First, it was 700,000-1 million. Then, it was 800,000-1 million. It soon became 900,000-1 million before transforming into 1 million-plus.
Yesterday, the sales forecast for Taylor Swift’s new album “1989” was raised to 1.1-1.2 million with a cautious sense of optimism that it would be raised again.
It was. As of Thursday, Hits Daily Double now projects that Swift’s latest release will claim an opening week sales tally in the 1.2-1.25 million territory.
Insofar as Swift’s 2012 release “Red” sold 1.208 million copies in its first week of release, the latest forecast now suggests “1989” will best that total and deliver the biggest opening week of Swift’s career.
Attention will now turn to the 1.319 million mark achieved by Britney Spears’ “Oops…I Did It Again.” That opening week count represents the largest ever for an album released by a female artist.
But whether its opening week total gets there or not, there is no denying “1989” was successful. There is similarly no ignoring the fact that it will score a record third debut tally in excess of one million for Swift.
Prior to this week, no artist had ever achieved that feat more than twice.