The Farr Side: Tay can slay all day

She’s a chart breaker, dream maker, love talker ... and don’t you mess around with her, no, no, no . ...

Of course, I’m talking about Taylor Swift. There is nothing this girl can’t do. What an exciting time to be alive for music fans and for lovers of music chart history. Taylor Swift is re-writing the history books again. And, this time it puts her well on top. It will likely be a long time before this will happen again — if ever.

Swift’s latest album, “Speak Now: Taylor’s Version” is the new No. 1 album in America. The album debuted on Billboard’s Hot 200 albums chart selling nearly a quarter of a million copies in its first four days. I’d like to note that more than 500,000 copies sold were physical copies, including vinyl or CD formats.

Oh my goodness. Where to begin? First off, I love that she’s winning the war on the industry and reclaiming her work, album by album. It’s not only inspiring for other musicians and singers who have lost the rights to their own music, it’s protecting her art — her art being her songs and words that have often been quite personal for the singer.

Luckily for her fans, those words have become poetic and personal for them, too. I was late to jump on the Swift bandwagon, but it's no secret I have grown to love and appreciate her very much. It’s incredible to witness her history.

“Speak Now: Taylor’s Version” is her third to be re-recorded and released again. She has plans to re-record each of her first six albums and throw in a few surprises (new tracks along the way). It’s simply incredible the response she’s received, thus far.

With the album debuting at No. 1, it now makes Swift the female artist with the most No. 1 albums ever. She just broke her tie with Barbra Streisand, an icon who has held the record for several years. Last fall, Swift had tied Streisand when “Midnights” debuted at No. 1 and moved more than 1.5 million units its first week out. Swift now has 12 No. 1 albums to her credit. Incredible!

“Speak Now: Taylor’s Version” has sold the most of any other album this year in its opening week. But, the madness doesn’t stop with that. Swift also has three other albums in the Top 10 this week. That makes her the only living artist in the past 60 years to have four albums simultaneously in the Top 10 – “Speak Now” (No. 1), “Midnights” (No. 5), “Lover” (No. 7) and “Folklore” (No. 10).

But, guess what? That’s not all. Swift actually has 11 albums all on the album chart at the same time. It’s never been done before by a living artist.

The singer is currently breaking concert attendance records nationwide, which has triggered multiple TikTok posts and other social media frenzies.

The new (old) album boasts 22 tracks, all of which she re-recorded. The personal songs reflected her state of mind at the time the original versions were released back in 2010. The difference now is she’s grown up and matured. The songs have taken on some new meanings.

“I Can See You” is the first single and is currently sitting at No. 4 on the Hot 100. I like the song. “Mine,” “Sparks Fly” and “Ours” are still favorites and even sound better to me now. “Back To December” has always been just OK for me. It just seems to lag on too long for me. Of course, “Dear John,” is receiving a lot of attention as the song was about her time with singer John Mayer.

Other notable tracks include collaborations such as “Electric Touch” (with Fall Out Boy) and “Castles Crumbling” (Haley Williams). Both will be chart hits very soon, I’m sure.

— David T. Farr is a Journal Correspondent. Email him at farrboy@hotmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: The Farr Side: Tay can slay all day