I have to admit that I wasn't really that hyped for this, considering that I weren't keen on the first 2 singles, but 'The Archer' was good & 'Lover' is pretty amazing, however still wasn't convinced. But after hearing the album I simply love it, definitely far better than 'Reputation' (which is probably my least fave album of hers after her debut).

I really love the synth pop sounds that runs throughout, very 80's and dunno if its just me or does this remind you of Carly Rae Jepsen's 'Emotion' album. Anyway I'm really loving this, there are a load of great tracks on here and so many potential singles.

'Cruel Summer' has to be released at some point, and should have been the lead, followed by 'You Need To Calm Down' - 'The Archer', 'Lover' (better suited for the X-Mas market), of course 'The Man' & maybe 'Afterglow' , 'Death By A Thousand Cuits' & 'Soon You'll Get Better', there's just too many to choose from.

My ratings for each track (so far)

09 I Forgot That You Existed
11 Cruel Summer
10 Lover
10 The Archer
09 I Think He Knows
10 Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince
08 Paper Rings
10 Cornelia Street
10 Death by a Thousand Cuts
05 London Boy
10 Soon You'll Get Better
08 False God
09 You Need To Calm Down
10 Afterglow
08 Me
06 Its Nice To Have A Friend
09 Daylight

My opinions will probably change over time, as for now this is a really solid album.

Edited September 5, 20195 yr by SamJudd

Some great UK news from the OCC.

 

 

There’s a lot of love for Taylor Swift on the Official Chart this week as her latest album Lover lands straight in at Number 1 on the Official UK Albums Chart.

 

Taylor’s seventh record notched up 53,000 chart sales to take this week’s top spot, made up of 27 million track streams, 24,000 physical sales and 11,000 downloads.

 

Lover is Taylor’s fourth album to reach Number 1 in the UK, following Red (2012), 1989 (2014) and Reputation (2017). The star is the first female artist to land four chart-topping albums this decade, and one of seven acts in total – the others are Michael Bublé, One Direction, Robbie Williams, Olly Murs, Eminem and Ed Sheeran.

 

 

I had a feeling she was the only female to get four this decade :)

 

Lana could be the second next week but there’s a fair few on 3 like Ariana, Rihanna, Gaga (with ASIB) and Kylie.

Edited August 30, 20195 yr by Jordan Lee

In Germany Taylor is still waiting for her first number 1 album. "Lover" charted at number 2. Fun fact: number 1 is Helene Fischer, who The New York Times recently called the German Taylor Swift.

This is basically all I've been listening to since its release lmao, initial ranking:

 

1. Afterglow

2. Cruel Summer

3. The Man

4. Lover

5. Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince

6. Daylight

-

7. Cornelia Street

8. Paper Rings

9. You Need to Calm Down

10. I Forgot That You Existed

-

11. Death By a Thousand Cuts

12. ME!

13. The Archer

14. Soon You'll Get Better

15. London Boy

-

16. I Think He Knows

17. False God

18. It's Nice to Have a Friend

 

So many highs, Afterglow and Cruel Summer are definitely among her absolute best :wub: But then there are a few songs that could probably could have been left off and it wouldn't have made a difference (16-18 really).

False God has been working it's way into my affections recently... that sax! *.*

So is this a flop both in quality and charts? I haven't listened yet and won't for a few weeks to keep Lana ahead :D

So is this a flop both in quality and charts? I haven't listened yet and won't for a few weeks to keep Lana ahead :D

No and no x

So is this a flop both in quality and charts? I haven't listened yet and won't for a few weeks to keep Lana ahead :D

Lana will be ahead in the UK but US wise shes looking at #3 debut

 

Taylor sold more on day one than what Lana did too in the UK although not *that* much more.

 

I love both albums.

My album ranking rn:

 

18. London Boy - it's grown on me a lil bit but I still don't like it that much. The production is quite infectious but the lyrics are a bit too cringe even for me ahh!! I don't really go back to it unless i'm listening to the album in full

17. Death By A Thousand Cuts - this one actually de-grew on me oops, it fills so filler-y for me and the final part reminds me too much of Beautiful Trauma

 

16. I Forgot That You Existed - lyrically bleh (I've never been massive on the i forget someone exists whilst talking about them) but it's a nice close to the Rep era and I LOVE the production, it gets stuck in my head so much

15. It's Nice To Have A Friend - it's so different & weird & it does feel a bit interlude-ish so I don't go back to it too much but at the same time I love how weird it is and it has such a charm to it

14. False God - this keeps growing on me! the sax is such a good idea and I'm loving it more & more

13. The Archer - I thought this would hit me more in the context of the album but it isn't really messT, I still love it tho and it reminds me of so many other songs I stan ahh

 

12. Afterglow - love love love but I don't return to it as much as most of the others on the album!

11. You Need To Calm Down - this is FINALLY re-hitting me to the extent that I loved it in the first couple of weeks of release. I adored the VMA's performance and i've been playing this so much & stanning again, it just never should have been more than a promo single ahh

10. Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince - this only being just top 10 is ridic. I love the production and lyrically its so clever + fab <3

 

9. Soon You'll Get Better - such a gorgeous song. Only not higher cos I find it too hard to listen to at times cos the lyrics really hit home

8. Me! - I still adore and bop idc

7. Daylight - I feel this will be top 5 eventually, the whole song is just gorgeous. Production & lyrics are perfect. The last 1 and a 1/2 minutes & the spoken outro <3 <3

6. Paper Rings - a BOP idc. The verses *.* The chorus *.* The production *.* The key change *.* I LIVE

5. I Think He Knows - Another fab pop song and the final chorus is such a pop explosion of joy

4. Cruel Summer - yh i love this so much

3. The Man - lyrically & production amazing, the bridge slays and I love this

2. Lover - this hits me more & more with each listen, such a precious and gorgeous song <3

1. Cornelia Street - I adore this song so so much, it reminds me of Delicate x happy All Too Well and I can't take it off repeat!!

879k debut or something like that in America! shame she couldn't hit 1m but still utterly incredible and blows anyone not named Adele out of the water!

 

53k in UK which is way more than I was expecting after day 1 sales haha <3 <3

Really loving Cruel Summer still, think its up there with some of her best.

 

London Boy has really grown on me too, It is a bit cheesy but its not as bad lyrically as people are making it out it is imho. Although the line god I love the english is quite bad aha.

Edited September 4, 20195 yr by Supercell

I'm really late to getting around to listening to this but The Man is amazing - her best song since the 1989 I'd say! :o Overall the album is really strong and the production is a lot more toned down than Reputation which I could not warm to at all

 

I don't understand the hate for London Boy? :lol: Its intentionally cheesy/cutesy?

After nearly 2 weeks I finally feel confident enough to give it a ranking :D

 

1. Death by a Thousand Cuts

2. Cornelia Street

3. Soon You’ll Get Better

4. Afterglow

5. Lover

6. You Need to Calm Down

7. I Forgot That You Existed

8. Me!

9. I Think He Knows

10. Cruel Summer (completely overrated even before the album was released :wacko:)

11. The Man

12. Daylight

13. Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince

14. Paper Rings

15. The Archer

16. It’s Nice to Have a Friend

17. London Boy

18. False God

False God is massively underrated.

At first listen I was fairly disappointed but this is getting better and better.

Finally got round to buying a physical copy of this today!

Like I've already said I weren't overly keen on 'ME!' & 'You Need To Calm Down' upon first listens, but after hearing them on the album...well they've both kinda grown on me and is it wrong to say that I really like them now, and the other songs 'The Archer' - a really good track & 'Lover' (the song) is simply stunning, although I do feel it may have worked better for a November/December release & have 'Cruel Summer' as the 3rd single. But things are working out well enough and 'Lover' is doing really well so far and did get me really EXCITED for the album and hopefully it will have some more staying power than the previous singles.

This album is packed with so many gems and if done right, then she could gain some mileage & get some potential smash hits, and fingers crossed things won't go the same way as the 'Reputation' later singles. It would be great if this turns out to be a '1989' styled success, we've already had some amazing music videos & there's gotta be more on the horizon, just to keep the momentum going and on the whole be a really strong era for her.

Below these are my choices for the later singles, I'm gonna go with 7 just like her last 2 era's, and my opinions will probably change later down the line, seeing as though the album's still fresh and new, of course I'm gonna include what's already been released (the first 3 singles), so you can get an overall view of how this may look so here goes...

1. "ME!" - Took me a little while to warm to this, however now I can see that this is a really fun bop, a nice refreshing change of pace from the overly dark 'Reputation' era, her voice really shines on the big bright poppy numbers, yeah the lyrics are cheesy, but that's Pop music for you. BTW actually glad that cringey 'Spelling Is Fun' line, wasn't needed.
2. "You Need To Calm Down - Again this took some time to grow as this feels very contrived to me & while I do commend the overall message of the song and I do like the synths that runs throughout, the video's cool. Overall a pretty solid pop song.
3. "Lover" - Simply stunning & definitely better than the previous 2 songs. A nice little nod to her old Country sound while at the same time has that dream-like quality to it, something a little different that sets this apart from the others.
4. "Cruel Summer" - Probably my fave track so far, this has to be a single at some point with its cool throbbing synth swirls & bold vocals that creates a moody atmosphere. Dare I say it one of the best songs she's ever done.
5. "The Man" - My choice for single #5 or even #4. A fantastic uptempo number with some great harmonies and catchy production that could definitely be a future smash hit for the early months of next year.
6. "Cornelia Street" - A wonderful wistful little number that's very sincere & very emotional, again could work as a single and offer something a little different to what's already come so far.
7. "Soon You'll Get Better" - Remember apart from the first 3, these are just my choices and think this beautiful heart-wrenching ballad would be a nice little closer to this era, with the Dixie Chicks background harmonies really lifts this song as well as Taylor's voice which is just beautifully showcased here in this simply gorgeous number. Okay this may not be an obvious hit like the others, but this could really work on the U.S. country radio, simple yet effective little number.


