Taylor Swift's twelfth studio album, "The Life of a Showgirl," has shattered records by selling 2.7 million copies in the U.S. on its first day of release. According to Luminate, an industry data and analytics company, this figure represents traditional album sales, encompassing both physical and digital formats. The album, which was released on Friday, October 3, 2025, has not only broken Swift's own record for first-week sales but has also achieved the second-largest sales week for any album in the modern era, since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991.
"The Life of a Showgirl" has surpassed Swift's previous album, 2024's "The Tortured Poets Department," which amassed 2.61 million equivalent album units in its first week. Only Adele's "25," which sold 3.378 million copies in its first week in 2015, holds the top spot for album sales in a single week. However, industry experts predict that "The Life of a Showgirl" is on track to surpass 3.5 million in first-week activity and could potentially reach 4 million, challenging Adele's long-standing record.
In addition to its impressive overall sales, "The Life of a Showgirl" has also broken the record for the most vinyl albums sold in a single week in the U.S., with 1.2 million copies. This feat surpasses Swift's own previous record, set by "The Tortured Poets Department," which sold 859,000 vinyl copies in its first week. The availability of multiple variants of the album is believed to have contributed to its commercial success. Target, one of Swift's major retail partners, offers three CD variants – "It's Frightening," "It's Rapturous," and "It's Beautiful" editions – as well as an exclusive vinyl release, "The Crowd Is Your King" edition, in "summertime spritz pink shimmer vinyl". Other vinyl variants include "The Tiny Bubble in Champagne Collection," "The Baby That's Show Business Collection," and "The Shiny Bug Collection". The varying artwork and collectible nature of these editions have likely motivated fans to purchase multiple copies.
Adding to the album's success, Swift recently announced four new CD variants featuring acoustic renditions of the album's tracks. Each edition includes two different stripped-down recordings, further incentivizing fans to collect various versions of the album.
Beyond album sales, Taylor Swift has also dominated the box office with "The Official Release Party of a Showgirl," a three-day event that debuted at No. 1 with $33 million in North America. Globally, the movie earned $50 million. The film included the premiere of Swift's music video for "The Fate of Ophelia," a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the album, and commentary from Swift herself.
"The Life of a Showgirl" has also achieved significant streaming milestones. On Spotify, the album became the most pre-saved album of all time and the most-streamed album in a single day in 2025, less than 12 hours after its release. The album's song "The Fate of Ophelia" garnered more than 30 million streams on its release day, becoming the most-streamed song in a single day in the streaming service's history. The album also achieved the biggest first-day streams this year on Apple Music and set a new record on Amazon Music for the most streams an album has received in 24 hours.
In the United Kingdom, "The Life of a Showgirl" has already secured the biggest opening week of 2025, selling 304,000 copies since its release. This total surpasses the first-week sales of Swift's previous two studio albums, "The Tortured Poets Department" (270,000 copies) and "Midnights" (204,000 copies). With these figures, Swift is on track to have the biggest-selling album of the year overall in the UK.
The album was recorded in Sweden with producers Max Martin and Shellback during the European leg of the Eras Tour in 2024. Inspired by the tour and Swift's relationship with football player Travis Kelce, "The Life of a Showgirl" is described as an upbeat pop and soft rock record reflecting her triumphant state of mind and contentment in love.
