Taylor Swift held Charli XCX’s ‘Brat’ off the top of the UK Albums Chart this week thanks to the new UK-only editions of ‘The Tortured Poets Department’.
Charli released her sixth studio album on June 7, and just a few days later shared the deluxe edition, which included three extra tracks in the form of ‘Hello Goodbye’, ‘Guess’ and ‘Spring Breakers’.
And it might have been on course to be the singer’s second Number One album in her home country, after 2022’s ‘Crash’, but it was kept off the top spot by the new version of Swift’s all-conquering record.
‘The Tortured Poets Department’ claimed its sixth non-consecutive week at Number One on Friday (June 14), thanks in part to a new UK-exclusive digital format that included previously unreleased live recordings. It makes it her longest-running Number One album in the UK to date.
With the Eras Tour arriving in the UK last week, several of Taylor’s albums are rising in the charts, with ‘Lover’ and ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ both also returning to the Top 10 this week.
‘Brat’ does, however, boast the biggest opening week of any Charli XCX album so far, eclipsing the first week sales of ‘Crash’, despite charting a place lower. It also takes top spot on the Vinyl Albums Chart and the Record Store Chart, which measures physical album sales.
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In a four-star review of ‘Brat’, NME wrote: “On the self-described ‘club record’, XCX offers pure party girl hedonism. Percolating beats, brash synths, left-field production and vocal lines that flit between bratty quips or honest one-liners.”
“With ‘Brat’, XCX demonstrates that going her own way will always sound pretty good,” it added.
Following the release of ‘Brat’, Lorde praised Charli and the album, writing on social media: “The only album I’ve ever presaved is out today. Charli just cooked this one different. So much grit, grace & skin in the game.”
“I speak for all of us when I say it’s an honour to be moved, changed and gagged by her work. There is NO ONE like this bitch. Brava and welcome Brat,” Lorde added.
Swift, meanwhile, announced during a show in Liverpool last week that the ‘Eras Tour’ will come to a close in December.
NME attended the first show of the UK leg of the ‘Eras Tour’ in Edinburgh, and wrote in a glowing five-star review: “Despite being an arena show, in a huge, cavernous venue, Swift and her fans have managed to cultivate a community. Strangers swap friendship bracelets, laugh and cry together, and embrace the tour’s in-jokes and lore (for example shouting “one, two, three, let’s go bitch” during ‘Delicate’).
“It’s the power of Swift, an artist who’s inspired not only the renaming of a Scottish Loch, but also countless fans to come out and embrace being a part of the Eras family. With The Eras Tour, then, Swift’s managed to craft a marvel of a show that comes with a beating heart.”
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