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      SZA, ‘Barbie’ Songs and Young Women Lead 2024 Grammy Nominees

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      The indie-rock group boygenius, Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift and Victoria Monét are among the most nominated artists for the 66th annual awards in February.SZA, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, the indie supergroup boygenius and the eclectic bandleader Jon Batiste are among the top nominees for the 66th annual Grammy Awards, leading a class of contenders dominated by young women.SZA, the R&B singer and songwriter born Solána Rowe, has nine nods — more than any other artist this year — for her album “SOS,” which led the Billboard chart for 10 weeks and spawned an in-demand arena tour. “Kill Bill,” its standout hit, is up for both record and song of the year at the next ceremony, set for Feb. 4 in Los Angeles.Swift and Rodrigo will face off against SZA in all three top categories, with Swift’s “Midnights” — the studio LP she released last year, in between a slew of rerecordings — and Rodrigo’s “Guts” up for best album, and Swift’s “Anti-Hero” and Rodrigo’s “Vampire” each competing for both record and song.The awards were announced in an online stream Friday morning by the Recording Academy, the nonprofit organization behind the Grammys.Miley Cyrus and Batiste are also contenders in each of the most prestigious categories. Cyrus’s mellow, disco-inflected hit “Flowers” is up for record and song of the year, and “Endless Summer Vacation” for album. Batiste, the surprise album of the year victor in 2022 for “We Are” — a rootsy, uplifting collection that had barely made a dent on the charts — earned a string of nominations, including best album for “World Music Radio,” a high-concept amalgam of global pop that was also far from a hit. Its track “Worship” is up for record, and “Butterfly” for song. (Record of the year recognizes a single recording; song of the year is a songwriter’s award.)Boygenius, the project of three of indie-rock’s leading young women — Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus, all in their late 20s — will compete for record of the year with “Not Strong Enough,” and best album with “The Record.”Swift, Rodrigo, Cyrus, boygenius, Batiste and the Americana singer-songwriter Brandy Clark have six nods apiece, as does Billie Eilish, another Grammy favorite; Victoria Monét, an R&B singer and songwriter, has seven. Bridgers, of boygenius, also nabbed a seventh, through a collaboration with SZA.The “Barbie” soundtrack, curated by the producer Mark Ronson and filled with female artists — Eilish, Dua Lipa and Nicki Minaj among them — has a total of 11 nominations in seven categories. In best song written for visual media, for example, “Barbie” tracks occupy four of the five slots.The contenders for best new artist include Monét; the banjo-playing pop-folkie Noah Kahan; Jelly Roll, who started as a rapper before finding fame in Nashville; the British dance producer known as Fred again..; the R&B singer and actress Coco Jones; the husband-and-wife soul duo the War and Treaty; and two artists who have gotten a boost from their associations with Swift — the singer Gracie Abrams and the drill-meets-pop Bronx rapper Ice Spice.In past years, the Grammys have been criticized for failing to adequately reward female artists, and this year’s woman-heavy nominations will likely be welcomed in the industry as a sign of progress. Still, the key will be who ultimately wins.As always, the nominations included some surprises in the top tier, particularly when it came to country artists.Luke Combs, who had a cross-generational smash with a reverently faithful version of Tracy Chapman’s 1988 song “Fast Car,” got a nod for country solo performance, but not record of the year, which many in the industry had expected. (“Fast Car” was not, however, eligible for song of the year, since it had already been nominated for that award in the ’80s.)Zach Bryan, an admired songwriter who found chart success this year with a self-titled album, was recognized only in country categories, for that LP and for “I Remember Everything,” a duet with Kacey Musgraves. And Morgan Wallen, a streaming titan whose album “One Thing at a Time” was a blockbuster this year, is absent completely — a sign, perhaps, that the coastal industry mainstream has not forgiven Wallen for his use of a racial slur two years ago, as establishment Nashville seemingly has. (Wallen’s hit “Last Night” is up for best country song, though Wallen was not among its four writers.)Harvey Mason Jr., the chief executive of the Recording Academy, said in an interview that the nominations simply reflect the musical judgment of the academy’s 11,000 or so voting members.