In our weekly feature “THE WEEKLY,” music critic Seo Seongdeok takes stock of the biggest developments in the music industry each week. Catch up on the latest stories in music, from major artist moves to notable new releases, “Billboard” chart highlights, and more.
Taylor Swift closes the curtain on her showgirl era
Following the original release of her album “The Life of a Showgirl,” Taylor Swift released “The Encore” version with four additional tracks on September 25. The expanded edition arrives a year after the original first came out last year on October 3. “Showgirl” was considered Swift’s full return to music following her marriage to Travis Kelce that July. The album held No. 1 for 12 weeks from October 2025 to January 2026, and thanks to “The Encore,” it added a 13th week on the chart dated October 10, nine months later. Swift’s total of 99 weeks atop the “Billboard” 200 remains the most for any soloist. The only artist with more is the Beatles, at 132 weeks.
“The Life of a Showgirl” moved 173,000 units over the most recent week, more than eight times the previous week’s 21,000. Streams totaled 138.8 million, equal to 136,000 units. The album leapt from No. 17 to No. 1 in streaming, marking its eighth week on top. It also sold 21,000 copies, returning to the Top Album Sales chart at No. 5. Physical copies of “The Encore” aren’t yet available, limiting listeners to streaming and digital downloads.
Swift’s new single “Patient Zero” debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 right out of the gate, her 16th chart-topper to date. She now has more No. 1 hits than anyone but the Beatles (20) and Mariah Carey (19). Swift’s 50 weeks at No. 1 throughout her career put her in a tie with Boyz II Men for fifth. Carey leads here, at 101 weeks, followed by Rihanna (60), the Beatles (59), and Drake (58). When looking exclusively at the 2020s, Swift has more No. 1s than anyone, at 11. Drake and Ariana Grande trail with eight each. “Patient Zero” marks Swift’s 10th song to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100, tying her with Drake for the record.
“Patient Zero” represents a number of both personal records for Swift as well as in general. She’s landed three songs at No. 1 this year alone, including “Opalite” and “I Knew It, I Knew You,” a feat no other artist has accomplished since Kendrick Lamar did in 2024. When looking exclusively at women artists, you have to go back to Ariana Grande in 2020. Three songs from “The Life of a Showgirl” have topped the chart as well, the other two being “The Fate of Ophelia” and “Opalite.” Swift did this once before, in 2014 with “1989,” and is the first artist to do so since the Weeknd back in 2020 with “After Hours.” But if you’re only looking at women artists, the last one before “Showgirl” was still “1989.”
In its debut week, “Patient Zero” saw 34.5 million streams, the first song to top 30 million in a week since “Janice STFU” by Drake in June. It’s Swift’s 12th No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart, and her 33rd No. 1 on Digital Song Sales. The single debuted at No. 16 in airplay.
The other new songs off “The Encore”—“Cleveland!,” “Babylon,” and “Pink Clouding”—entered the Top 5 as well, at Nos. 3 through 5, respectively. All three saw similar streaming numbers: 19.3 million, 19 million, and 18.4 million. The number of Top 10 hits to Swift’s name grew by four to a total of 74. Only Drake has more, with 91. “The Life of a Showgirl” swept the Top 10 when it first came out. “The Encore” has bumped the total up to 14—something no other album in history has ever pulled off.
Tinashe snags her first Top 10 album, 12 years after her debut
Tinashe’s eighth album, “Popstar,” debuted at No. 6 on the “Billboard” 200, becoming her first Top 10. “Popstar” moved 35,500 units in its first week, a record for the artist. The album sold 22,000 units and placed No. 4 on Album Sales, and scored an additional 13,500 units on the back of 13.7 million streams.
Born in 1993, Tinashe’s been in the entertainment world quite a while, getting her start as a child actor. Her music career began in 2007 with the girl group the Stunners, who made music together for about four years. The group signed with a major label and even opened for Justin Bieber’s “My World” tour, but momentum stalled and the group disbanded in 2011. Tinashe’s next move was a complete 180. She spent her earnings from acting on recording equipment to build her own home studio, then taught herself to produce by watching YouTube tutorials. The early mixtapes that came about as a result in 2012 and 2013 were compared positively to the alternative R&B sounds of FKA twigs and the Weeknd.
This time, she signed with a major label as a solo artist and got to work on her debut album. Leaning into a more mainstream sound than she did with her mixtapes, Tinashe saw her single “2 On” climb to No. 24 on the Hot 100 and her album “Aquarius” reach No. 17 on the “Billboard” 200. But the stark divide between the self-expression of alternative R&B and the nature of radio pop muddied her direction for years, and she couldn’t find the same kind of commercial success again, so she went independent again, doing everything herself.
The next turning point came in 2024, when “Nasty” went viral on social media. Also made in her home studio, the song became her first Hot 100 hit in a decade. Next, “No Broke Boys” brought Tinashe back into the Top 40 at No. 36, and the song spent 24 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
“Popstar” marks yet another return to a major label for the artist, which, combined with the title, really makes for mixed signals. But Tinashe holds the reins on her music now, and she still prefers small sessions with a core group of collaborators, which is reflected in the music. With 16 songs, the 39-minute album is less about chasing trends and more about moving into experimental territory. Plenty of people are busy rattling off genres—hyperpop, R&B, dance, jazz, new age, bedroom pop, even avant-garde. The album doesn’t sound like she’s turned herself into a pop star to rule over the charts. It’s more like proof that pop was always this varied—or perhaps one of the final nails in the coffin after 12 years of fighting to blur the lines.
But “Popstar” isn’t just a product of artistic ambition. The album was backed by a rollout strategy nearly six months long. It started in April, when Tinashe debuted her new song “Too Easy” during a DJ set at Coachella, and was in full swing by July with the single “Crash Out” and a stunt that involved smashing up a car. She put out five singles, four with music videos, over the course of four months. She teamed up with Amazon and Spotify and sat down for an Apple Music interview. And the result? “Popstar” is being hailed as a pop achievement on the level of Charli xcx’s “BRAT” and Rosalía’s “LUX.” After a girl group and solo career that didn’t pan out, and years of swinging between labels and indie releases, the artist who stood on the backs of her own creations has returned as a pop star, redefined on her own terms.