Is Taylor Swift losing her mojo? Why Reputation’s first two singles can’t match 1989’s
Swift’s previous album 1989 was a huge success and its singles broke records. The first two singles from Reputation, which comes out in November, haven’t managed to match that, being outdone by up-and-coming rap acts
Pop giant Taylor Swift’s latest album Reputation arrives on November 10 amid a marketing whirlwind of flashy music videos and big-name brand partnerships that helped launch her first two singles, Look What You Made Me Do and … Ready For It.
Even with Reputation’s elaborate roll-out, which is likely going to intensify over the next few weeks, the album’s two singles so far appear to be falling short of the historic chart success Swift saw with her 2014 album 1989.
Taylor Swift’s new single Look What You Made Me Do signals she’ll be on the attack on upcoming album Reputation
This time three years ago, 1989’s lead single, Shake It Off, debuted at No 1 on the Hot 100. The song spent the first 12 weeks at either No 1 or No 2 before it was dethroned by Swift’s second 1989 single, Blank Space, making her the first female artist to replace herself at the top of the charts.
That was a “peak moment in her career”, according to David Bakula, Nielsen Entertainment’s senior vice-president of analytics.
“Shake it Off was her first foray into pop radio, and there was this massive wave of people anticipating her switching over to a pop type of song,” Bakula says. “When you look at the radio comparisons between the two, [Look What You Made Me Do] is not getting the massive reaction that Shake it Off did.”
Look What You Made Me Do spent three weeks at No 1 before dropping to No 5 this week. Meanwhile, … Ready For It debuted at No 4 before dropping to No 39.