“There’s really no other explanation or calculus here,” Mason said. “The voters come in, they listen to the music, and the stuff they like the best, and feel is the most excellent, they vote for.”The nominations arrive two days after Neil Portnow, a former academy chief, was sued in a New York court by an anonymous female musician who accused him of drugging and raping her five years ago. The suit also accused the academy of negligence.Portnow has denied the accusation, and the academy on Wednesday called the woman’s claims “without merit.” Mason declined to comment about the case.The major Grammy nominations this year largely hew to popular hits, and they notably over-index with female artists, though country and hip-hop are scarce in the top categories.In addition to LPs by SZA, Swift, Rodrigo, Cyrus, boygenius and Batiste, the album of the year slate includes Lana Del Rey’s “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” and Janelle Monáe’s “The Age of Pleasure.”Record of the year also includes Monét’s “On My Mama” and Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?,” from “Barbie.” Del Rey’s “A&W,” “What Was I Made For?” and another “Barbie” number, Lipa’s “Dance the Night,” round out song of the year.The number of slots on the ballot for the four top Grammy categories has been a moving target for years. This year, the academy set it to eight, after two years at 10. It was the third such change in five years.Among other rule changes this year, the academy moved the producer and songwriter of the year categories to the general field, which allows all voting members to vote on those awards.Nominees for producer of the year, nonclassical, include Jack Antonoff, known for his work with Swift and Del Rey; Daniel Nigro (Rodrigo); Hit-Boy (Nas, Don Toliver); Dernst Emile II, known as D’Mile (Monét); and Metro Boomin (Travis Scott; Drake & 21 Savage). Songwriter of the year, meant to recognize writers who largely work behind the scenes, has nods for Edgar Barrera, Jessie Jo Dillon, Shane McAnally, Theron Thomas and Justin Tranter.For best pop vocal album, Swift’s “Midnights,” Rodrigo’s “Guts” and Cyrus’s “Endless Summer Vacation” are up against Kelly Clarkson’s “Chemistry” and Ed Sheeran’s “-” (called “Subtract”).In the rap album category, Drake & 21 Savage’s collaboration “Her Loss” and Travis Scott’s “Utopia” will contend with Killer Mike’s “Michael,” Nas’s “King’s Disease III” and Metro Boomin’s “Heroes & Villains.”For country album, Bryan’s LP is up along with Kelsea Ballerini’s “Rolling Up the Welcome Mat,” Lainey Wilson’s “Bell Bottom Country,” Tyler Childers’s “Rustin’ in the Rain” and the self-titled album by Brothers Osborne.The contenders for best rock album are Foo Fighters’ “But Here We Are,” Greta Van Fleet’s “Starcatcher,” Metallica’s “72 Seasons,” Paramore’s “This Is Why” and “In Times New Roman …” by Queens of the Stone Age.For best African music performance, a new category, the nominees are Asake & Olamide’s “Amapiano,” Burna Boy’s “City Boys,” Ayra Starr’s “Rush,” Tyla’s “Water,” and Davido’s “Unavailable,” which features Musa Keys.In the audiobook category, Michelle Obama and Senator Bernie Sanders will compete with Meryl Streep, William Shatner and the music producer Rick Rubin.At the ceremony in February, the academy will give out prizes in 94 categories — the most in 13 years. The organization slashed many awards in 2011, but since then the number has gradually crept back upThe 66th Grammys will recognize recordings released from Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 15, 2023 — an unusual eligibility window of 11 and a half months. This year, nearly 16,000 entries were submitted for consideration, down slightly from last year. More

