Taylor Swift extended her record-breaking performance of 2022 with the release of her 10th studio album Midnights on October 21, released by Republic Records/Universal Music Group. In just eight weeks, Midnights reached over 6 million equivalent album units worldwide, 3 million alone in the U.S., and cements her place in music history as the only artist to have five albums with over 1 million units in their debut week. The blockbuster release sold nearly 1.6 million in its opening week. Midnights is the first album to sell over 1 million physical albums since 2015.
Universal Music Group Chairman & CEO, Sir Lucian Grainge said: “Taylor is a multidimensional creative force whose achievements place her among the most accomplished artists in music history, and we are excited and honored to partner with her in so many aspects of her career.”
Republic Records Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Monte Lipman said: “Taylor’s achievements over the past year have been absolutely spectacular! With over two dozen historic milestones set by Midnights, it’s almost unimaginable for any artist to sell over six million albums in less than eight weeks in any era of our business. These accomplishments further exemplify Taylor’s talent as the definitive artist and storyteller who defines a generation.”
The eleven-time Grammy winner broke streaming, physical sales, and vinyl records worldwide, while the critically acclaimed Midnights became the fastest-selling album of her career and Swift became the first artist in history to occupy the top ten positions on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Taylor Swift has accumulated 36.6 billion combined streams of her music and 22.4 million equivalent album units to date in 2022.
Universally acclaimed as one of the most influential artists of her generation, Swift has also been recognized for her work this year as a performer, songwriter, and director. Throughout the year, she won multiple awards, including: six American Music Awards (Artist of the Year, Female Country Artist, Female Pop/Rock Artist, Music Video, Country Album & Pop Album), extending her lead as the most awarded artist in AMA history; three People’s Choice Awards (Album of the Year, Best Music Video & Female Artist of the Year); the NSAI Nashville Songwriter Award for Songwriter of the Decade; three MTV Video Music Awards (Video of the Year, Best Direction, Best Long Form Video for All Too Well: The Short Film), four MTV EMAs (Best Artist, Best Pop, Best Video & Best Long Form Video for All Too Well: The Short Film); four Billboard Music Awards (Top Billboard 200 Artist, Top Country Artist, Top Female Country Album and Top Country Album); among others.
Swift has also been nominated for a series of upcoming awards, including: four Grammy Awards (Song of the Year – “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (The Short Film)”; Best Country Song; Best Music Video and Best Song Written for Visual Media for “Carolina” from the soundtrack of the film Where The Crawdads Sing. “Carolina” has also recently been nominated for the Golden Globe Award, Critics Choice Award, and Hollywood Critics Association Award. “Carolina” was also named to the Oscars’ preliminary list for Best Original Song in 2023.
Source: Universal Music Group