evermore BECOMES TAYLOR'S EIGHTH CONSECUTIVE ALBUM TO MOVE AT LEAST 1 MILLION COPIES WORLDWIDE DEBUT WEEK
#1 BILLBOARD 200
New York, NY (December 20, 2020) – In under seven days, Taylor Swift‘s second surprise album of 2020, evermore, has eclipsed global sales of 1 million with total worldwide streams of evermore sailing past half a billion and counting. Powered exclusively by streaming and digital downloads (due to the surprise release, physical albums were not available to be shipped, or available in stores, until Friday, December 18th) the record bows at #1 on the Billboard 200 as her second #1 on the chart in five months and third #1 on the chart in sixteen months. It also captures #1 on the Billboard Top Album Sales Chart, Top Alternative Albums Chart and is the #1 Streaming and Pop Album this week. Notably, evermore becomes the biggest debut since Billboard’s recent rule change in October.
Taylor has moved at least one million copies worldwide in a single week with eight consecutive albums (Fearless, Speak Now, RED, 1989, reputation, Lover, folklore, evermore). evermore becomes Taylor‘s 6th consecutive UK #1, extending her reign as the first, and only female artist in the 21st century, to score six consecutive #1 studio albums in the UK. In Australia, evermore is her 7th consecutive #1 and extends her reign for the most #1s for any artist between 2010 and 2020. “willow” also debuts #1 on the ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart, her 7th and second this year. In addition, evermore reached #1 on iTunes in over 75 countries.
Among many highlights, “willow” alone has generated over 100 million global streams. It soared to #1 on iTunes, Spotify, and the Apple Music US and Global Charts. At radio, it emerged as “Most Added” at both Top 40 and Hot AC this week. The song was also added straight to the A list on BBC Radio 1 and Capitol FM in the UK.
Meanwhile, its predecessor and “sister album” folklore closes out 2020 as the “#1 Selling Album of the Year,” according to Billboard. Sales surpass 4 million around the globe to date. Just four months and 18 days after folklore debuted at No. 1, evermore‘s debut marks the shortest gap between new No. 1 albums by a woman since the Billboard 200 tally became a regularly published weekly chart in March of 1956. Additionally, it tops multiple tastemaker year-end lists, taking the #1 spot across Billboard‘s “The 50 Best Albums of 2020: Staff Picks,” Rolling Stone’s “The 50 Best Albums of 2020,” Variety’s “Best Album List,” Time‘s “Best Albums of 2020,” LA Times’s “The 10 Best Albums of 2020” and UPROXX‘s “Best Albums of 2020.” Taylor is also Billboard‘s “#1 Female Artist of 2020.”
evermore is the ten-time GRAMMY® Award-winning, record-breaking superstar’s ninth album. It was met with widespread critical acclaim.
See below what critics are saying about evermore:
“5 Stars” – NME, Hannah Mylrea
“Swift pushes the boundaries of her indie reinvention, adding a bit of ‘1989’-era gloss to produce a beacon of hope.” – NME, Hannah Mylrea
“A Rating” – Entertainment Weekly, Maura Johnston
“Freedom from expectations has, both with this album and its predecessor, led to Swift’s leaps giving new heights to her already-pretty-skyscraping career.” – Entertainment Weekly, Maura Johnston
“4 Stars” – The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick
“The surprise sequel to Folklore sees the most accomplished pop star of her generation leave the stadiums behind.” – The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick
“…another treat of classy, emotional songcraft.” – The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick
“4.5 Stars” – Rolling Stone, Claire Shaffer
“Swift delivers another surprise album, full of unexpected experiments, ambitious story songs and moments of narrative mythmaking that often turn the lens back on herself.” – Rolling Stone, Claire Shaffer
“It’s a refreshing change of pace: Swift’s usual approach to dabbling in new genres or sounds is to go balls-to-the-wall, but on Evermore, she’s just as good at curating these more detailed production flourishes, all with the same contouring and meticulousness as she does with her best lyrics.” – Rolling Stone, Claire Shaffer
“No doubt Swift is still the master of writing a spiteful kiss-off, but the songs of Evermore are a welcomed step in a more mature direction, the result of months and months of her getting lost in the woods and questioning her way forward.” – Rolling Stone, Claire Shaffer
“Taylor Swift’s Evermore Is an Undeniable Folk-Pop Masterpiece.” – Spin, Bobby Olivier
“4 Stars” – The Guardian, Alexis Petridis
“A fully-realised hour-long collection of songs…” – The Guardian, Alexis Petridis
“Evermore – rich alt-rock and richer character studies” – The Guardian, Alexis Petridis
“The sonic details of “Evermore” are radiant and meticulous; the songwriting is poised and careful. It’s an album to respect.” – The New York Times, Jon Pareles
“It’s a sister album that only crystallizes Swift’s strengths as a songwriter…” – USA Today, Patrick Ryan
“..it’s an album that acts as a remarkable exercise in lyricism. It’s not just a worthy follow-up to July’s folklore; it’s a mirror, a companion, and a bookend.” – Consequence of Sound, Mary Siroky
“Taylor Swift Is An Actual Genius.” – BuzzFeed, Angelica Martinez
