More than three years ago, Taylor Swift embarked upon one of the most ambitious recording projects in modern music history. After the rights to her first six albums were sold to several companies, and not to her, the superstar decided to re-record and re-release all of them. The hope was that fans, and perhaps the general public, would choose to buy and stream the updated takes on those full-lengths, which made her a household name. If that turned out to be the case, she’d stand to earn a lot of money, and she’d have control over those songs.
Years after she started the process, she’s enjoyed immense success. All four albums she’s re-recorded and dropped have hit No. 1 on charts around the world, and they continue to perform well to this day. This week, one of them almost returns to the top of a ranking she knows well, which shows just how much Swift’s massive following is loving the reworked editions of her early smashes and bestsellers.
Fearless (Taylor’s Version) rises to the runner-up rung on the Official Country Artists Albums chart this week. The updated take on Fearless, her sophomore project, pushes from No. 4 to No. 2, coming within striking distance of the summit once more.
This week, the Official Country Artists Albums ranking is owned by another legend in the field, Willie Nelson. Last time around, his new full-length Last Leaf on the Tree opened in second place. Now, it’s become his latest No. 1 on the ranking of the bestselling albums in the U.K. by artists who work in the country genre.
While Fearless (Taylor’s Version) may not run the show, it’s not as if it hasn’t taken a turn on top. The first of Swift’s re-recordings has already racked up an amazing 46 weeks at No. 1 on the Official Country Artists Albums chart during its lifetime.
It hasn’t been very long since Swift last topped the country-only albums tally, either. Fearless (Taylor’s Version) spent more than one turn at No. 1 in August. Since then, it hasn’t fallen very far, and it could re-conquer the roster soon, based on how well it’s performing.
Swift released Fearless (Taylor’s Version) in April of 2021. At the time, it shot to the summit on a number of charts, and it sold incredibly well, especially considering the fact that many fans were already intimately familiar with so many of the tunes featured on its tracklist. She has followed that win up with three more re-recordings, Red, Speak Now, and most recently, 1989. Two more projects, her self-titled and Reputation, are still yet to be released.
The singer fills a pair of spots on the Official Country Artists Albums chart this week. As Fearless (Taylor’s Version) approaches the throne again, her self-titled debut, which started it all, is a non-mover at No. 13.
