(NewsNation) — Karma’s a relaxing thought — and for Taylor Swift, perhaps that thought is seeing “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” coming in at number one on the Billboard charts and beating out the sales of the original 1989 album.
The new album debuted with 1.653 million sales, beating Swift’s previous record of 1.287 million copies of the original “1989” album. It’s also the biggest week for any album since 2015, when Adele’s “25” sold more than three million copies.
The success comes on the heels of Swift’s Eras tour, featuring a more than three-hour-long run time showcasing 44 of Swift’s songs. Swifties turned out in droves, with tickets running into the thousands and eager fans crashing Ticketmaster’s website, prompting a Congressional hearing regarding the company’s alleged monopoly on concert ticket sales.
“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” also represents Swift’s freedom. The singer began recording the album after her previous label was sold to a manager who worked with Swift’s rival Kanye West. Anyone who wanted to use the songs would have to get the rights cleared by the new manager and pay him a licensing fee, not Swift.
Even before the album was released, some record companies began to change contracts in an effort to prevent other artists from re-recording their own music once they parted ways with the label.
For die-hard fans, “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” was offered in 15 collectible physical formats. including five color vinyl options, two cassette editions and eight CD versions.
The success of “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” puts it in sixth place for debut sales, falling behind Adele’s “25,” *NSYNC’s “No Strings Attached,” *NSYNC’s “Celebrity,” Eminem’s “The Marshall Mathers LP” and Backstreet Boy’s “Black & Blue.”