USA
Billboard Report (excerpt)
Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift
Tuesday, October 21, 2025
by Keith Caulfield & Gary Trust, Los Angeles

A week after Taylor Swift monopolized the top 12 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 — all from her new album, The Life of a Showgirl — the superstar now scores eight of the top 10, while

all 12 songs from the set rank in the chart’s top 14. Swift’s Hot 100 haul is led by “The Fate of Ophelia,” at No. 1 for a second week. “The Fate of Ophelia” drew 49.1 million official streams (down 47%) and 42.2 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 10%) and sold 11,000 in the United States Oct. 10-16. Notably, the song sports an individual sales total for the first time, after no songs were available for purchase à la carte during The Life of a Showgirl’s first week of release; in its second week, only “The Fate of Ophelia” was. The single launches at No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart, becoming Swift’s record-extending 30th leader; adds a second week atop Streaming Songs; and climbs 7-5 on Radio Songs, becoming just the third title to reach the top five in two weeks or fewer since the ranking began measuring all-format airplay in December 1998, joining Adele’s “Easy on Me” (one week, 2021) and Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” (two, 2011).

A week earlier, “The Fate of Ophelia” drew 92.5 million streams — the most for a song in a single week since all YouTube user-generated content (UGC) was removed from chart calculations in September 2020. “The Fate of Ophelia” became Swift’s 13th career Hot 100 No. 1, tying her for the fourth-most in the chart’s archives. Two songs break up Swift’s 12 in the Hot 100’s top 14 spots, led by Huntr/x’s “Golden,” from Netflix’s record-slaying animated movie KPop Demon Hunters. It rebounds 13-3, following eight weeks at No. 1 beginning in August. Plus, Alex Warren’s “Ordinary,” which led the Hot 100 for 10 weeks starting in May, jumps 14-4, while ruling Radio Songs for an 18th week, up 1% to 78.5 million in audience — a new weekly best for the track. It also ties for the third-longest command in the airplay chart’s 35-year history, matching the No. 1 runs of Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” (2023) and Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” (1998); only Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” (27 weeks, 2024-25) and The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” (26 weeks, 2020) have led longer. Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl spends a second week atop the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Oct. 25), with 338,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States in the week ending Oct. 16, according to Luminate. That’s down 92% compared to the album’s modern-era-record debut with 4.002 million units a week ago. Showgirl’s second week is the fifth-largest week of 2025 for any album. Further, it’s the largest second week for an album since Swift’s last project, The Tortured Poets Department, earned 439,000 in its sophomore frame (May 11, 2024, chart). Of The Life of a Showgirl’s 338,000 equivalent album units earned in the latest tracking week, SEA units comprise 236,000 (down 55%, equaling 307.59 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks — it holds at No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums for a second week), album sales comprise 101,000 (down 97% — it’s No. 1 on Top Album Sales for a second week) and TEA units comprise 1,000. It its first week, none of the album’s tracks were available to purchase individually; in its second week, its promoted single, and Billboard Hot 100 No. 1, “The Fate of Ophelia” was. The rest of the top five on the Billboard 200 are all non-moving former No. 1s: The Kpop Demon Hunters soundtrack is No. 2 (104,000 equivalent album units, up 9%); Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem is No. 3 (79,000, down 4%); Cardi B’s AM I THE DRAMA? is No. 4 (50,000, down 21%) and Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend is No. 5 (45,000, down 10%). Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving hits a new high, rising 7-6 in its third week on the list (36,000 equivalent album units earned, up 5%). The set debuted at No. 8 two weeks ago. It’s only the third album to debut in the top 10 this year and rise to a new peak in a later week, following the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack (No. 8 debut, ultimately reaching No. 1 in its 12th week) and Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (No. 2 debut; No. 1 a week later). Bad Bunny's DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS falls 6-7 on the latest Billboard 200 (33,000 equivalent album units, down 19%) while SZA’s former leader SOS rises 9-8 (32,000, up 1%), Alex Warren’s You’ll Be Alright, Kid slips 8-9 (nearly 32,000, down 1%), and Morgan Wallen’s former No. 1 One Thing at a Time is steady at No. 10 (31,000, down 1%).

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' climbs back at no.2
Monday, October 20, 2025
by Alan Jones, London
 
A week after making the biggest debut on any song for nearly four years, The Fate Of Ophelia continues at No.1 for Taylor Swift, albeit with consumption off 31.93% week-on-week at 90,198 units (2,683 digital downloads and 87,515 sales-equivalent streams). The Fate Of Ophelia was followed by two

more tracks from Swift’s new album, The Life Of A Showgirl (TLOAS), last week becoming the first artist in chart history to simultaneously land debuts in all of the chart’s medal positions. The others suffer bigger dips in consumption, and lose their top three perches this week, with Opalite falling 2-4 (54,613 sales) and Elizabeth Taylor descending 3-6 (46,520 sales), losing 41.29% and 48.67% respectively, week-on-week. The remaining nine songs on TLOAS continue to be ‘starred-out’ under primary artist rules between No.4 and No.6. Overall consumption of tracks on TLOAS dips from 915,778 units (94,384,360 audio streams, 3,745,150 video streams) to 461,053 units (47,466,076 audio streams, 1,845,680 video streams, 2,683 digital downloads) – a decline of 49.65%. Swift’s career track consumption now stands at a staggering 108,760,613 units. In the whole of chart history, Swift is the only artist to debut at No.1 on the singles and albums chart

