Taylor Swift by Beth Garrabrant | Press photo courtesy of Republic Records
While earning #1 on key worldwide charts like the US Billboard 200, Taylor Swift’s “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” unsurprisingly amassed a strong opening week consumption total.
According to Republic, the release generated over 1 million global equivalent album units in its debut week. It becomes the twelfth Taylor Swift album to achieve such a feat**.
The label further celebrates the number by noting that the new release “even [outperformed] the 1 million first-week global consumption of ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’ in 2021.” Per a November 2021 Republic press release, “Red (Taylor’s Version)” specifically moved “over 1.2 million album equivalents globally in its first week.”
Assuming no retroactive adjustment was made to that 1.2 million number, the “Red” comparison provides a clearer indication of exactly how well “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” did in its first week of release.
“Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” is the third installment in Taylor Swift’s plan to re-record her first six studio albums. She previously released “Taylor’s Version” iterations of “Fearless” and “Red,” which also posted seven-figure global debuts.
In addition to new recordings of the original tracks, “Speak Now” includes six songs “From The Vault” — “Electric Touch (featuring Fall Out Boy),” “When Emma Falls In Love,” “I Can See You,” “Castles Crumbling (featuring Hayley Williams),” “Foolish One,” and “Timeless.” The deluxe edition adds live versions of “Dear John” and “Last Kiss.”
Editor’s Note: Republic’s press release does not mention the “12th album” milestone specifically, but it had previously confirmed “evermore” as the eighth Taylor Swift album to achieve that feat. Since it subsequently reported million-plus weeks for “Fearless (Taylor’s Version),” “Red (Taylor’s Version),” and “Midnights,” “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” would indeed be the twelfth to debut with seven figures.