Overview

• During an October 6 appearance on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, Yungblud praised Taylor Swift’s music, sang a snippet of “Love Story,” and pushed back on “lads in pubs” who dismiss her.
• Billboard reports that Swift’s new album, The Life Of A Showgirl, moved 3.5 million equivalent units in its first U.S. week, including about 3.2 million in traditional sales and 300,000 from streaming, surpassing Adele’s 2015 opening-week mark.
• Swift responded to critiques in an Apple Music interview, saying she welcomes intense first-week discussion and respects subjective views on art.
• She signaled no immediate follow-up tour after the Eras run, citing exhaustion and the desire to only return if she can do it at the highest level.
• Critical and fan responses remain split, with NME awarding three stars, while Swift previously praised Yungblud’s 2020 mashup of her “Cardigan” with Avril Lavigne’s “I’m With You.”