Cruel Summer

That sort of appears to be the case, but the mystery then becomes what, exactly, materially constitutes a reissue rather than a deluxe edition. Is it that The Complete Confection, on top of new songs, contains a few additional remixes, an acoustic version, and a megamix? Is it that in some way, the logistics of The Complete Confection differ from those of The Encore, like how the product is registered behind the scenes in retail systems that feed sales reporting and aggregation platforms? Is it that The Complete Confection had a physical reissue and The Encore didn't, at least yet? I mean, it can't really be the genesis of the compositional differences - two of the three new songs on The Complete Confection were from the same original sessions as the main album, while all of The Encore was explicitly recorded after the fact. Some publications refer to either release as one or the other, deluxe or reissue, with relatively consistency. I wouldn't blame any fan for noticing how the immediate treatment of Part Of Me was "hey, wait, that doesn't really count like that" where the immediate treatment of Patient Zero - albeit fourteen and a half years later and in a completely transformed environment for music release and consumption - was to count it with the original album.

To be fair, in the main article this week, they did phrase things as Showgirl breaking the record for most top tens from an album, so they by extension sort of implied that they count deluxe reissue tracks together with the main parent record these days.

I think it's better to view this as their views on counting these things changing over time as the streaming era changes the context of what the charts represent. Personally I'd support them retroactively changing their stance and recognizing Part of Me as counting toward Teenage Dream and giving it the record; it's clearly an era that deserves recognition for its historic single success, and it wouldn't be right to treat two very similar reissues differently just because one is a more consequential, well-known record.

Just a quick note - if we count Patient Zero, as Billboard seems to be counting it now, it's probably right to include Part of Me for Katy as well, since both are singles from deluxe edition reissues. Nonetheless, it's nice to see an era at least in some way resembling the classic school pop eras of times like the early 10s and the mid-80s. I may not love the album, but all three #1s are songs I love, I love the videos, and I love that there are artists still doing things to operate in that particular lane.

14 top tens, 9 top fives, 3 #1s and from by far her worst album! Imagine when she course-corrects with TS13!

None, of course - it's the Loser remix!

We love to see growth.

Wake the **** up America, get up off the floor!

Locking down the US weekly top four though, the stomp

This sounds super fun and right up my alley while being almost all new to me - I'd like to participate as well might even set aside some time this weekend to start a first pass!

"The public turning on her" and she's locked for the Hot 100 #1, three more top five hits, and returning to #1 on the Billboard 200, oh Taylor your immense power even when the public spurns you

The most comically overhated album in internet history. Still to this day I'm pretty firmly convinced that a ton of people who complain about it never even bothered to listen to the second half, never bothered to let it simmer, and crucified it on the cross of the TikTok era's collective attention span. For me, I think it's some of her very best work. The standard edition is the most compelling argument yet for her ability to use synthpop specifically to tell a compelling story in a way that respects the legacy of the genre at large - along with some other sounds of course, because it's not nearly monotone as some would suggest. Either way, tracks like Fortnight and Guilty As Sin? are career highlights for me. The Anthology on the other hand is musically a sequel to Evermore, my favorite album of all time, and it's built in a way that makes it its own unique entry in her discography while still fitting in with her other Dessner-centric records. I think The Anthology is one of the most narratively and sonically compelling pieces in her discography, flowing from start to finish in a way that paints a very powerful picture. And it contains some of the best music she's ever made - The Prophecy remains my favorite track, I Hate It Here is one of her best, The Black Dog, The Bolter… the writing and melodies and production on this half are phenomenal. Special shout out to The Alchemy X Treacherous Live From Paris and to the Prophecy X Long Story Short Live From Lyon, two of my most played tracks ever, put them on streaming eventually Taylor pls Oh Torchipo they could never make me hate you!

Apple Music Replay is out for September finally. Taylor logged my fourth biggest month since starting my account in early 2024, my most played individual song in any single calendar month with Patient Zero at nearly 200 plays, four of my top five songs with the Encore tracks, well over a thousand minutes of the Encore logged alone - more than I listened to the standard edition in its release month - and more overall minutes than I've listened to her in any month since Tortured Poets release month. PZ is my #1 song of the year so far and in my top five most played ever (since 2024). All with six days of tracking

Well I do have to make my last few purchases to help lock the Encore album tracks, and I do have a gift card or two, so...

I think this is a really good point. Think about the VMAs for instance - a ton of major names that are hot on the charts lately, such as the women who will likely be #2 and #3 on the Billboard 200 next week and some of Taylor's other strongest competitors this decade, did not go despite being nominated, and even winning in some cases. The only major contemporary pop girl who attended other than her was Sabrina, and then of course the one and only Madonna herself with a media and chart resurgence to help make it happen. Then you read about how yearly viewership surged thanks to the change to CBS and see the headlines with photos of Taylor Swift holding the Video of the Year award or her Artist Director Honor the next day, the buzz and press around associating a new single's music video with it... it's clearly an opportunity that she took way further than literally anyone else did this year, and she does that consistently. That's why there's the running meme about her always announcing at awards shows, right? She plays the game like an old school pop star would, even now, and gets her name on everyone's mind no matter the occasion, plus she makes new connections for future collaborators.