Taylor Swift just rewrote chart history! Her recently released album “The Life of a Showgirl” has broken the first-week, equivalent-unit sales record previously held by Adele’s “25.” With this, “Showgirl” officially became the fastest-selling and streaming album of the modern era, according to Billboard.
Since being released on Friday, October 3, “Showgirl” has now amassed 3.5 million equivalent unit sales, according to reports from Luminate. However, Adele still holds the record for actual albums sold, which includes physical and digital sales but not streams. “25” sold 3.378 million while “The Life of a Showgirl” sold 3.2 million actual physical and digital albums. However, getting this second record is totally attainable for Taylor, as she still has 2 tracking days to go. Still, counting equivalent-unit sales, the record now belongs to Taylor Swift.
Taylor Swift's 'The Life of A Showgirl' officially breaks the all-time record for biggest first week sales for any album in US history, surpassing Adele's '25'. pic.twitter.com/4PHb422DeT
— chart data (@chartdata) October 8, 2025
With new limited-edition CDs and fresh media appearances, it seems almost certain that Showgirl will cross the finish line. With promotional appearances in full swing, including The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Apple Music’s The Zane Lowe Show in the past couple of days, it would be no surprise to see the buzz around the album growing louder.