So tell what do you think of my choices...

Edited September 5, 20195 yr by SamJudd

Like I've already said I weren't overly keen on 'ME!' & 'You Need To Calm Down' upon first listens, but after hearing them on the album...well they've both kinda grown on me and is it wrong to say that I really like them now, and the other songs 'The Archer' - a really good track & 'Lover' (the song) is simply stunning, although I do feel it may have worked better for a November/December release & have 'Cruel Summer' as the 3rd single. But things are working out well enough and 'Lover' is doing really well so far and did get me really EXCITED for the album and hopefully it will have some more staying power than the previous singles.

 

This album is packed with so many gems and if done right, then she could gain some mileage & get some potential smash hits, and fingers crossed things won't go the same way as the 'Reputation' later singles. It would be great if this turns out to be a '1989' styled success, we've already had some amazing music videos & there's gotta be more on the horizon, just to keep the momentum going and on the whole be a really strong era for her.

 

Below these are my choices for the later singles, I'm gonna go with 7 just like her last 2 era's, and my opinions will probably change later down the line, seeing as though the album's still fresh and new, of course I'm gonna include what's already been released (the first 3 singles), so you can get an overall view of how this may look so here goes...

 

1. "ME!" - Took me a little while to warm to this, however now I can see that this is a really fun bop, a nice refreshing change of pace from the overly dark 'Reputation' era, her voice really shines on the big bright poppy numbers, yeah the lyrics are cheesy, but that's Pop music for you. BTW actually glad that cringey 'Spelling Is Fun' line, wasn't needed.

2. "You Need To Calm Down - Again this took some time to grow as this feels very contrived to me & while I do commend the overall message of the song and I do like the synths that runs throughout, the video's cool. Overall a pretty solid pop song.

3. "Lover" - Simply stunning & definitely better than the previous 2 songs. A nice little nod to her old Country sound while at the same time has that dream-like quality to it, something a little different that sets this apart from the others.

4. "Cruel Summer" - Probably my fave track so far, this has to be a single at some point with its cool throbbing synth swirls & bold vocals that creates a moody atmosphere. Dare I say it one of the best songs she's ever done.

5. "The Man" - My choice for single #5 or even #4. A fantastic uptempo number with some great harmonies and catchy production that could definitely be a future smash hit for the early months of next year.

6. "Cornelia Street" - A wonderful wistful little number that's very sincere & very emotional, again could work as a single and offer something a little different to what's already come so far.

7. "Soon You'll Get Better" - Remember apart from the first 3, these are just my choices and think this beautiful heart-wrenching ballad would be a nice little closer to this era, with the Dixie Chicks background harmonies really lifts this song as well as Taylor's voice which is just beautifully showcased here in this simply gorgeous number. Okay this may not be an obvious hit like the others, but this could really work on the U.S. country radio, simple yet effective little number.

So tell what do you think of my choices...

 

 

Amazing choices!!!

 

I love them all and release wise that order is fantastic.

 

Tbh I’d probably have got Taylor to push Cruel Summer and save Lover for a Xmas push but they’re definitely what she should

push as singles.

 

I swear if she releases London Boy I will RIOT.

Edited September 12, 20195 yr by Jordan Lee

Amazing choices!!!

 

I love them all and release wise that order is fantastic.

 

Tbh I’d probably have got Taylor to push Cruel Summer and save Lover for a Xmas push but they’re definitely what she should

push as singles.

 

I swear if she releases London Boy I will RIOT.

 

 

Thank U, these were just off the top of my head and totally agree that 'Cruel Summer' & 'Lover' should have been swapped round. I've got a feeling that 'The Man' may get pushed as the next single after 'Lover', because its seems to have done the best out of the album tracks this far. This would be a good move and hopefully 'Cruel Summer' will get pushed next.

 

Another good single choice for later in the campaign would be 'Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince', for the final single alongside maybe 'Soon You'll Get Better', the former for pop radio & the latter for Country radio. So here's a slightly revised version

 

"ME!"

"You Need To Calm Down"

"Lover"

"The Man"

"Cruel Summer"

"Cornelia Street"

"Soon You'll Get Better" - [uS Country Radio]

"Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince" - [Pop radio & WW release]

 

I hope to god that 'London Boy' doesn't get released, it will be another 'End Game' and FLOP....

Edited September 12, 20195 yr by SamJudd

#8 this week UK

 

Matches reputation as getting 5 weeks top ten. So joint second longest running album for weeks in UK top ten.

 

I presume it could overtake next week however.

 

It’s surpassed Reds week in the top ten though as that had 4.