She’s arguably the biggest and most successful artist on the planet.
The drama kicked off earlier this month following the release of Brat – which is currently the most-acclaimed album of 2024, according to Metacritic.
Brat was officially tipped to debut at No. 1 on the UK charts, dethroning Taylor’s The Tortured Poets Department after a five-week run at the top.
However, midway through the charting week, Taylor surprised her fans by suddenly releasing several new UK-exclusive versions of TTPD – which resulted in the album getting a surge in sales and surpassing Charli in the mid-week predictions.
The new versions were only temporarily available and were pulled by the end of the chart tracking week, leading many to assume that the move was all about keeping TTPD in the No. 1 position.
The flash sale ended up being enough to keep Taylor on top, making TTPD her longest-running No. 1 album in the UK, while Charli had to settle for second place.
Music critics and influencers have spoken out about the move, with many suspecting that Taylor may have been intentionally blocking Charli from the top spot.
‘Taylor was going for her longest-ever streak at number one on the UK album charts. And just after the news broke that Charli was in number one, [Swift] pulled this move and dropped more special editions of The Tortured Poets Department,’ pop enthusiast and TikTok star Sam Murphy said in a video.
‘I understand that some of these things are planned, but this was not a global release. This was specifically targeted to UK customers, which surely means it’s about the charts.’
In a video titled ‘Taylor Swift is Petty,’ music critic Anthony Fantano – who boasts 1.8 million subscribers on YouTube – blasted the Bad Blood singer.
‘These moves just continually reek of desperation on her part [and] a total lack of shame on her part,’ he said.
‘She seems to not be pumping the brakes at all on shoving this record down everyone’s throat – a record that many believe to have some of her weakest and most obnoxious songwriting to date.’
Even Meghan McCain weighed in on the speculation, saying on her Citizen McCain podcast that Taylor needed to focus more on her art instead of the charts.
‘There are people coming up who could have their first No. 1 and you have the power to let them have No. 1 or not. … I just don’t know how classy it is,’ Meghan said.
‘I also think that, karmically, you’re messing with some stuff. I get that The Tortured Poets Department is doing this well… but I do think maybe more focus on music and art instead of, like, checks on a scoreboard.’
DailyMail.com reached out to representatives for Taylor and Charli for comment.
As of June 12, there has been a whopping 34 versions of The Tortured Poets Department released.
This is far from the first time that Taylor has been suspected of strategically releasing music to sabotage a rival.
Last month, she faced off against Billie Eilish, who released her third studio album Hit Me Hard and Soft on May 17.
At that point, Taylor’s TTPD had maintained the No. 1 position on Billboard’s album chart for a month.
While TTPD was undoubtedly a huge hit, some critics suggested that Swift had only maintained her spot at the top in part by periodically releasing variant and extended editions of the album to keep sales and streaming figures high.
The fact that she dropped two of these ‘special’ editions the same day Eilish released Hit Me Hard and Soft last month was perceived by many as an attempt to trample the competition.
The move even prompted Eilish’s manager Danny Rukasin to re-share – and then later delete – a tweet accusing Swift of ‘breaking her neck doing everything to prevent other artists from shining.’
The tweet implied Swift had similarly timed releases in the past to hinder artists such as Katy Perry and SZA.
Swift’s move was ultimately successful, with Hit Me Hard and Soft debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, despite bringing in the highest first-week sales of Eilish’s career with 339,000 units.
But it’s not just Swift’s perceived gaming of the charts that appears to have rattled Eilish.
Some have suggested that issues between the pair actually date back to January 2022, when Blur frontman Damon Albarn bashed Swift in an LA Times interview, wildly claiming that she ‘doesn’t write her own songs’ and comparing her to Eilish who he said was a ‘really interesting songwriter.’
Albarn later apologized, but not before Swift clapped back, saying his ‘hot take is completely false and SO damaging.’
The argument could have ended there but, in April 2022, Eilish made a surprise move that may have angered Swift when she invited Albarn to join her onstage during her headline set at Coachella.
While they were performing, an unidentified man – who some fans have claimed was Eilish’s brother Finneas O’Connell – could be heard on the concert livestream saying: ‘We’re getting sued by Taylor Swift.’
Eilish had also made a number of comments in the media that were perceived as jabs towards Swift.
She branded three-hour concerts ‘psychotic’ – Swift’s shows are three and a half hours – and slammed the ‘wasteful’ practice of releasing numerous vinyl versions of albums – Swift had dropped multiple editions of TTPD.
Last month, a source close to the 1989 hitmaker told DailyMail.com that she was ignoring ‘jealous’ Eilish’s digs.
‘Taylor is unbothered by Billie’s continued subtle jabs because she is too busy selling out stadiums and traveling the world,’ they said.
‘Billie should really focus on her own album and promoting that instead of trying to tear down another female artist.’
Swift has also been accused of trying to block her former rival, Katy Perry, on the charts in the past.
Back in 2017, the songstress announced plans to re-release her entire catalogue of music on Spotify – three years after publicly boycotting the music sharing service.
While fans rejoiced at the news, others were quick to point out that Taylor’s choice to release her music from midnight on June 9 coincided with the release of her long-time nemesis Katy’s fifth album, Witness.
Swarming social media, critics and fans weighed in on the situation, with many accusing Taylor of being ‘petty and immature’ while others lauded the move as savvy and strategic.
The feud between the two chart toppers dates back years, and allegedly stemmed from a dispute about sharing backup dancers.
‘It had to do with business. She basically tried to sabotage an entire arena tour. She tried to hire a bunch of people out from under me,’ Taylor told Rolling Stone in 2014.
Taylor then released the song Bad Blood about her feud with Katy, while the latter went on to comment about their beef in several interviews over the years.
Speaking to NME in 2017, Katy said, ‘I wish that I could turn the other cheek every single time, but I’m also not a pushover, you know? Especially when someone tries to assassinate my character with little girls (her fans). That’s so messed up!’
However, the pair now seems to have mended things between them, with Katy even attending Taylor’s Eras tour in Sydney back in February.
‘What I’m so grateful for is we did get to make up publicly and got to be an example of redemption for young girls,’ Katy told Howard Stern in 2020.
‘I always wanted the best for her and now we can talk about the best we want for each other.’
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