Taylor Swift storms to #1 in US, setting new streaming and first week records

Taylor Swift has stormed to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with her Look What You Made Me Do setting new streaming and sales week records.

It is her fifth American #1 single.

Look also stopped Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s Despacito featuring Justin Bieber from staying at the top for 17 weeks and setting a new record for most weeks at #1 in the chart’s 59-year history.

According to Billboard, Look generated 84.4 million U.S. streams in its first week, ending August 31.

This was not only the highest achievement in a week by any track in 2017 (the best week for Despacito was 69.6 million) but the best week achievement by a female artist.

The previous female record was Adele with 61.6 million for Hello on November 14, 2015.

Look also had the most weekly download sales for 2017, with 353,000.

That beat Ed Sheeran’s 240,000 for Shape of You at the end of January.

It was the best download performance since Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop The Feeling with 379,000 on May 28, 2016, Billboard noted.

The 43.2 million YouTube views for the official view in its first 24 hours set a new record, while the track got 10.1 million Spotify spins in its first day.

Interestingly after the singer returned to Spotify in June she now has 24.8 million monthly listeners.

Swift, whose personal fortune is set at US$280 million, is also the first female to top the American charts in 2017.

The last one was Halsey who was featured on The Chainsmokers’ Closer last November.

Sia was the featured act on her Cheap Thrills, which was at the top of the totem pole for all of August.

Look What You Made Me Do also gave Swift her first UK #1 (after 5.3 million streams), with all indications that it will stick on for a second week.

There it played to a total radio audience of 50.2 million.

In the meantime, her latest single …Ready For It? also raced into the UK charts at #25 after just one day on sale.

Swift released …Ready For It? unexpectedly and with little fanfare.

The electro-sounding track made its first appearance with a one-minute promo ad during a US college game between Alabama and Florida State last weekend which was broadcast on ESPN.

It instantly entered the iTunes and Spotify charts, with 2 million views.

Both tracks set up Swift’s sixth studio album Reputation, which is tipped to be the biggest seller of the year.

Marketing plans in the US include her face being emblazoned on all UPS trucks, and Target getting a special edition of the album with slip-in magazines that include her poetry and artwork.

Merchandising will include T-shirts, notebooks, guitar picks, jewellery and bags.

And just to ensure that sham merchandisers don’t cash in, Swift is trying to trademark the phrase Look What You Made Me Do and one of its lines, “The old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now.”

But the album’s November 10 release date has upset fans of her nemesis Kanye West.

They believe that it was deliberately chosen because it coincided with the death anniversary of West’s mother.

They are planning a Hey Mama Day on the same date.