Michael Buckner for Variety
It’s not a cruel summer after all, as Taylor Swift has become the first female artist in Spotify history to reach 100 million monthly listeners.
The music streaming platform announced the news Tuesday via Spotify’s social pages, writing: “Queen behavior. On August 29th, Taylor Swift became the first female artist in Spotify history to reach 100 million monthly listeners.”
The Weeknd holds the No. 1 spot for most monthly listeners on the app with more than 110 million. He breached 100 million, setting the Spotify record, in February. Bad Bunny comes in at No. 3 with 80 million, followed by Ed Sheeran with 77 million.
The news comes after Swift released her third re-recorded album this July, “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).” The album debuted at No. 1, landing atop the Billboard 200 with 716,000 album-equivalent units. “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” too, garnered Swift the accolade of being the first woman to have four albums grace the top 10 of Billboard’s album chart at once — making her the third artist in history to ever do so.
While on the final leg of her U.S. Eras Tour at L.A.’s SoFi Stadium, Swift announced that her “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” project would debut this fall. The announcement was not much of a surprise to fans, as the artist had left behind a trail of Easter eggs, affirming the re-recorded album’s Oct. 27 release date.
“So now, here we are on the last night of the U.S. leg of the Eras Tour, in the eighth month of the year, and the ninth day,” Swift teased fans. “Notice there’s some new outfits in the show,” she said, hinting at the slew of subtle hints she had been dropping.
“There’s something that I’ve been planning for a really, really, really, ridiculously embarrassingly long time. And I think instead of just like telling you about it, I think I’ll just sort of show you something I’ve been excited to show you,” Swift told the crowd as “1989’s” new album art appeared on the big screen behind her.
Swift’s Eras Tour will continue its international run through the fall of 2024, with the megastar recently announcing the addition of 15 more North American dates.
