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Taylor Swift

Post Malone has reclaimed the throne this week.

Post Malone has reclaimed the throne this week. Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Stagecoach hide caption

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Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Stagecoach

Music

Post Malone recaptures the No. 1 song spot with 'I Had Some Help'

After briefly ceding to Sabrina Carpenter, “I Had Some Help" is back on top of the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department is still No. 1 over on the Billboard 200 albums chart — she’s holding strong at ten weeks.

Sabrina Carpenter’s ascent is complete — this week, she scored her first No. 1 hit.

Sabrina Carpenter’s ascent is complete — this week, she scored her first No. 1 hit. Nina Westervelt/Billboard via Getty Images hide caption

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Nina Westervelt/Billboard via Getty Images

Music

Sabrina Carpenter scores her first No. 1 single with 'Please Please Please'

The pop star caught the top spot while her other single, “Espresso,” is still holding strong at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Meanwhile: yes, Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department is still No. 1 over on the Billboard 200 albums chart — we’re at week nine and counting.

Taylor Swift on stage in France in May, during the European leg of her Eras Tour. Since its release in April, Swift's latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, has been the top album in the United States for eight consecutive weeks.

Taylor Swift on stage in France in May, during the European leg of her Eras Tour. Since its release in April, Swift's latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, has been the top album in the United States for eight consecutive weeks. Julien de Rosa/Getty Images hide caption

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Julien de Rosa/Getty Images

Music News

Taylor Swift and Post Malone top the charts again. How long can their dominance last?

One song has ruled the pop chart for over a month. One album has topped the album chart for two months. But there are signs this week that both could face serious challengers soon.

Eminem, performing here during the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium in 2022, returns to the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week with

Eminem, performing here during the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium in 2022, returns to the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week with "Houdini." Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images hide caption

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Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Music News

The top songs of the week take a nostalgia trip, courtesy of Eminem

For a seventh straight week, Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department rules the Billboard 200. On the singles chart, Eminem references both the Steve Miller Band and his own past glory.

TIKTOK 50 CHART

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On 'The Tortured Poets Department,' Taylor Swift spares no one

The Tortured Poets Department is the latest album from Taylor Swift. Beth Garrabrant/Republic Records hide caption

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Beth Garrabrant/Republic Records

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

On 'The Tortured Poets Department,' Taylor Swift spares no one

Taylor Swift dropped an epic new album that spans two hours — and two high-profile breakups. The Tortured Poets Department delves deeply into two of the singer's recent relationships — one with the English actor Joe Alwyn and the other with Matty Healy, who's the lead singer of The 1975. And while Taylor Swift indulges in a few beefs on this record, the target she returns to most often is herself.

On 'The Tortured Poets Department,' Taylor Swift spares no one

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New Music Friday: Taylor Swift's 'Tortured Poets' and the best albums out April 19

Taylor Swift's new album, The Tortured Poets Department, immediately became one of the most anticipated releases of 2024 when she announced it on stage at the Grammy Awards in February. Beth Garrabrant/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Beth Garrabrant/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

New Music Friday: Taylor Swift's 'Tortured Poets' and the best albums out April 19

NPR Music's Ann Powers and Hazel Cills dig into Taylor Swift's 'The Tortured Poets Department,' which hit streaming services last night, and share a handful of other new albums out Friday, April 19.

New Music Friday: Taylor Swift's 'Tortured Poets' and the best albums out April 19

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Taylor Swift's 'Tortured Poets' is written in blood

On Taylor Swift's 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department, her artistry is tangled up in the details of her private life and her deployment of celebrity. But Swift's lack of concern about whether these songs speak to and for anyone but herself is audible throughout the album. Beth Garrabrant/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Beth Garrabrant/Courtesy of the artist

Review

Music

Taylor Swift's 'Tortured Poets' is written in blood

With The Tortured Poets Department, the defining pop star of her era has made an album as messy and confrontational as any good girl's work can get.

Taylor Swift performs during her Eras Tour at the National Stadium on March 2 in Singapore.

Taylor Swift performs during her Eras Tour at the National Stadium on March 2 in Singapore. Ashok Kumar/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Mana hide caption

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Ashok Kumar/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Mana

Asia

Taylor Swift's Singapore leg spurs bad blood in SE Asia. Neighbors can't shake it off

Singapore made an exclusive deal to host Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concerts, locking out other Southeast Asian destinations.

Taylor Swift's Singapore leg spurs bad blood in SE Asia. Neighbors can't shake it off

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Reexamining the 'upskirt decade' and the public ridicule of female pop stars

Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake perform at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2004. Jeff Haynes/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Jeff Haynes/AFP via Getty Images

Interview highlights

Reexamining the 'upskirt decade' and the public ridicule of female pop stars

The new book Toxic: Women, Fame, and the Tabloid 2000s reassesses a time when popular culture policed, ridiculed and even took down a variety of women in the public eye.

