Taylor Swift's 'Speak Now' Sells More Than a Million Copies in First Week

By John Mitchell Posted Nov 3rd 2010 08:30AM

Stepping into the confessional has proven a lucrative move for Taylor Swift. According to Billboard, the 20-year-old pop-country songbird's latest album, 'Speak Now,' sold more than 1 million copies in its debut week, marking the first million-plus launch since Lil' Wayne's 'Tha Carter III' in June of 2008.

Swift's tally actually eclipsed Wayne's, giving the singer the largest sales week in over five years. She fell just short of topping 50 Cent's 2005 album, 'The Massacre,' which moved 1.14 million units in its debut frame. EW reports, Swift also brings country music its first million-plus sales week since November 1998, when Garth Brooks took 'Double Live' platinum within its first seven days of release.

'Speak Now' has been well-received by critics, and even scored some notable raves. Of the album, the New York Times remarked, "If this is what this preternaturally wise teen star turned 21st-century multimedia celebrity is developing into, bring it on ... In these new songs relationships are no longer fantasies, or neutered; they're lived-in places, where bodies share space." The paper also deemed various tracks "scorching" ('Dear John'), "scolding" ('Innocent') and an "unplugged slap in the face of doubters" ('Mean').

Much has been made about how candid the often-evasive Swift is on the album. As PopEater previously reported, a number of tracks seem to directly – and without much cover – address Swift's rumored romances with John Mayer and Taylor Lautner and her feelings about the now-infamous Kanye West incident at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

For her part, Swift told David Letterman on 'The Late Show' last week that the men in her life "have fair warning, at this point" when it comes to possibly finding themselves the subject of a song. Watch:

One man who might find himself on album No. 4: Jake Gyllenhaal. The Oscar-nominated actor has been spotted with Swift repeatedly in recent weeks, sparking romance rumors. The pair attended the Oct. 23 taping of 'Saturday Night Live' – hosted by Swift's real-life close friend Emma Stone – and were reportedly spotted at brunch together in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope the following day.

If Gyllenhaal needs any motivation to treat Swift well, he need look no further than 'Dear John,' a song almost certainly about her brief relationship with Mayer. "Don't you think I was too young to be messed with ... Don't you think nineteen's too young to be played," Swift sings on the track, which is accented with, per the Times, "pealing guitar licks, a hilarious and pointed reminder of Mr. Mayer, who's a master of the style."

She's kinder to Lautner, the presumed subject of 'Back to December.' Of the track, Swift has said, "Whether it be good or bad or an apology, the person I wrote this song about deserves this. This is about a person who was incredible to me, just perfect to me in a relationship, and I was really careless with him. So, this is a song full of words that I would say to him that he deserves to hear."

'Fearless,' Swift's last album, has sold more than 6 million copies since its November 2008 release and is the biggest-selling album of 2009. Earlier this year, the set scored Swift the Grammy for Album of the Year, making her the youngest artist in music history to claim that prize.

Swift is one of only four female artists to move more than 1 million albums during a single week in the history of Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks nationwide album sales. The first was Whitney Houston, whose 'The Bodyguard' soundtrack achieved the feat over Christmas in 1992. Since then, both Britney Spears ('Oops! I Did It Again,' 2000) and Norah Jones ('Feels Like Home,' 2004) have debuted to million-plus sales.

Tags: Taylor Swift

Comments

(14)

Wednesday 03 November

By gcgator85

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Well, that only proves that there are 1 million tone deaf people.

By D

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Right on! She is truly an atrocious singer.

By David

Frankly, I cannot understand the appeal of this horrible off-key singer who writes childish songs. An artist like "Pink" writes her own songs about her painful childhood and her lyrics are hugely superior to that of Swift's. Plus, Pink can sing rings around Swift. She is an abysmal singer.

By mom of preteen

I totally agree! Did you hear her on Dancing with the Stars last night, truly atrocious!

By marycjohns

I agree with all of the above, she was terrible on Dancing with the Stars and also when I heard her on Regis and Kelly. She so out of tune with everything she sings.

By gg

can all of you sing? 5 of you vs millions, I WONDER WHO IS RIGHT.

gg-Not that it even matters you moron...but yes I can.
The point is...I have ears and the ability to hear. That's all it takes. Call me crazy but I thought singers were suppose to be able to ya know...sing.

By Edwin

I can sing, too, you imbecile, and I'll bet I can hit notes Taylor swift couldn't imagine. gg, you wouldn't know what a good singer is if Mariah Carey walked up to you and belted one out. Taylor Swift is what is wrong with today's music. Even if she had a gazillion dollars, she still can't sing.

It's called Autotune.

By GG

HA HA HA HA HA, FUNNY. NOW SING.... A B C D E F

By phoenixfan1986

This girl is taking people's money! She sounds terrible. She is tone deaf and off-key. I guess this shows that people don't know what a real singer is. I watched her on Dancing With The Stars, and she sounded terrible. I guess Ms. Swift is laughing all the way to the bank.

By kandi

She is not pretty and she has a horrible voice. She is lucky Kanye made her a household name for sure. She is awful.

By goldie

She has a rat face, makes songs that sounds like bad nursery rhymes and cant sing. She is just horrid.

Thursday 04 November

By Brat

Her people (PR, Management, etc) are actually the real talent. It can't be her voice. Retched sounding little girl. Oh yeah and Kanye.

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