simultaneously and hang on to both summits the following week, doing so now with The Fate Of Ophelia and The Life Of A Showgirl, but also in 2022 with Anti-Hero and Midnights. Everyone else with two consecutive weeks atop both charts was either No.1 on one or the other already, or debuted lower on one or both. As the only artist to do it, and now to have done so twice, Swift has a double double ‘double’. Taking advantage of Swift’s reduced consumption, former No.1s Man I Need (4-2, 67,407 sales) by Olivia Dean and Golden (5-3, 65,795 sales) by Huntr/X, Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami & KPop Demon Hunters Cast return to the top three. Dean’s song has suffered a dip in streams two weeks in a row, and will fall into ACR unless it perks up next week, whereas Golden, after two weeks of decline, increased streams in the latest frame, and is safe for at least three more weeks. Dean also reaches a new peak with So Easy (To Fall In Love), which improves 12-8 (31,686 sales) a fortnight after debuting at No.9, and regains lost ground with Nice To Each Other (8-7, 31,694 sales). Meanwhile, Golden’s fellow Kpop Demon Hunters hits by Saja Boys, Andrew Choi, Neckwav, Danny Chung, Kevin Woo, samUIL Lee & Kpop Demon Hunters Cast have mixed fortunes this week, with Your Idol slipping 9-10 (27,394 sales) but Soda Pop – last week’s No.7 - ‘starred-out’. The latter’s demise comes after it fell into ACR. That slashed its consumption from unadjusted 33,968 to 17,260 – less than Huntr/X, Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami & KPop Demon Hunters Cast’s How It’s Done, which peaked 13 weeks ago at No.29, and is now a re-entry as the album’s third track, at No.12 on consumption of 21,995 units. If ACR and primary artist rules were scrapped, this week’s Top 40 would include 12 tracks by Swift, six by Dean, six from Kpop Demon Hunters, three by Sombr, three by Sabrina Carpenter and 10 others. Where Is My Husband! (6-5, 48,231 sales) by Raye and 12 To 12 (10-9, 28,248 sales) by Sombr complete the Top 10. Overall singles consumption is up 0.05% week-on-week to 31,039,026 units, their highest level for 13 weeks, and 4.27% above same week 2024 consumption of 29,767,502 units. Paid-for sales are down 4.95% week-on-week at 254,358, 9.10% below same week 2024 sales of 279,816. The Life Of A Showgirl (TLOAS) cruises to an extremely comfortable second week at No.1 for Taylor Swift, despite consumption dropping 88.82% week-on-week. Of course, after shattering her personal best last week when it sold 423,444 copies, TLOAS was always going to drop this week. While it posts lower second week consumption than The Tortured Poets Department, with 5,342 CDs, 2,184 vinyl albums, 41 cassettes, 1,277 digital downloads and 38,512 sales-equivalent streams contributing to an overall total 47,356 units, the album outpaces its three nearest challengers combined. TLOAS earns Swift her 34th week at No.1 in total, including 30 so far in the 2020s. Swift’s career album consumption has now climbed to 12,240,125 units, while her eponymous 2006 debut also reaches a new landmark, joining its 15 successors in achieving platinum status for passing 300,000 sales. Released in America in October 2006, Taylor Swift (the album, that is) didn’t register its first sale on the OCC database for 13 months, and first showed up in the Top 200 in August 2009, when it debuted at No.138. It reached its peak position – No.81 – a fortnight later. As Swift’s career has blossomed, it has continued to attract low level support, with 446 units in the latest frame finally helping it to go platinum. Twenty-five years after his debut solo album, Alone With Everybody topped the chart, singer/songwriter Richard Ashcroft – who recently supported Oasis on their Live ’25 tour – extends his unbroken run of consecutive top five albums to seven, with new album, Lovin’ You, debuting at No.3 (14,307 sales). The 54-year-old famously fronted The Verve, who also had two No.1 albums. Lovin’ You replaces TLOAS atop the CD, vinyl and cassette format charts, and includes adaptations of two familiar hits from the past – Lover nicely interpolates Joan Armatrading’s 1976 hit Love And Affection, while the title track takes similarly successful liberties with Mason Williams’ 1968 hit Classical Gas. His 2000 debut solo album, Alone With Everybody, remains Ashcroft’s only No.1 in his own right, and his biggest solo seller, with to-date consumption of 460,440 units. The rest of the Top 10: The Art Of Loving (3-2, 19,568 sales) by Olivia Dean, Man’s Best Friend (4-4, 11,916 sales) by Sabrina Carpenter, The Highlights (7-5, 7,787 sales) by The Weeknd, +-=÷× Tour Collection (9-6, 7,591 sales) by Ed Sheeran, 50 Years: Don’t Stop (8-7, 7,495 sales) by Fleetwood Mac, Times Flies 1994-2009 (6-8, 7,078 sales) by Oasis, You’ll Be Alright, Kid (10-9, 7,073 sales) by Alex Warren, and (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? (2-10, 6,681 sales) by Oasis. Overall album sales are down 12.51% week-on-week to 2,573,931 units, 4.73% above same week 2024 sales of 2,457,665. Physical product accounts for 285,770 sales, 11.10% of the total.