There’s been some gossip thrown around on X (formerly known as Twitter) after Taylor Swift pulled a pretty shady move on Billie Eilish’s album release date. The “Bad Guy” singer dropped her third album Hit Me Hard and Soft on Friday US time to great critical acclaim, but Taylor also dropped three new variants of The Tortured Poets Department on the same day.
This means the pair are going head-to-head for the coveted #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
Each of Taylor’s variants included one new voice memo – either “Cassandra”, “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me” or “The Black Dog” – so fans had to purchase all three albums to hear them all. She also added a sense of urgency when announcing the new variants, saying they would only be available for six hours.
It’s getting expensive to be a Swiftie. (Image: Instagram @taylorswift)
There’s obviously no concrete evidence to say that Taylor was trying to block Billie’s new album from hitting #1, but some fans believe it could be a reaction to Billie’s comments earlier this year. Take this all with a grain of salt, because there hasn’t been any official comment from either of their camps.
What did Billie Eilish do to Taylor Swift?
Billie opened up about her sustainability efforts in an interview with Billboard in March. While she gives the fans options with her vinyl variants, she specifically makes sure all her LPs have the same tracklist, so fans don’t have to shell out for extra editions. Her vinyls are also made with 100 per cent recycled materials.
Billie Eilish just released her new album. (Image: Getty)
Taylor famously releases different album variants with extra songs so she’s constantly breaking records, and while Billie didn’t mention her by name, fans were convinced she was talking about the Midnights singer.
“We live in this day and age where, for some reason, it’s very important to some artists to make all sorts of different vinyl and packaging… which ups the sales and ups the numbers and gets them more money,” Billie said.
“I can’t even express how wasteful it is. It is right in front of our faces, and people are just getting away with it left and right… I find it really frustrating as somebody who really goes out of my way to be sustainable… and then some of the biggest artists in the world [are] making fucking 40 different vinyl packages that have a different unique thing just to get you to keep buying more.”
Billie was later forced to clarify her comments on social media, saying she wasn’t “singling anyone out” and claimed they were “industry-wide systemic issues”.
Fans criticise Taylor Swift for ‘nasty’ move
Of course, people kicked off on X, with some wondering if Taylor had a grudge against the young singer.
“Billie literally waited for Ariana Grande to release ‘Eternal Sunshine’ before announcing her own album… no way this ain’t on purpose she’s really not a girl’s girl,” one person wrote.
“Billie’s statement about artists releasing 40 vinyl packages to get people to buy more really got into her… doing this on her album release day is so nasty,” another added.
Swifties turn on Taylor Swift over her new album variants
It’s not just Billie’s fans that are unhappy with Taylor’s move – even Swifties are getting tired of purchasing approximately one billion album variants.
Some shared their frustration on social media, with one person saying: “Be for fucking real. Just release the full Anthology on CD & vinyl, maybe with actual signed covers, and be done with it. I love Taylor, but I’m fucking sick of these cash grabs,” another added.
“Girl just set up a subscription service at this point,” another added.
“Her asking us to pre-order Midnights and then proceeding to surprise us with a 3 AM version on release day so I’d have to buy a second copy of Midnights (containing the 3 AM version) made me realise I can’t pre-order her albums,” a third wrote.
Taylor Swift added a brand new The Tortured Poets Department segment for The Eras Tour. (Photo: Getty)
Another fan points out Taylor Swift’s track record
This isn’t the first time Taylor has been accused of being shady to other artists, with an X user pointing out some other interesting coincidences. In 2017, Taylor added her entire discography on Spotify, the same day as Katy Perry’s Witness was released.
In 2021, Olivia Rodrigo was forced to add Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff as co-writers on her hit “Deja Vu”, leading to speculation that the pair have since fallen out. When Olivia released her debut album SOUR later that year, Taylor released new digital editions and vinyl variants of Evermore.
In 2022, SZA‘s album SOS held the #1 spot for three weeks. Taylor then released four variants of Midnights including ‘Behind the song’ exclusives, for just $5 each.
Hit Me Hard and Soft has gained a Metascore of 92 on Metacritic, while The Tortured Poets Department has a 76.
Again, this could all be a total coincidence and more to do with the fact that she just really, really loves money. You don’t become a billionaire by accident! If any new tea drops, we’ll be sure to update you.
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