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      Taylor Swift Brings Her Eras Tour to Argentina, Shaking El Monumental

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      On May 31, Florencia Romeo slept in a tent outside Argentina’s largest stadium with her girlfriend and her sister. They had heard rumors that Taylor Swift might be coming to Buenos Aires, and they wanted to be first in line.The rumors were right: Ms. Swift was coming, but it would take a while. Her concert was more than five months away.The tent stayed anyway, occupied by a rotating cast of 30 die-hard Swifties who worked together over 163 days to hold their spots in line for a chance to get as close as possible to their idol when she walked onstage Thursday in the first stop of her Eras Tour outside North America.“We have been waiting for this for many years,” said Ms. Romeo, 23, who quit her job as a cashier partly to dedicate herself to waiting in line. “We didn’t expect her to come, and then she did. So it was obvious that we had to do what we had to do.”Florencia Romeo, second from left, with some of her friends who camped out for months before the concert.Sarah Pabst for The New York TimesEvent organizers made camping fans disassemble their tents days before the show. Ms. Romeo’s group, which was first in line, put up a tarp for shelter instead.Sarah Pabst for The New York TimesMs. Swift’s Eras Tour officially went global on Thursday when the pop megastar began a new phase of shows that would take her to 25 cities across South America, Asia, Australia and Europe over the next 10 months.Since March, the North American stretch of the tour has become an economic marvel and a cultural force, cementing Ms. Swift’s status as one of the most influential, and beloved, people on the continent. Now, she is set to demonstrate that her fame and adoration go well beyond borders.There are few countries better to display the intense passion of her fans than Argentina. While Ms. Swift has become a certified global icon, Argentina has become known for worshiping icons with religious fervor.Consider that Juan and Eva Perón became Argentina’s president and first lady in 1946 but are still lionized in political chants, are displayed in portraits in many Argentine homes and are the inspiration for a namesake political movement that still runs the country. Diego Maradona, the soccer star, became seen as such a deity here that tens of thousands of Argentines belong to the, yes, Church of Maradona, a legally recognized religion in its 25th year. And after Lionel Messi and the national soccer team won the World Cup last year, the crush of four million adoring fans during the victory parade forced the players to abandon their buses and fly over in a helicopter instead.“She’s like the female Messi,” said Ms. Romeo, offering Ms. Swift about the highest praise an Argentine could nowadays. Some fans in Buenos Aires this week wore jerseys of the national soccer team with “SWIFT” on the back, while others passed out a sort of prayer card with Ms. Swift’s head superimposed over Jesus Christ’s.Maria Claude Arzapalo and her friends holding cards showing Taylor Swift depicted as Jesus.Sarah Pabst for The New York TimesMariale and Paula Nuñez, sisters from Peru, with the friendship bracelets that have become a badge of Swiftie fandom.Sarah Pabst for The New York TimesSo it was no surprise that Ms. Swift’s arrival in Argentina became a national event. It received intense news coverage; Buenos Aires named her an official guest of honor; and she became a figure in next week’s presidential election after some of her fans organized against the far-right candidate, Javier Milei. Meteorologists even described forecasts for sun or rain this weekend as “dry Swifties” or “wet Swifties.” (Friday called for “wet Swifties,” so organizers rescheduled that show for Sunday.)