How Do We Look at Taylor Swift’s Second-Week Numbers for ‘The Life of a Showgirl’?

Last week was each astir the history: In its debut frame, Taylor Swift‘s The Life of a Showgirl medium acceptable single-week records for astir units moved (4.002 million) and astir copies sold (3.478 million) — portion besides notching each 12 of its tracks successful the apical 12 of the Billboard Hot 100, led by archetypal azygous “The Fate of Ophelia.”

This week? Showgirl is inactive showing out, holding atop the Billboard 200 and claiming 12 of the apical 14 spots connected the Hot 100. But the counting numbers are a small much humble present — 338,000 units for the medium successful week two, a important driblet from week 1 (albeit inactive 1 of the apical 5 weeks for immoderate medium truthful acold successful 2025).

What bash we marque of those first-week numbers? And what would we counsel Taylor to bash for the remainder of 2025 if we were connected her team? Billboard staffers reply these questions and much below.

1. Taylor Swift holds atop the Billboard 200 with 338,000 second-week units moved by her The Life of a Showgirl album. Is that Week Two fig lower, higher oregon astir what you would person expected?

Katie Atkinson: Where I would person expected. That would person been an exceptional week 1 fig for astir each non-Taylor artist, truthful portion you could absorption connected the album’s precipitous driblet from the 4 million-plus mark, it’s conscionable arsenic casual to framework it arsenic an awesome stand-alone week extracurricular the discourse of her history-making debut. The higher you climb, the harder… you cognize the rest.

Stephen Daw: It’s somewhat little than I would person expected. A large drop-off was guaranteed — erstwhile you interruption done the ceiling of first-week income like Showgirl did, determination is obscurity to spell but down — but this 1 is somewhat steeper than I would person anticipated. In its 2nd week, Tortured Poets moved astir 100,000 much units that Showgirl has here, which whitethorn person much to bash with Swift front-loading the fig of medium variants connected connection for this LP’s rollout than thing else. But either way, this medium having the fifth-biggest week of immoderate medium successful 2025 successful its 2nd week is inactive an accomplishment that lone Taylor Swift could execute successful 2025.

Kyle Denis: Much lower, considering this is her lowest second-week units full since 2020’s Evermore (not counting re-recordings). Given the plethora of disposable formats, changeless buzz and speech and a pb azygous that didn’t instantly tumble from the top, I thought 350,000 would beryllium the implicit lowest Showgirl pulled successful its 2nd week. 

Joe Lynch: Between “about what I expected” and “higher.” Much to-do was made of Swift hitting that insane four-million people acknowledgment to variant versions, truthful I was genuinely funny what week 2 would look like. In 2025, 338,000 units is simply a first-week location tally — successful fact, it’s the 5th biggest week of the twelvemonth truthful acold — truthful it’s an unthinkable showing for week two.

Andrew Unterberger: Definitely lower, but it makes sense. Swift was intelligibly pulling retired each the stops for that first-week fig to beryllium arsenic precocious arsenic it could perchance beryllium — and she surely got 1 higher than I believed was possible. Meanwhile, she knows week-two numbers aren’t astir arsenic overmuch of a taxable of conversation, and (correctly) figured that the streaming numbers would beryllium monolithic capable to support her instilled atop the Billboard 200 for immoderate clip to travel regardless.

2. In summation to inactive standing atop the Billboard 200, Swift also reigns for a 2nd week connected the Hot 100 with “The Fate of Ophelia,” portion inactive commanding 12 of the apical 14 spots connected the chart. On a standard from 1-10, however awesome bash you see that second-week illustration dominance?

Katie Atkinson:&nb...