Pop sensation Charli XCX has been at the forefront of the minds of pop music fans ever since the release of Brat, which has been universally enjoyed by both stans and critics. However, there’s one peak Brat failed to reach: debuting at Number 1 on the Billboard 200.
Who beat Charli? Perhaps unsurprisingly, Taylor Swift’s Tortured Poet’s Department still reigns on top of the Billboard Charts in both the US and the UK, the latter of which is where Charli XCX had the best chance to hit #1. But some fans claim that Taylor’s domination of the charts isn’t because of Tortured Poet’s Department‘s lasting impact, but because of Taylor’s marketing tactics.
On Thursday, June 13, Taylor released 3 new editions of the Tortured Poet’s Department, each including the original album, and a bonus track, which were either demos or a live recording from the Paris show of The Eras Tour. These editions were only released in the United Kingdom and were only available until midnight that day to celebrate Taylor’s touring in the UK. This reason hasn’t satisfied all fans, some of which speculate Taylor put out these versions exclusively to gain extra streams on The Tortured Poet’s Department so that Brat didn’t hit the number 1 spot.
This compounds on similar claims made against Taylor last month when she dropped three versions of The Tortured Poet’s Department on the same day that Billie Eilish released her newest studio album HIT ME HARD AND SOFT. Just like Charli XCX, Billie also failed to debut at Number 1, losing out to Taylor Swift.
As fans debate the intentions of Taylor’s releases and how much they play into the overall success of The Tortured Poet’s Department, it’s clear that the methodology of Billboard’s chart placements isn’t generally understood. According to Billboard, albums are ranked by “blending traditional album sales, track equivalent albums, and streaming equivalent albums.” They get all of this data from a service called Luminate, an entertainment-based data-gathering service, but their week-by-week numbers aren’t publicly available.
Taylor has not commented about any of this fan speculation, and neither has Billie Eilish. Charli XCX made an indirect statement at a show in Los Angeles, saying “I just feel like artistry shines through” before playing “Sympathy Is Like a Knife,” a song that some fans theorize is about Taylor Swift.
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