“Everyone in the country knows her, and everyone knows about this show,” Renata Schyfys, 15, said at the show on Thursday, wearing at least six inches of friendship bracelets, which have become a badge of Swiftie fandom.In a country of 46 million people, Ms. Swift sold roughly 200,000 tickets across three sold-out shows, and yet the waiting list still had more than 2.8 million people — enough to fill Argentina’s biggest soccer arena, El Monumental, another 40 times.That stadium was shaking on Thursday night with near-constant, ear-piercing screams coming from the more than 70,000 fans there who repeatedly chanted, “Olé, olé, olé, olé, Taylor, Taylor.”Even Ms. Swift, who has seen her share of huge crowds, seemed taken aback. “I am looking out to possibly what might be one of the most epic crowds to ever exist,” she told the audience. “This is on another level.”Later, she removed her earpieces and motioned that she was struggling to hear over the roar of the crowd. She paused for a full two minutes, soaking in her fans’ adoration.“I don’t know how to thank you enough for the way you’re treating me tonight,” she said. “I love you so, so much, and I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to come see you.”Jack Nicas/The New York TimesThe show on Thursday was Ms. Swift’s first major concert in South America, the first of nine this month in Argentina and Brazil. After waiting for so long, many Swifties on Thursday said they had made a sort of pilgrimage, many from across the continent.Nahuel Ochoa, a medical student wearing a homemade bedazzled jumpsuit and a glittery jacket, had taken a bus with 50 other fans from the city of San Luis, 12 hours away. Unable to get a room in Buenos Aires, where hotels were nearly sold out, he was planning to take the bus back after the show — and then return on Saturday to see Ms. Swift again.“We have loved Taylor since we were 10 years old — we have been waiting 13 years,” Mr. Ochoa, 23, said, sitting alongside his childhood friend Andrea Garro. “Her songs reflect the majority of what we go through. It’s a form of expressing ourselves in a way that we can’t.”Ms. Garro, 23, a law student, added that Ms. Swift’s music helped her get past a deep depression. “We feel seen,” she said.But there was no show of devotion greater than the more than 100 fans who camped out in shifts outside the stadium for months. After Ms. Romeo and her friends staked out their spot and attracted local news attention, other tents followed.Fans lined up on the street the morning of the show.Sarah Pabst for The New York TimesIn a country of 46 million people, Ms. Swift sold roughly 200,000 tickets across three sold-out shows.Sarah Pabst for The New York TimesThe group of mostly young women set up shifts using a spreadsheet, with ideally at least two people present at the tent at all times. The 30 members of Ms. Romeo’s tent had to spend a minimum of 40 hours there a month, with each member spending about 10 to 12 nights at the tent on average. After spending the first few days sleeping with just blankets, they added a mattress.“She has the best relationship with her fans and is the one that can achieve this sort of mania,” said Lucas Forte, 24, a member of another tent who had slept outside the stadium for five nights since September. “No one camped out for the Weeknd, for example.”Ms. Swift herself was impressed with the effort. “I heard you guys were camping out to get good spots?” she asked the crowd on Thursday. “I actually didn’t believe it until I saw a video.”The fans camping out were not holding a place to get tickets to the show. Those were all sold online. Rather, the tents were set up so they could be first in line when the doors to the show opened and the fans could sprint to the guardrails along the stage for a closer view.Event organizers helped make sure the fans who had camped out were first in line — yet many still ended up behind rows of people whose pricier tickets had allowed them to enter even earlier.But some campers eventually reached the barricade along the stage.“I smashed my knee trying to get there,” said Atenas Astuni, 23, a member of the first-in-line tent, her voice hoarse the Friday morning after the show. “But if I had to smash my knee again to repeat exactly what happened yesterday, I would do it without hesitation.”The waiting list for people who could not get tickets stretched to more than 2.8 million.Sarah Pabst for The New York Times More

