Taylor Swift is back at it, teasing fans ahead of the release of her 10th studio album Midnights.
01.09.2022 - 14:49 / officialcharts.com
September may just have started - but one of the biggest chart battles for Q4 (the most exciting time of the year for any music fan worth their salt) has already been announced.
But this is no ordinary chart battle, considering the impressive chart history of the two acts; Taylor Swift and Arctic Monkeys.
In a surprise statement at this year's MTV VMA Awards, Tay announced that her tenth studio album, Midnights, would be arriving this October 21, which now puts her in direct competition with Alex and Turner and co., who issue their seventh LP The Car on the same date.
No big deal, right? Just two of the biggest music acts in the world right now releasing their new albums on the same date. It would already be a big deal, but it's made even more important considering the chart legacies of both Taylor Swift and AM, what both acts seek to gain (or lose) from winning the race and debuting at Number 1.
The covers for both Midnights and The Car
Let's tackle Taylor first. If Midnights debuts at Number 1 on October 28, it will be her ninth UK Number 1 album, which she will have all achieved consecutively; Red (2012), 1989 (2014), Reputation (2017), Lover (2019), Folklore (2020), Evermore (2020), Fearless (Taylor's Version) (2021) and Red (Taylor's Version) (2021).
With her ninth UK Number 1 album, Taylor would overtake Kylie Minogue and become the female solo artist with the second-most Number 1 albums on the Official Charts, only trailing behind Madonna with 12. She would also extend her lead for the female solo artist with the most Number 1 albums in this century.
As for the Arctics, The Car would become their seventh consecutive Number 1 studio album in the UK - meaning they would have continued to reach the top of the
Taylor Swift is back at it, teasing fans ahead of the release of her 10th studio album Midnights.
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Bring Me The Horizon have expressed their admiration for Arctic Monkeys, describing their current live show as “fucking cool” and recalling bumping into them backstage after previously going to the same school.BMTH and AM – both from Sheffield – co-headlined the same nights of Reading & Leeds 2022 on the dual festival’s Main Stage West and Main Stage East, respectively. Prior to their first bill-topping gigs at the events, Bring Me spoke to NME for this week’s Big Read cover story.During the conversation, frontman Oli Sykes said he felt “starstruck” when he ran into Alex Turner on the European festival circuit in 2018.
Taylor Swift has announced three new collectable editions of her forthcoming 10th studio album, ‘Midnights’, all of which will boast unique features and will only be available to purchase for a limited time.The three different variants are a ‘Jade Green’ edition, a ‘Blood Moon’ edition and a ‘Mahogany’ edition. Each is named for the colour it represents – for example, the ‘Jade Green’ edition has the title and tracklisting on the album’s front cover (as well as the left-side bar of the CD version’s jewel case) printed in a muted gradient of deep greens, while the original version is laid out in blue.Similarly, the ‘Blood Moon’ edition of ‘Midnights’ features a gradient of deep red to orange, and the ‘Mahogany’ edition comes with brown and gold accents.
Arctic Monkeys‘ headline show at Leeds Festival last Sunday (August 28) – see the footage below.As BBC Look North reports, Zak and Emily – who have been together for eight years – were watching AM close out the northern edition of Reading & Leeds 2022 when Zak got down on one knee.Emily had previously asked Zak if she could get up on his shoulders during the Monkeys’ performance of ‘505’, which ended their main set ahead of a three-track encore. “It just felt like, for me, that was the right moment,” Zak explained.Recalling the proposal, Emily added that it was “amazing”.
Arctic Monkeys have announced an intimate show in New York for next month – find all the details below.The Sheffield band, who are set to release their seventh album ‘The Car’ on October 21, will take to the stage at the 3,000-capacity Kings Theatre in Brooklyn on September 22. Per a post on AM’s social media pages, the gig is “a phone-free” event.Tickets go on sale at 10am ET tomorrow (September 1) – buy yours from here.The forthcoming concert will follow Arctic Monkeys’ dates in Europe, the UK and Ireland, and comes ahead of their scheduled South American tour.
Arctic Monkeys have shared the lead single from their upcoming album The Car. A video for "There'd Better Be A Mirrorball," directed by frontman Alex Turner, can be seen below.
Arctic Monkeys have returned with the lead single from their forthcoming seventh album, ‘The Car’ – a jazzy slow-burner called ‘There’d Better Be A Mirrorball’.Matching up with how the band had teased their new material in recent months, the new song is equally shimmery and meditative, with an edge of ’60s pop balladry. “Don’t get emotional, that ain’t like you / Yesterday’s still leaking through the roof / That’s nothing new,” Alex Turner sings on its first verse.
Fans can’t help but notice the a coincidence about the date Taylor Swift chose to release her upcoming 10th studio album.
