Taylor Swift’s reworked version of ‘Fearless’ would have still topped US charts without selling a physical copy

Taylor Swift‘s newly reworked version of ‘Fearless’ would have still topped the Billboard 200 albums chart in the US without selling a single physical copy, it’s been revealed.

The singer dropped ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ earlier this month, and it currently sits atop the chart after shifting an impressive 291,000 equivalent units.

But, as Billboard themselves have revealed, Swift performed so well on streaming platforms that she didn’t need to sell a single copy in order to launch at No. 1.

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The 26 tracks featured on ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ garnered just short of 143 million plays on platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music, which, when broken down, is equivalent to 109,000 streaming equivalent album units.

Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift (Picture: Getty)

This week’s second-most-popular title on the Billboard 200 is DMX’s ‘The Best of DMX’, which, in the wake of rapper’s passing, managed to shift just 77,000 equivalent units.

Swift would have still secured No.1 in the US without any physical sales, which means that she would have made history as the first-ever streaming-only chart-topper if she had chosen this release route.






Similar commercial success could be on the cards once again after Swift recently revealed that she is already working on her next re-recorded album.

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Swift first announced plans to re-record her earlier material back in August 2019. It came after she lost the rights to much of her back catalogue to pop mogul Scooter Braun, the rep for stars including Ariana Grande, and Justin Bieber.

The talent manager made a $300 million acquisition of Swift’s former label Big Machine Label Group, with the deal incorporating ownership of Swift’s first six records.