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      Taylor Swift Reporter Faces Criticism Online

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      Bryan West landed a much-coveted job. Then came the internet.Everything has changed for Bryan West.Gannett, the largest newspaper chain in the United States, announced on Monday that Mr. West would fill a much-coveted job as the company’s first-ever Taylor Swift reporter, covering all things related to the international pop sensation for USA Today and Gannett’s network of more than 200 other papers across the country.But before Mr. West, 35, had the chance to file his first story on his new beat, he was getting criticism from two sides: journalism watchdogs and Ms. Swift’s fans.The objections started rolling in shortly after Variety broke the news of his hiring on Monday. The article included an interview with Mr. West, which provided newsroom ethicists and Swifties alike with grounds for complaint.Mr. West, who was formerly a TV news reporter in Phoenix, raised hackles by describing himself as “a fan of Taylor.” That remark caused some journalists to question whether or not he could be unbiased when it came to his new beat. At the same time, the singer’s fans debated whether he was a big enough Swiftie to capture their beloved star. Some people in both camps said the job was better suited to a woman.In the Variety interview, Mr. West likened himself to a sports reporter in making the case that he could maintain his neutrality. “I would say this position’s no different than being a sports journalist who’s a fan of the home team,” he said. “I just came from Phoenix, and all of the anchors there were wearing Diamondbacks gear; they want the Diamondbacks to win.”That remark did not sit well with a number of sportswriters, including Frankie de la Cretaz, a Boston-based sports and culture journalist.“Any sports journalist will tell you the No. 1 rule of sports journalism is no cheering in the press box,” Mx. de la Cretaz, 38, said. “It’s one of the hallmarks of the profession. It’s one of the first things you learn. The idea, of course, being that if you are a fan of the team, that you can’t be an unbiased reporter.”“I don’t know that I necessarily think that’s true,” they continued, “but I think the fact that he is making that comparison shows to me a fundamental misunderstanding of what the role of a sports journalist is.”Benjamin Goggin, an editor at NBC News, criticized the hiring of Mr. West on X, writing that Gannett had given the job to “a full stan, rather than someone who is capable of being critical of one of the most powerful people in all of pop culture.”“Haters gonna hate,” Lark-Marie Antón, Gannett’s chief communications officer, wrote in an email, replying to the criticism from journalists. The spokeswoman added Mr. West’s credentials “made him the best candidate for this role.” (Mr. West, who is now based in Nashville, at a Gannett daily, The Tennessean, declined to be interviewed for this article.)April Glick Pulito, a Swift fan who works in political communications, posted lyrics from a Taylor Swift song in response to the hiring: “I’m so sick of running as fast as I can, wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man?,” Ms. Pulito, 35, wrote on X, quoting “The Man,” which reimagines the singer’s life had she been born a man.“It wasn’t a statement on the chops of this reporter,” Ms. Pulito said in an interview. “He seems extremely qualified. But as someone who works in communications, I think the optics of the choice are kind of undeniable.” She would have preferred to see the role go to a female applicant, “someone so many Taylor fans could look up to and see themselves in,” she said.The Gannett spokeswoman said the company “does not discriminate.”In a year when seemingly anything having to do with the singer has drawn media scrutiny, Gannett’s announcement that it planned to hire a dedicated Taylor Swift reporter generated plenty of headlines and online comments.The chosen candidate, the company said when it launched the search in September, would “identify why the pop star’s influence only expands” and “what her fan base stands for in pop culture.” (The company also announced a search for a similar role to cover Beyoncé.)As part of his application, Mr. West submitted a five-minute video listing the reasons he should be hired. The first was his journalism experience. Mr. West previously worked as a broadcast reporter and producer at an NBC affiliate in Phoenix and said he had won several awards.His second reason was that he had met Ms. Swift. The opportunity to meet her arose after he reported several stories about Ms. Swift while working in Phoenix, he said. Mr. West included a photo of him with the singer in the video.In his application, Mr. West added that, though he might be a fan, he was able to report on Ms. Swift without bias. He listed three songs he “can’t stand” as evidence, including the track “It’s Nice to Have a Friend.”Initially, Variety quoted Mr. West as having named the song as “It’s Good to Have a Friend,” a mistake on the publication’s part, which alarmed a number of Swifties, who inferred that he wasn’t up to the task.Mr. West also noted that he was five years sober. “I’ll never fail a drug test,” he said in his video application. On his personal website, Mr. West posted an essay that goes into detail about leading Phoenix police officers on a car chase and serving jail time for a drunken-driving charge in 2018. “Bryan has been forthcoming disclosing his personal journey,” the Gannett spokeswoman wrote in an email.Lauren Lipman, 32, was one of the applicants who didn’t get the job. Ms. Lipman, a Los Angeles-based content creator, has made a career out of posting videos predominantly about Ms. Swift. In September, Ms. Lipman received an email from a Gannett recruiter to discuss the role further, but ultimately was not called for additional interviews. (Gannett declined to comment on Ms. Lipman’s application process.)While she was disappointed to lose out on the role, Ms. Lipman wished Mr. West the best of luck. “I’m bummed, but I’m honestly, truly so excited that this position even exists. Like, go, Bryan,” she said.Though critical of Mr. West’s reference to how sports journalists go about their jobs, Mx. de la Cretaz said they had sympathy for Gannett’s splashy hire.“This is a brutal fan base, and I don’t think there was ever going to be any winning for whoever they hired into this role,” Mx. de la Cretaz said. “Either he doesn’t get respect from the general public because he’s a fan and seen as biased or he doesn’t get respect from the fandom itself because he’s not the right kind of fan.”Bill Grueskin, a professor and former dean at Columbia Journalism school, said that Mr. West’s passion for his subject could yield fine reporting. He also threw some cold water on Mr. West’s critics within the field.“I think expecting journalists to completely suspend any kind of personal liking for a pop star or a baseball team is probably unworkable,” he said. “The key is kind of how you go about covering it.”Gannett has yet to announce who will be covering the Beyoncé beat. More

