Taylor Swift’s ‘Red’ on Track to Surpass One Million in Sales in First Week of Release
It’s hard to discern whether Taylor Swift should be referred to as a global music superstar or as a professional record-breaker, given the ‘Begin Again’ singer’s penchant for shattering virtually every music milestone imaginable. With the release of ‘Red,’ the singer’s long-awaited fourth studio album, Swift is on the cusp of selling more than a million copies in one week with two consecutive studio efforts — a first for any female artist. Like, ever.
According to first-day reports, ‘Red’ has sold more than 500,000 copies in its first 24 hours on the shelves alone, including a staggering 160,000 copies through an exclusive deluxe edition deal with Target. The lengthy version tacked on an additional six tracks (three new) to the already generous 16-song track listing, including the original demo recordings of ‘Red’ and ‘Treacherous.’
Sales from unlikely vendors such as Papa John’s Pizza and Walgreens will also be included in the final tally. Billboard is reporting that nearly half of Swift’s ‘Red’ sales have come from iTunes, giving the 22-year-old the distinguished honor of being a leading music artist of the new digital era. The album has already received glowing reviews from critics.
“I think for me, this album is so interesting because it’s difficult to pick a song that’s closest to me. Every one of these songs is a snapshot of a very different time in my life, you know?” the accomplished lyricist tells Taste of Country exclusively. “You go track-by-track, and this one’s about extreme sadness, and this one’s about extreme frustration, and this one’s about hope! [laughs] And this one’s about, you know, seeing someone and falling in love for the first time.”
“I think new things that I’ve learned about myself since ‘Speak Now’ are that love has no rules, you know? It’s really just about treating people the right way or the wrong way,” Swift says of her maturity. “And if you treat people the right way, it’s gonna go this way, and if you treat people the wrong way, it’s gonna go this way. I think that those are the only rules.”
Will Swift surpass her personal best first-week sales of 1,047,000 copies set by ‘Speak Now’ in 2010? Only time will tell. In the meantime, head over to iTunes to purchase your copy of ‘Red’!
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