Taylor Swift has several songs charting in the U.K. at the moment, which is commonly the case. The Official Charts Company only allows every artist three spaces on the list of the most-consumed tracks in the country, at least as a lead act. That means that from time to time, a star will see one popular tune disappear suddenly, while another steps in and steals its spot.
That’s exactly what has happened to Swift this week on the U.K. charts. As one album cut falls away, it’s immediately replaced by another tune from the same collection. But does this movement mean that either of these songs is destined for the spotlight?
This week, “Down Bad” returns to the main ranking of the most popular songs in the country. The tune barely makes it back to the 100-spot list, as it lands in absolute last place, at No. 100.
Last frame, Swift’s lowest-ranking track didn’t rise much higher than “Down Bad” does at this moment, and it has now disappeared to make room for the slightly-more-popular track. The singer’s own “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” appeared at No. 85 just a few days ago. Now, it’s been replaced, and there’s no telling if it will be able to return at any point.
Swift fills two spaces above “Down Bad,” just as she did last week ahead of “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” This time around, “Cruel Summer” and “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart” both fall from where they sat last frame. The former, which is actually more than half a decade old at this point, slips to No. 65, while the latter dips nearly 20 slots to settle at No. 96.
“I Can Do It With A Broken Heart” was selected as the second official single from Swift’s latest album The Tortured Poets Department, and she’s been promoting it for weeks. The track has yet to become the kind of smash she’s used to accruing, and it may soon come time for her to move on from the cut and pick something else to push to the masses.
“Down Bad” peaked at No. 4 on the U.K. singles chart when it was new, and it has now spent nearly two months somewhere on the roster, on and off. “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?,” meanwhile, reached its high of No. 85 last week, after just a pair of turns on the ranking. Those numbers, and the fact that “Down Bad” is back again on the chart, suggest that it may be a solid candidate for single status sometime soon.
