Taylor Swift has topped the list of global recording artists for 2019. Whether you love her or you hate her or grew up on her original music and still can’t quite decide which way your heart goes, the fact remains that she’s topping charts.
“Taylor Swift had another hugely successful year in 2019, releasing her seventh studio album, Lover, in August. The album debuted at number one in more than ten countries and reached three million album-equivalent sales worldwide by the end of its first week of release,” An IFPI press release reads.
Taylor Swift describes the album as “a love letter to love itself”. Lover is Taylor Swift’s seventh studio album released in the summer of 2019 by Republic Records. With the help of Jack Antonoff, Joel Little, Louis Bell, Frank Dukes, and Sounwave for this album, it landed Taylor Swift on the top for 2019.
Rolling Stones admits that “Lover is Swift’s most adult album, a rebalancing of sound and persona that opens doors to the next decade of her career; it’s also a welcome return to the sonic diversity of 2012’s Red, with tracks ranging from the St. Vincent-assisted über-bop “Cruel Summer” to the unbearably poignant country-fied “Soon You’ll Get Better” (with the Dixie Chicks) and the “Shake It Off”-worthy pep of “Paper Rings.”
“With this album, I felt like I sort of gave myself permission to revisit older themes that I used to write about, maybe look at them with fresh eyes. And to revisit older instruments — older in terms of when I used to use them,” She explains in an interview with Rolling Stones.
This is a much brighter happier and more cheerful album compared to the dark and edgy nature of the previous album Reputation (2017). This album marks a nearly complete 180 in terms of style, and music for the musician being inspired by older Taylor Swift if not reverting back to a more pop style.
Taylor agrees that it is very different from previous releases and admits, “In the Reputation secret sessions I kind of had to explain to my fans, “I know we’re doing a new thing here that I’d never done before.” I’d never played with characters before. For a lot of pop stars, that’s a really fun trick, where they’re like, “This is my alter ego.” I had never played with that before. It’s really fun. And it was just so fun to play with on tour — the darkness and the bombast and the bitterness and the love and the ups and the downs of an emotional-turmoil record.”
Thinking back to the infamous line from “Look What You Made Me Do”, where Taylor sings, “I’m sorry, the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now…Oh, ’cause she’s dead”. I guess death doesn’t last and merely comes forth brighter and with a lot of pastels.
Frances Moore, chief executive of IFPI, said, “Taylor Swift is the epitome of a truly global star. She continues to grow as an artist and maintains an incredibly strong connection with her fanbase, whilst continuing to evolve her sound with each album. It is a pleasure to be able to present her with the Global Recording Artist of the Year award for the second time.
Though she’s not the only one to appear on the list for 2019. There are 9 other runner ups that got oh so close. Here they are.
- Taylor Swift
- Ed Sheeran
- Post Malone
- Billie Eilish
- Queen
- Ariana Grande
- BTS
- Drake
- Lady Gaga
- The Beatles
Frances Moore, chief executive of IFPI, continues, “The ‘top ten’ showcases some of the brightest and most talented artists from around the world, from newer stars, such as Billie Eilish and BTS, to legacy acts like The Beatles and Queen. This range demonstrates how people’s love of music can be continually ignited by new and diverse artists and yet endures across decades. I congratulate all the artists in the chart.”
IFPI, International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, represents the international interests of the recording industry with a membership of approximately 1,300 major and independent companies in nearly 60 countries. Their mission is to promote recorded music in terms of awareness and value.
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