Taylor Swift’s 2012 CD, Red. Photo courtesy of Big Machine Records.
When Taylor Swift announced the release date of her Red album and debuted the project’s lead single, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” during a live chat in August, there was no doubt that the album would be a big seller. The single itself shattered sales records, topping iTunes charts in under an hour and setting the record for the biggest digital sales week ever for a song by a female artist.
Following Red’s official October 22 release, Taylor had more than a million reasons to smile. The project moved 1.208 million copies in its first week to reach platinum status, making it music’s highest weekly sales number since Eminem’s The Eminem Show in 2002. Taylor is the only female artist – and the fourth artist ever – to sell more than one million albums in first week sales twice.
Additionally, Red was the eighth largest first week debut in SoundScan chart history and the second biggest week ever for a female artist. It is only the 18th album in history to sell more than one million units in a single week. Taylor’s 2010 Speak Now release is another one of the 18. Taylor also set a new worldwide iTunes record for highest ever first-week album sales.
By the end of November, just three weeks after Red’s release, the album was closing in on and has since surpassed the 3 million mark in sales. Taylor also announced The RED Tour, which now includes 11 stadium shows for a total of 62 shows in 45 cities in 29 states and 3 provinces in 2013.
Besides shattering sales records and selling out 2013 tour dates in record time, Taylor spent the end of 2012 picking up several awards. She won three European Music Awards, including Best Female, Best Live and Best Look. Fans then named her Favorite Female Country Artist at the 40thAnnual American Music Awards for the 5th year running.
Going into 2013, Taylor received three GRAMMY nominations as well as a Golden Globe nod for “Safe and Sound” from The Hunger Games soundtrack. The RED Tour will kick off in March.
