November 10, 2017 - Taylor's album, Reputation, was released
On August 18, 2017, Taylor erased all content from her social media accounts and official website. In the following days, she shared a series of cryptic snake videos, alluding to her past conflicts with Kanye West, Katy Perry, Calvin Harris, and Kim Kardashian in the previous year. This led fans to suspect that a new album announcement was imminent. On August 23, Swift confirmed the speculation by unveiling the album's title, cover art, and release date on Instagram.
Reputation was released on November 10, 2017, following the debut of its lead single, "Look What You Made Me Do," on August 25, 2017. The song marked Taylor's highly anticipated return after the #TaylorSwiftIsOverParty controversy and her public feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. The album was also accompanied by two exclusive special edition magazines, available only at Target, which included the CD along with Taylor's personal poetry, artwork, and behind-the-scenes content.
Prior to its release, Reputation surpassed 400,000 pre-orders—twice the amount of Taylor's previous album, 1989. On its release day, November 10, first-day sales hit 700,000 units. The album made history by becoming the fastest ever to reach the #1 spot on U.S. iTunes, achieving the milestone just six minutes after launch. Within four days, Reputation was certified platinum, with over 1,050,000 copies sold. It went on to sell 1.28 million copies in its first week in the U.S., making it the best-selling album of 2017.
As a result, Taylor became the only artist since 1991 to debut four consecutive albums with first-week platinum certifications, joining 1989 (1.29 million units), Red (1.21 million), and Speak Now (1.05 million). Reputation debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart for the week of December 2, 2017. Remarkably, its first-week sales surpassed the combined total of the other 199 albums on the chart that week.
Singles on Reputation (2017):
Look What You Made Me Do
...Ready For It?
End Game
New Year's Day
Delicate
Getaway Car