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      Popcast (Deluxe): Is the Pop Music Machine Stuck in Place?

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      Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTubeThis week’s episode of Popcast (Deluxe), the weekly culture roundup show on YouTube hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli, includes segments on:The current conundrums on the pop charts, which include the glut of music by Drake, Bad Bunny and Taylor Swift hogging up space; the tactics imposed upon younger artists trying to break through; unimaginative turf-protecting collaborations; and the curious divides separating pop on the radio, pop on streaming services and pop on TikTok.New songs from Suzy Clue and CorpseSnack of the weekConnect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica. More

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      Taylor Swift’s Rerecording of ’1989’ May Be Her Biggest Yet. Here’s Why.

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      The pop superstar’s new version of her 2014 blockbuster is due Friday, following a summer of media saturation and her 10th No. 1 hit.Taylor Swift’s “1989” has been a fixture in the Top 20 of Billboard’s album chart for months. Stuffed with some of the singer’s biggest pop hits, like “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space,” the LP was a gargantuan hit when it was released in 2014, and this year Swift has been performing its songs on her record-breaking Eras Tour.But “1989” is about to make an all-but-certain plunge down the chart.Listen to This ArticleOpen this article in the New York Times Audio app on iOS.That’s because on Friday, Swift will release “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” the latest installment in her ambitious and wildly successful project to rerecord her first six studio albums. What began a few years ago as an attempt to reclaim her music — and, perhaps, have a taste of revenge — after the sale of her former record label has become a blockbuster enterprise all its own, with punishing consequences for the original recordings.“1989” will be the fourth of Swift’s remakes, and each one so far has opened at No. 1 with successively bigger numbers. In early 2021, “Fearless” started with the equivalent of 291,000 sales in the United States. “Red,” anchored by a smoldering, 10-minute extended version of the song “All Too Well,” had 605,000 later that year. “Speak Now” came out in July and started with 716,000 sales, including a remarkable 268,500 copies sold on vinyl LP.Each one has arrived with deluxe packaging, a rainbow of colored vinyl variants and a thick appendix of “vault” bonus tracks that have given fans abundant material to discuss and decode — not to mention well-timed batches of themed merchandise. Among the items Swift is selling at her online store are a sweater decorated with sea gulls (à la the new album cover), for $74.89, and a device like an old-fashioned View-Master, for $19.89.How big “1989” could be is anyone’s guess, and her label, Republic Records, declined to offer any projections. But given the trajectory of the previous remakes, the enduring popularity of the songs on the original album and Swift’s near-total saturation of popular culture this year — in just the past few weeks, she released a hit concert film, reached No. 1 with a four-year-old song and has nearly upstaged the N.F.L. through her relationship with Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — the music industry is bracing for a monster debut, even in a year that has had major albums by Morgan Wallen, Drake, Olivia Rodrigo and Travis Scott.Swift has been stoking demand for “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” since announcing it in August, partnering with Google for an online puzzle to reveal clues about the album’s “vault” tracks; naturally, it crashed within hours.When Swift first spoke about her intention to rerecord her albums, in summer 2019 — shortly after the music manager Scooter Braun bought Big Machine, Swift’s original label, for a bit over $300 million — the music world scratched its collective head; most previous attempts at rerecordings had had little success. But when the new version of “Fearless” came out — by which time Braun had sold Swift’s recording rights to the investment firm Shamrock Capital — it became another lesson in Swift’s mastery in rallying her fan base.“When the rerecord process started with her, it was this curiosity, where no one really knew what it could do,” said Keith Caulfield, Billboard’s managing director of charts and data operations. “But they have turned into a phenomenon unto themselves.”Swift’s world tour, which has played to packed stadiums since March and is in line to sell well over $1 billion in tickets by the time it ends next year, has generally lifted her entire catalog. At various times this year, at least 10 of her albums, including the originals, have been in the Billboard 200, the magazine’s flagship albums chart.But each time Swift has released a rerecorded album, its corresponding original version has suffered. In the year after she released “Fearless (Taylor’s Version),” sales of the original fell 20 percent in the United States, according to Luminate, the tracking service that supplies the data for Billboard’s charts; the original “Red” dropped by about 45 percent. Neither has been on the Billboard 200 since 2021.Jaime Marconette, Luminate’s senior director of music insights and industry relations, noted how stark that impact can be on a week-to-week basis. In May, Swift said she would release a new “Speak Now” in eight weeks. “That announcement,” Marconette said, “immediately drove a 75.7 percent increase in total consumption for the original version.” But as soon as “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” came out, the original sank. Comparing a window of 14 weeks before and after the new version, the original fell 59 percent.On the latest chart, the new “Speak Now” is No. 18. The old version, which was most recently No. 191, had fallen off the chart entirely.Statistics like that call into question the value of Shamrock’s investment, which has been estimated at more than $300 million. In the short term, at least, there is no doubt that Swift’s rerecordings have severely dimmed the originals. But it may take years before it is clear whether there is a lasting impact. A spokeswoman for Shamrock said that no one at the firm was available to discuss the matter.Swift also stands to earn more money from her new recordings than her old ones, thanks to a deal she negotiated with Universal Music, Republic’s parent company, that gave her ownership rights to her recordings.As Swift’s new “1989” nears release, the singer has been promoting it steadily on social media, this week sharing an image of handwritten lyrics that fans have interpreted as being from an unreleased track. And truckloads of vinyl and CD copies of the new album have been making their way to brick-and-mortar stores.Even indie record shops are primed to do huge business with the new “1989,” as they have with all of Swift’s recent releases. Carl Mello of Newbury Comics, a music and collectibles chain that has 30 stores throughout the Northeast, said that for some of Swift’s previous albums, problems in the supply chain have meant that stores did not always have her records on release day. But those issues have been resolved, and the chain expects to have about 1,600 copies ready for sale on Friday.“I’ve been at Newbury Comics for just over 30 years, and I’ve never seen somebody who has occupied so many spots in our Top 40 vinyl records list at the same time, consistently for months and months,” Mello said.“It wouldn’t surprise me if Taylor Swift is 15 percent of our vinyl sales,” he added. “It’s extraordinary.”Audio produced by More

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      Who Is Jackson Mahomes and Why Are Taylor Swift’s Fans Concerned?

