where ACR and track limits don’t exist, How It’s Done and What It Sounds Like are the fourth and fifth most popular tracks from the album, and 17th and 22nd in overall track popularity for the week. Despite debuting, What It Sounds Like’s consumption is at an 11-week low. Sam Fender won the Mercury Prize last week for latest album People Watching, resulting in a resurgence for the album itself – which jumps 75-17 – and also its constituent tracks. Although not on the album at the moment, his Olivia Dean collaboration Rein Me In starts its fifth run in the Top 10 since July, rebounding 13-10 (21,817 sales). It will appear on the deluxe edition of People Watching, which drops on December 5, and is joined in the chart by another song from that edition - Elton John duet, Talk To You, which debuts at No.20 (12,887 sales) becoming Fender’s 16th hit, John’s 94th – as well as the title track, which exits ACR, and returns at No.28 (11,030 sales). There is also a new peak for Olivia Dean’s So Easy (To Fall In Love) (8-6, 31,577 sales). With the aforementioned Man I Need At No.2, Sam Fender duet Rein Me In at No.10 and Nice To Each Other easing 7-8 (30,342 sales), Dean has four songs in the Top 10 – but Man I Need and Nice To Each Other both hit ACR next week. Completing the Top 10, Where Is My Husband! climbs for the third week in a row (5-4, 45,013 sales) but remains below its No.3 peak for Raye. Overall singles consumption is down 1.85% week-on-week to 30,465,054 units, 2.81% above same week 2024 consumption of 29,633,331 units. Paid-for sales are down 1.71% week-on-week at 250,017, 11.39% below same week 2024 sales of 282,168. Trailing by diminishing quantities on sales flashes for most of the week, The Life Of A Showgirl (TLOAS) ultimately emerged triumphant to post its third consecutive week at No.1 on consumption of 32,532 units (5,564 CDs, 1,259 vinyl albums, 21 cassettes, 583 digital downloads and 25,105 sales-equivalent streams). It is the first album to spend its first three weeks at No.1 since The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) by Eminem in 2024, and the first by a woman since Swift’s own 1989 (Taylor’s Version) in 2023. Her last album, The Tortured Poets Department was No.1 for two weeks in its introductory phase in 2024, but ultimately spent 11 weeks at No.1, including one run of four weeks in a row. Swift has now spent 35 weeks at No.1, 31 of them in the 2020s, while TLOAS is the first album to achieve consumption in excess of 500,000 units this year, with a 21-day tally of 503,336 units. Swift’s late swoop is bad news for all-female London-based pop/rock quintet The Last Dinner Party, whose critically-acclaimed second album, From The Pyre, had previously led the way. Opening at No.2 (26,840 sales) in the final analysis, it is the follow-up to their debut set, Prelude To Ecstasy, which opened atop the chart on consumption of 32,846 units, in February 2024, a tally that was helped by their coronation as winners of the BBC’s prestigious annual Sound Of… poll the previous month, and the fact their single Nothing Matters – still their only hit – was in the Top 20 at the time. Tame Impala’s first album in more than five years, fifth studio effort Deadbeat delivers the act’s fourth Top 20 and third consecutive Top 10 entry, debuting at No.4 (14,917 sales). Home to Dracula, which became Tame Impala’s first ever Top 40 single last week, and My Old Ways, which follows it this week, it surprisingly falls short of the No.3 debut, on consumption of 16,489 copies of the act’s last album, The Slow Rush, in 2020. A psych-rock act whose only permanent member is 39-year-old Australian Kevin Parker, Tame Impala’s most successful album is 2015 third set, Currents, which has to-date consumption of 424,733 units, and is also home to his/their most popular song, the uncharted The Less I Know, The Better, which went triple platinum earlier this year and has to-date consumption of 1,905,643 units. It is the second most-consumed track of the 21st century not to make the extended (previously Top 200, currently Top 100) chart, with only You Make My Dreams by Daryl Hall & John Oates (2,135,438 units) ahead of it. A No.5 hit in America in 1981, You Make My Dreams subsequently featured in many films but it was not until adopted by McDonald’s as a commercial soundbed in 2017 that it started to become very popular in the UK, eventually emerging as a staple of ‘gold’ radio stations. The Less I Know The Better is easily the most-consumed uncharted song from the current century. The rest of the Top 10: The Art Of Loving (2-3, 17,591 sales) by Olivia Dean, Man’s Best Friend (4-5, 10,920 sales) by Sabrina Carpenter, The Highlights (5-6, 8,177 sales) by The Weeknd, +-=÷× Tour Collection (6-7, 7,476 sales) by Ed Sheeran, 50 Years: Don’t Stop (7-8, 7,337 sales) by Fleetwood Mac, You’ll Be Alright Kid (9-9, 6,684 sales) by Alex Warren and Times Flies 1994-2009 (8-10, 6,423 sales) by Oasis. Overall album sales are up 0.21% week-on-week at 2,579,239 units, 4.89% above same week 2024 sales of 2,459,043. Physical product accounts for 331,197 sales, 12.84% of the total.