Topline

Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish are poised to have a heated chart battle this week as Eilish’s latest album, “Hit Me Hard And Soft,” will compete with “The Tortured Poets Department” to top the Billboard 200 albums chart, as both artists have released additional versions of their albums to boost sales amid a fan-driven rivalry.

Key Facts

Eilish released “Hit Me Hard And Soft” on Friday, and though her first two albums have easily topped the Billboard 200 chart, she now faces tough competition as Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” looks for a fifth straight week at No. 1.

Swift raised eyebrows among Eilish’s fans when she released new editions of “The Tortured Poets Department” featuring demo versions of three songs last week, which were only available for purchase May 16 and 17 (May 17 was Eilish’s release date).

Days later, Eilish released a new version of “Hit Me Hard And Soft” featuring just her isolated vocals, without any instrumentation.

Swift also released a new remix to her album’s biggest hit, “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone, on Tuesday.

Eilish seems to have the edge on streaming, as all 10 tracks from her new album rank among the top 25 on the U.S. Spotify daily chart, whereas Swift ranks three songs.

Hits Daily Double, a music industry publication that projects album sales, has Swift pegged to top the Billboard 200 with 350,000 album units, crediting the release of the new versions of her album, while Eilish is projected to debut at No. 2 with 300,000 album units.

Billboard will announce the new Billboard 200 top 10 albums on Sunday.

What Started The Swift-Eilish Fan War?

Swift’s and Eilish’s fans have been locked in a largely fan-driven battle since Eilish called the practice of artists releasing multiple vinyl versions of their albums “wasteful,” though she did not name any artists in particular. “It’s some of the biggest artists in the world making f–king 40 different vinyl packages that have a different unique thing just to get you to keep buying more,” Eilish told Billboard in March. Some Swifties took this as a dig at Swift, who has long released collectible vinyl editions of her albums and encouraged fans to buy multiple copies. When Swift released “Midnights” in 2022, fans could purchase four different vinyl editions that when formatted together on a wall formed a clock. With “The Tortured Poets Department,” Swift smashed vinyl sales records off the strength of four different vinyl records that each offered its own distinct bonus track. Days after her Billboard interview, Eilish slammed fan speculation in an Instagram story, stating: “It would be so awesome if people would stop putting words into my mouth and actually read what I said in that Billboard article. I wasn’t singling anyone out, these are industry-wide systemic issues,” admitting that she herself has released multiple vinyl versions of her albums.

Key Background

Swift is eyeing a fifth week at No. 1 for her album which has steamrolled all competition on the charts so far. She debuted atop the Billboard 200 in April with 2.61 million album units and 1.914 million copies in pure sales, her career-biggest sales week and the third-largest total for an album since Luminate began tracking data in 1991. In its third and fourth weeks atop the chart, Swift blocked Dua Lipa’s “Radical Optimism” and Gunna’s “One of Wun” from topping the Billboard 200—both albums debuted at No. 2.

Tangent

Releasing multiple versions of a single or album to top the charts is not a new strategy, nor is it limited to Swift or Eilish. Debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart have also become more common, partly because artists often release multiple versions of their songs—such as remixes, a cappella versions, and sped up or slowed down editions—on streaming services.

Surprising Fact

Albums by both Eilish and Swift were ranked among the 100 greatest albums of all time by Apple Music this week. The streaming service gradually revealed the list over the past week, ranking Eilish’s “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” at No. 30 and Swift’s “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” at No. 18.

Further Reading

Taylor Swift Expands ‘Tortured Poets Department’ (Again) With Limited Edition First Draft Phone Memos (Rolling Stone)

Taylor Swift Sells a Rainbow of Vinyl Albums. Fans Keep Buying Them. (New York Times)

Billie Eilish Responds to Backlash After Condemning ‘Wasteful’ Vinyl Packaging: ‘Wasn’t Singling Anyone Out’ (Variety)