Reexamining the 'upskirt decade' and the public ridicule of female pop stars

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At the 2024 Grammys, a show full of surprises and safe bets

Taylor Swift won two awards at the 66th Grammys, including album of the year. She received that prize for a record fourth time. Earlier in the night, during her acceptance speech for the best pop vocal album Grammy for her album Midnights, Swift announced the release of her next album, The Tortured Poets Department. Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy hide caption

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Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Music News

At the 2024 Grammys, a show full of surprises and safe bets

Women dominated the prizes and performances at the 66th Grammy Awards. Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus and Billie Eilish won major awards; Joni Mitchell and Tracy Chapman gave captivating performances.

Here's why conspiracy theories about Taylor Swift and the Super Bowl are spreading

Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates with Taylor Swift after a 17-10 victory against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 28, 2024 in Baltimore. Patrick Smith/Getty Images hide caption

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Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Super Bowl 2024

Here's why conspiracy theories about Taylor Swift and the Super Bowl are spreading

Swift's popularity is being twisted into a threat by a contingent of far-right, Donald Trump-supporting conservatives. "Is Swift a front for a covert political agenda?" asked a Fox News host.

Here's why conspiracy theories about Taylor Swift and the Super Bowl are spreading

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What Taylor Swift's icon status says about who gets to be a 'girl'

Taylor Swift, who has been celebrated for her ability to channel the emotions and perspectives of adolescent girls. Photos: Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP, Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images for TAS/Design: Jackie Lay/NPR hide caption

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Photos: Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP, Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images for TAS/Design: Jackie Lay/NPR

Perspective

Code Switch

What Taylor Swift's icon status says about who gets to be a 'girl'

Taylor Swift has become an American icon, (and she's got the awards, sales, and accolades to prove it.) With that status, she's often been celebrated as someone whose music is authentically representing the interior lives of young women and adolescent girls. On this episode, we're asking: Why? What is it about Swift's persona — and her fandom — that feels so deeply connected to girlhood? And, because this is Code Switch, what does all of that have to do with race?

What Taylor Swift's icon status says about who gets to be a 'girl'

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Another Super Bowl bet emerges: Can Taylor Swift make it from her Tokyo show in time?

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift celebrate after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game at M&T Bank Stadium in Maryland on Sunday. Patrick Smith/Getty Images hide caption

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Super Bowl 2024

Another Super Bowl bet emerges: Can Taylor Swift make it from her Tokyo show in time?

The Kansas City Chiefs — including Travis Kelce — will play in the Super Bowl in Las Vegas on Feb. 11. Swift has a show in Tokyo the night before. Can she get there in time? The math says yes.

For The Eras Tour, Taylor Swift takes a lucrative and satisfying victory lap

Taylor Swift performs onstage on the first night of her Eras Tour at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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AFP via Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

For The Eras Tour, Taylor Swift takes a lucrative and satisfying victory lap

Taylor Swift has had a very big year. Her career-spanning Eras Tour is on pace to become the biggest and most lucrative concert tour in history, and the subsequent concert film set box office records. She's been streamed on Spotify globally more than any other artist in 2023, and was named Time Magazine's Person of the Year. Today, in honor of her birthday, Taylor Swift is releasing The Eras Tour film digitally, so we thought it was the perfect time to revisit our conversation about what made the tour such a juggernaut.

For The Eras Tour, Taylor Swift takes a lucrative and satisfying victory lap

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If Taylor Swift is living in Kansas City, here's what locals say she should know

Taylor Swift celebrates a touchdown during the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers game at Arrowhead Stadium on Oct. 22 in Kansas City, Mo. David Eulitt/Getty Images hide caption

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Pop Culture

If Taylor Swift is living in Kansas City, here's what locals say she should know

KCUR

Even if you don't know burnt ends from a short end, here's a (brief!) introduction for Taylor Swift and the rest of the world to understanding Kansas City and what makes it so enchanting.

A fan died of heat at a Taylor Swift concert. It's a rising risk with climate change

Taylor Swift fans wait for the doors of Nilton Santos Olympic stadium to open for her Eras Tour concert amid a heat wave in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. A 23-year-old Taylor Swift fan died Friday night after suffering from cardiac arrest due to heat at the concert, according to a statement from the show's organizers in Brazil. Silvia Izquierdo/AP hide caption

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Silvia Izquierdo/AP

Climate

A fan died of heat at a Taylor Swift concert. It's a rising risk with climate change

The concert in Rio de Janeiro took place during one of the worst heat waves ever in Brazil. The country is in the middle of a record-breaking six months of extreme weather.

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