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      Taylor Swift spent Sunday’s game in Kansas City, Mo., in a suite with Mr. Mahomes, an influencer known for problematic behavior and a sexual battery arrest.As Taylor Swift and Brittany Mahomes, the wife of Patrick Mahomes, quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, slapped hands and bumped hips in a touchdown celebration that took over social media on Sunday night, a man in a white T-shirt and a backward baseball cap clapped behind them. The handshake, which was shown during the broadcast of a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers, finished with both women turning around and celebrating with the man, who bent down to their level with a broad smile.Taylor Swift and Brittany Mahomes getting Jackson Mahomes in on the secret handshake pic.twitter.com/3iCaDSFNTy— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) October 22, 2023
      Nothing about the man’s actions was particularly noteworthy. But the Swifties who had not followed football before Ms. Swift began going to Chiefs games this season soon realized what N.F.L. fans had known for years: Jackson Mahomes, who is Patrick Mahomes’s brother, has a knack for getting himself into the spotlight. And his personal history, which includes an arrest on charges of sexual battery, has the ability to complicate what has been a fairly straightforward relationship between Travis Kelce, a tight end for the Chiefs and one of football’s most beloved players, and Ms. Swift, one of the world’s most popular musicians.It was a situation that generated plenty of memes, and more than a few calls for the N.F.L. or the Chiefs to step in.Ms. Swift’s fans are known for finding Easter eggs in virtually anything she does and sniffing out any potential flaws in her romantic relationships. What they are learning about Jackson Mahomes is likely to continue to generate a great deal of discussion.Who is Jackson Mahomes?Mr. Mahomes, 23, is the younger brother of Patrick Mahomes, 28, the quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs. With 1.1 million followers on TikTok, Jackson Mahomes is a social media influencer who has parlayed his connection to his famous brother, and his friendship with his sister-in-law, Brittany Mahomes, to be a regular fixture at N.F.L. games and beyond.Before Sunday, Mr. Mahomes had not been much of a presence at games attended by Ms. Swift, who was at Arrowhead Stadium to cheer for Mr. Kelce.Jackson Mahomes has built a large social media following based largely on the popularity of his brother, Patrick, an N.F.L. star.Jay Biggerstaff/Getty ImagesWhat are some of his more notable incidents?At an N.F.L. game in 2021, Jackson recorded a TikTok dance on the field at the Washington Commanders’ stadium while standing on the uniform number of Sean Taylor, an N.F.L. star who was murdered in 2007 and was being honored with a jersey retirement ceremony that day. Mr. Mahomes eventually apologized and said he had not intentionally danced on Mr. Taylor’s number.“We were directed to stand in the area and I meant absolutely no disrespect to him or his family,” Mr. Mahomes said in a statement posted on social media.Earlier that year, Mr. Mahomes also had a run-in with fans in Baltimore in which he responded to their taunts after a Chiefs loss by pouring water on them. He later justified the behavior by saying the fans were “thirsty.”What about the assault accusation?Jackson was briefly jailed in May and wound up being charged with three counts of aggravated sexual battery and one count of battery. His arrest came after an encounter on Feb. 25 in which Aspen Vaughn, the owner of a restaurant in Overland Park, Kan., said that she had been discussing an earlier incident with him, in which he was accused of shoving a customer, and that he grabbed her by the throat and kissed her at least twice.“He forcibly kissed me out of nowhere,” Ms. Vaughn told The Kansas City Star. She said the advances were unwelcome and shocking.Mr. Mahomes was in court in May for a bond motion hearing in a sexual battery case. His preliminary hearing in the case has been postponed twice.Nick Wagner/The Kansas City Star, via Associated PressThe encounter was captured on video. While Mr. Mahomes and his representatives have said that he is prohibited from discussing what happened, they issued a statement when the accusation was first reported that said they had “substantial evidence refuting the claims of Jackson’s accuser.”He was released on a $100,000 bond. The preliminary hearing in the case was originally scheduled for August, but was delayed because the judge had tested positive for the coronavirus. It was rescheduled for Tuesday of this week, but on Monday The Kansas City Star reported that it would be postponed again, as Mr. Mahomes’s lawyers requested a continuance. A scheduling conference will be held on Tuesday instead.Will Ms. Swift be at more Chiefs games?We may not know for a while if Ms. Swift’s camp will step in to make sure there is more distance between her and Jackson, regardless of how his legal situation is resolved. That is because Ms. Swift’s Eras Tour resumes on Nov. 9 in Argentina, with the South American leg of the tour finishing on Nov. 26 with a show in Brazil.Preparations for those dates could keep her away from Kansas City’s games on Sunday (in Denver) and on Nov. 5 (against Miami in Frankfurt as part of the N.F.L.’s International Series).There has been rampant speculation online, however, that Mr. Kelce could turn the tables on the situation and visit Ms. Swift. The Chiefs do not play on Nov. 12, and while there would probably be practices in some form after the team returns from Europe, Mr. Kelce would be free to do as he pleases late in the week, meaning he could attend one of the shows in Buenos Aires.With another break in the Eras Tour scheduled for December and January, Ms. Swift could be back for more Chiefs games as the regular season winds down. Her return would seemingly be welcomed by the team. After Mr. Kelce recorded 179 yards receiving on Sunday — the second-highest single-game total of his career — Chiefs Coach Andy Reid made it clear that he did not view Ms. Swift as a distraction.“Kelce keeps getting better with time,” Mr. Reid said. “Taylor can stay around all she wants.” More

