Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” debuted at #22 on last week’s Mediabase pop radio chart.
This week, it rockets into the Top 10.
Played ~9,204 times during the August 27-September 2 tracking period (its first full week in the market), “Look” earns #9 on this week’s chart.
This week’s spin count bests last week’s mark by a mammoth 5,029 spins, which easily ranks as the pop format’s greatest weekly airplay gain.
How does the song’s early performance compare to other recent pop radio smashes?
In reaching #9 in its second week (and first full week in the market), “Look What You Made Me Do” cracks the Top 10 more quickly than Justin Timberlake’s 2016 hit “Can’t Stop The Feeling.” Timberlake’s tune reached #11 in its second week on the pop chart (and first full week of availability).
Taylor Swift’s own 2014 smash “Shake It Off” took #10 in its second week on the chart, but it actually received more plays (9,657).
The airplay comparison is not entirely apples-to-apples, however, as “Shake It Off” debuted earlier in the previous tracking week (Monday evening versus late Thursday night). The earlier debut provided extra time to gain momentum and support.
Swift’s 2015 hit “Bad Blood (featuring Kendrick Lamar)” also reached the Top 10 in its second week on the pop chart. It took #10 with ~8,629 spins.
The original version had been receiving a modest amount of airplay at pop radio, but it was not until the release of the Kendrick Lamar remix that “Bad Blood” truly took off — and landed on the chart. After ranking below the chart at #80 for the May 10-16 tracking week, it debuted at #14 based on airplay for the May 17-23 tracking period. It then improved to #10 based on its May 24-30 airplay.
Like “Shake It Off,” the “Bad Blood” remix launched far earlier in its first chart week than “Look What You Made Me Do” or “Can’t Stop The Feeling.”