“The songwriting is as top-notch as ever, the musicianship as beautifully crafted, the lyrics possibly the greatest she has ever penned…” – Music Week, Mark Sutherland
“”Evermore,” like its mid-pandemic predecessor, feels like something that’s been labored over — in the best possible way — for years, not something that was written and recorded beginning in August, with the bow said to be put on it only about a week ago. Albums don’t get graded on a curve for how hastily they came together, or shouldn’t be, but this one doesn’t need the handicap. It’d be a jewel even if it’d been in progress forevermore and a day.” – Variety, Chris Willman
“The surprise album and sister record to ‘Folklore’ proves she’s a master storyteller putting out her best work yet.” – i-D, Ilana Kaplan
“Evermore is fully formed, less of a follow-up to Folklore than an expansion of its universe; there was fertile ground left to explore, and Swift summarily locates it.” – Billboard, Jason Lipshutz
“evermore employs a lo-fi, watery sonic palette. Hypnotic, it’s music to light a candle by, pour a glass of red wine to and ruminate over life’s mysteries with. Or dream of the future you hope to create as the music wafts through the room. A companion for reckoning our mistakes, it can fill a long night or stretch of highway with insight missed in the heat of the moment.” – Hits Magazine, Holly Gleason
“A reminder: the next time Taylor Swift says, “not a lot going on at the moment,” there’s always more up her sleeve.” – NPR, Lyndsey Mckenna
“4 Stars” – iNewspaper, Sarah Carson
“Swift’s surprise ‘sister’ album to this summer’s dazzling folklore is beautiful, introspective and complex” – iNewspaper, Sarah Carson
“4 Stars” – The Independent, Helen Brown
“4 Stars” – Evening Standard, David Smyth
“Restless talent conjures another brilliant surprise…” – Evening Standard, David Smyth
“Taylor’s back with Folklore’s ‘sister record’ – and yet again she’s delivered an unexpected delight” – Evening Standard, David Smyth
“She’s taking a victory lap just months after proving herself to be one of the greatest musicians of her generation.” – Forbes, Hugh McIntyre
“On a swooning and intricately wrought collection of folk-pop, the pop star shows off her deepening musicianship.” – Vanity Fair, Erin Vanderhoof
“It’s incredible.” – Glamour, Abby Gardner
“‘Evermore,’ Taylor Swift’s second surprise album of 2020, is a hit (again).” – CNN, Rob Picheta
“…she’s now made two of the best albums of her career…” – Vulture, Craig Jenkins
“[evermore] stands on its own as yet another triumph in a remarkable career.” – Esquire, Alan Light
“I fucking love evermore.” – The Cut, Brandon Taylor
“…a master class of catchy hooks and memorable lines.” – The Cut, Brandon Taylor
“Evermore has a wisdom that’s almost eerily personal without leaning into fake aphorism.” – The Cut, Brandon Taylor
“4 Stars” – Financial Times, Ludovic Hunter-Tilney
“8/10” – The Line Best Fit, Ross Horton
“Taylor Swift returns for a 2020 victory lap on Evermore.” – The Line Best Fit, Ross Horton
“This could be the most magical object Taylor Swift has ever released.” – The Line of Best Fit, Ross Horton
“4 Stars” – The Times, Will Hodgkinson
“4 Stars” – The Irish Times, Ed Power
“4 Stars” – The Sun, Simon Boyle
“Whether they’re from experience or a figment of her imagination isn’t up for debate, and neither is the calibre of her lyrics that immerse you in a different world.” – The Sun, Simon Boyle
“4.5 Stars” – The Forty-Five, Emma Holbrook
“If you ask a friend what they’re up to and they reply “not much going on at the moment”, you must not – under any circumstances – believe them. They have run away to the woods to collaborate with Justin Vernon and the boys from The National, made not one but two folk albums and directed their own documentary. This is the true lesson of 2020.” – The Forty-Five, Emma Holbrook
“8/10” – Clash, Shannon McDonagh
“Let it be said – there will never be another time in the next decade where one of the world’s most influential musicians takes such a successful creative U-turn in the way Taylor Swift did this year.” – Clash, Shannon McDonagh
“evermore is even better than folklore, thanks to greater sonic cohesion and stronger songwriting” – A.V. Club, Annie Zaleski
“4.5 Stars” – DIY Magazine, Ben Tipple
“There are lyricists and there are storytellers, and in an year of uncertainty and inconsistency, Taylor Swift has emerged as the most assured songwriter of her generation.” – DIY Magazine, Ben Tipple
“4.5 Stars” – The Vinyl Chapters, Jamie Parmenter
“evermore is the second surprise triumph from Taylor Swift in 2020.” – The Vinyl Chapters, Jamie Parmenter
“Swift was able to stop the world yesterday.” – Stereogum, Tom Breihan
“evermore is a bright note for a dark year” – Mashable, Erin Strecker
“A little sister to Folklore — lighter, looser, vibey-er, even a bit scrappier. But that is in fact Evermore’s charm.” – Yahoo, Lyndsey Parker
“Introspective, imaginative, exquisite — Swift has delivered another timeless tome to her modern classic canon.” – People Magazine, Jeff Nelson and Melody Chiu
“10/10” – Gigwise, Kelsey Barnes
“4 Stars” – Music OMH, Chloe Johnson
“4 Stars” – Contact Music, Holly Mosley
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