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      in Music

      Taylor Swift’s ‘Cruel Summer’ Hits No. 1 after Four Years

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      The song from Swift’s 2019 album, “Lover,” is a fan favorite that took on new life during her record-breaking Eras Tour. On the album chart, Bad Bunny debuts at the top.Four years ago, Taylor Swift included the song “Cruel Summer” on her album “Lover.” It became a fan favorite, and had been in line to be released as a single in 2020, before the Covid-19 pandemic changed all plans. “That is something that happened that stopped ‘Cruel Summer’ from ever being a single,” the singer said a few months ago.But this year, Swift played the song on her record-breaking Eras Tour, and it was belatedly given the proper promotional push. After breaking into the Top 10 in July, “Cruel Summer” has finally made it to No. 1, becoming Swift’s 10th track to top Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.Over the last week, Swift went all out to promote it. She discounted the track for digital sales and released an EP containing a remix and a live version, “so we can all shriek it in the comfort of our homes and cars,” as she announced on social media.Last week, “Cruel Summer” had nearly 19 million streams in the United States, sold 41,000 downloads — up from around 2,500 the week before — and had 78 million “airplay audience impressions,” a measurement of a song’s popularity at radio, according to the tracking service Luminate.On this week’s album chart, Bad Bunny sailed to the top with his latest album, “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana” (“Nobody Knows What Will Happen Tomorrow”), which the Puerto Rican superstar released on Oct. 13 with just a few days’ notice. The album, his third to reach No. 1, opened with the equivalent of 184,000 sales in the United States, including 240 million streams and 7,500 download sales, according to Luminate.Bad Bunny, who was the host and musical guest on “Saturday Night Live” over the weekend, released “Un Verano Sin Ti” last year — a surprise, like “Nadie Sabe” — and it went on to top the Billboard album chart 13 times; he was also the world’s top touring artist in 2022.Bad Bunny’s success bumps Drake to second place after one week at No. 1 with “For All the Dogs.” Also this week, the K-pop quintet Tomorrow X Together opens at No. 3 with “The Name Chapter: Freefall,” which sold 106,000 copies as a complete package and drew about 12 million clicks on streaming services.Zach Bryan’s self-titled LP is No. 4, and “Set It Off” by Offset, of the Atlanta rap trio Migos, opens in fifth place. More

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      in Movies

      As Movie Theaters Embrace Swift, One Showcases Her Exes

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      In addition to “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” a Milwaukee theater is programming films that feature some of her starry boyfriends.Like movie theaters across the country that are facing the fallout of an actors’ strike and the shift to streaming, the Oriental Theater in Milwaukee was quite pleased to have Taylor Swift’s concert film coming to its screens.But “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” which has been a box office rainmaker, comes with an unconventional stipulation: Theaters may only show it Thursdays through Sundays, said Cara Ogburn, the artistic director of Milwaukee Film, which runs the Oriental Theater.So what to do, she wondered, on the other three days of the week?“What if we show all Jake Gyllenhaal movies,” Ogburn suggested offhandedly, initially as a joke. “True counterprogramming.”The idea quickly expanded. The team’s resident Swiftie assured leadership that the theater would not be canceled for a lineup based on the pop star’s famous exes. Then staff members selected qualifying films that also had Halloween-adjacent themes.Starting next week, the three-screen art-house theater will show the original “Twilight” (Taylor Lautner, a.k.a. the werewolf Jacob Black), “Dunkirk” (Harry Styles, a.k.a. One Direction heartthrob turned nondescript World War II soldier), “Crimson Peak” (Tom Hiddleston, a.k.a. a pre-Loki baronet) and, yes, a lot of Gyllenhaal.There’s “Zodiac” on Tuesday.“Enemy” plays on Oct. 29, followed the next night by “Nocturnal Animals.”Then, on Halloween, comes “Donnie Darko.”It may be true that Swift’s songbook is only “minimally about romantic love,” as Taffy Brodesser-Akner recently observed in The New York Times Magazine. But Swift is well aware of the way she has been caricatured for having, as she puts it in “Blank Space,” a long list of ex-lovers who will say she is insane.“We were surprised to discover how many boyfriends she has had who have been in movies,” Ogburn said of Swift, who was connected to Lautner in 2009, Gyllenhaal in 2010, Styles in 2012 and Hiddleston in 2016. (Recently, she has been seen with the N.F.L. player Travis Kelce.)“Then we whittled it down to — what is a good movie?” Ogburn said. Finally, she said, the team had to consider what films it could actually get the rights to show.Independent movie theaters that show more than blockbusters often target specific fan bases. In the same month that the Oriental Theater has organized and branded “The Exes Tour,” it is hosting the Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival and showing older horror favorites and current Oscar contenders like Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.”But the most vocal crowds are expected for Swift’s concert film, which in many places has become a glitter-filled, Eras-inspired mega event. She has encouraged viewers to treat the outings like the many concerts that captivated fans this year, urging the exchange of friendship bracelets and dancing to the songs that Swifties know by heart.The desire for packed theaters and a concertlike atmosphere might help explain the unique scheduling requirements for “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” which collected nearly $93 million domestically in its first weekend. It also has standardized symbolic ticket prices: $19.89 for general admission and $13.13 for everyone else.Ogburn, whose team created a special drink menu for the movie’s run (red wine, for instance, became simply “Red”), said she had not fielded complaints about movie theater etiquette. “We’re kind of into enthusiastic moviegoing,” she said. “A little applauding like you’re at a concert is nothing we can’t handle.”She did wonder whether there would be a less kind reaction to “Donnie Darko,” a 2001 cult classic in which Gyllenhaal’s disturbed character encounters a life-size rabbit.“Will we get Swifties booing?” she asked. More