Taylor Swift dropped a bombshell at the 2022 MTV VMAs on Sunday - she would be releasing a "brand new album" on 21 October 2022.MORE: Joe Alwyn opens up about relationship with Taylor Swift in very rare interviewThe news came out of the blue for fans as she shared the details at the end of her acceptance speech for the Video of the Year Award.WATCH: Taylor Swift reveals details of new album"I made up my mind that if you were this generous and give us this, I thought it might be a fun moment to tell you that my brand new album comes out October 21st," she said to screams in the stadium.Taylor then took to social media at midnight east coast time to reveal more information, including confirming that this would be an album of brand new material ,and not a rerecording of her previous work.MORE: Inside Taylor Swift's incredible $81m property portfolio: from New York to Nashville"Midnights, the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life, will be out October 21. Meet me at midnight," she shared on her website.The album will come almost a year after her last release, the rerecording of Grammy nominated album Red.
Today is a big day of celebration for Steps, who have just gained their fourth Number 1 album in the UK – and first in 11 years – with The Platinum Collection.
Taylor Swift is being sued by a poet and author named Teresa La Dart who claims a book Swift released alongside her 2019 album ‘Lover’ copied elements of La Dart’s book of the same name.In a complaint filed in Tennessee federal court on August 23, La Dart claims that “a number of creative elements” from her book – a collection of “poems, anecdotes and photos” self-published in 2010 – were copied in Swift’s book that accompanies a deluxe version of her ‘Lover’ album.As the Daily Mail reports, in the filing, La Dart alleges Swift copied both “the vibe and design” of her own book, as well as its “format” of “a recollection of past years memorialized in a combination of written and pictorial components”.In her allegations, La Dart specifically references the similarities of both books sharing a title, having covers that use “pastel pinks and blues”, images of their author “photographed in a downward pose” and the designs comprising of “interspersed photographs and writings”.La Dart is reportedly seeking in “excess of one million dollars” in damages.NME has reached out to representatives for Swift for comment. In a statement shared with Pitchfork, La Dart’s lawyer said her client “feels strongly that her full work needs to be compared with [Swift’s] before a conclusion is made here”.They added that the decision to file the complaint “was not made nor taken lightly considering the other side is quite formidable”, and they “hope the masses can understand these issues from her perspective”.Earlier this month, responding to a separate copyright lawsuit, Swift denied she had copied the lyrics of her 2014 hit ‘Shake It Off’ from ‘Playas Gon’ Play’ by the American pop trio 3LW.
Alex Turner has spoken about what to expect from Arctic Monkeys‘ upcoming headline performances at Reading & Leeds 2022.The Sheffield band, who announced their seventh album ‘The Car’ today (August 24), will top the bill at the dual festival this weekend as part of their current European tour.Recent gigs have seen the Monkeys dust off ‘Potion Approaching’ for the first time since 2011 and play ‘That’s Where You’re Wrong’ for the first time since 2013. ‘AM’ ballad ‘I Wanna Be Yours’ has also made an unexpected return.Last night, Turner and co.
Alex Turner has shared the first details on Arctic Monkeys‘ forthcoming seventh album ‘The Car’, revealing that the band have adopted a “louder” sound this time around.As announced today (August 24), the Sheffield group will release the 10-track record on Friday, October 21 via Domino (pre-order here). It was produced by James Ford and recorded at Butley Priory in Suffolk, La Frette in Paris, and RAK Studios in London.The eagerly-awaited full-length project follows on from 2018’s divisive ‘Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino’, which featured space-age-inspired lyrics over avant-garde and largely piano-led instrumentals.Speaking in a new interview with the Big Issue, frontman Turner explained: “On this record [‘The Car’], sci-fi is off the table.
Arctic Monkeys have announced their highly-anticipated seventh studio album, ‘The Car’ – find all the details below.The Sheffield band will release the 10-track record on Friday, October 21 via Domino. You can pre-order/pre-save it here.‘The Car’ was produced by James Ford and recorded at Butley Priory in Suffolk, La Frette in Paris, and RAK Studios in London.Per a press release, the record “finds Arctic Monkeys running wild in a new and sumptuous musical landscape and contains some of the richest and most rewarding vocal performances of Alex Turner‘s career”.It’ll feature the new track ‘I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am’, which AM debuted during their show at Zurich Openair festival in Switzerland last night (August 23).Other song titles include ‘There’d Better Be A Mirrorball’, ‘Sculptures Of Anything Goes’, ‘Jet Skis On The Moat’, ‘Body Paint’ and ‘Mr Schwartz’.
Arctic Monkeys debuted a brand new song called ‘I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am’ tonight (August 23) at their gig as part of Zurich Openair festival in Switzerland – see the performance below.The new song is the first taster fans have got from the band’s upcoming seventh studio album.Per footage posted online by fans, the song is a perky, retro-sounding track that feels in line with the band’s last album, 2018’s ‘Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino’.The band’s comeback gigs so far had seen them dust off ‘Potion Approaching’ for the first time since 2011 and play ‘That’s Where You’re Wrong’ for the first time since 2013, but no new music had yet been shared.Watch the live debut of ‘I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am’, the first taster of new Arctic Monkeys material, below.