"THE MUSIC INDUSTRY": Fans react as Taylor Swift's 'The Life of a Showgirl' officially surpasses Adele to claim biggest opening week in U.S. history

It hasn't been a full week since its release, and Taylor Swift's latest album has rewritten U.S. music history. The beloved singer-songwriter's The Life of a Showgirl has earned more than 3.5 million equivalent album units in the United States after dropping on October 3, 2025, per Luminate.

This figure surpasses Adele's decade-long record, which was set by her 2015 album 25. The record opened with 3.48 million units. Notably, of Taylor Swift's 3.5 million total, 3.2 million are pure sales, which is digital and physical combined. The rest comes from streaming.

This new milestone makes The Life of a Showgirl the biggest album opening week in U.S. history during the streaming era. It officially dethroned Adele's 25 as the previous record-holder. 25 sold 3.378 million pure copies in its first week. It was nearly ten years ago. Fans celebrated Taylor Swift's latest achievement, saying:

"Taylor did it with JUST the pure sales btw. THE MUSIC INDUSTRY"

❤️‍🔥

@themidnightstan

Taylor did it with JUST the pure sales btw. THE MUSIC INDUSTRY

Fans' reactions as Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl officially surpasses Adele's biggest opening week record

Pop Base took to its official X (formerly Twitter) page to announce that,

"Taylor Swift's ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ has officially broken Adele’s record for biggest album opening week in U.S. history, selling over 3.5 MILLION units so far."

Fans were notably quick to weigh in on the comment section of the X post as they wrote their thoughts regarding Swift's latest achievement. Below are some of their reactions:

"We need to stop framing this as Taylor vs. Adele; it's really the System vs. The Song. Adele hit 3.38M in a streaming-less era with pure, single-version demand, while Taylor’s record is powered by variant-stacking, which, while effective, shifts the focus from universal critical appeal to hyper-monetization. The true "unbroken" record is the one driven purely by a shared cultural moment. ☕️", penned a netizen.

"only taylor did it organically. adele withheld her music on all streaming platforms so you had to physically buy a copy to listen to it. meanwhile taylor’s is free for everyone + adele bundled her sales with tour tickets, something that is now forbidden by billboard. congrats taylor!", stated another.

"With 30 variants, 3.5 million units would average around 116,000 units per variant, highlighting the potential need for @Billboard to revisit its methodology, similar to the changes they made in April regarding digital album counts.", noted a third.

Others also chimed in:

"Adele did it with ONE release! While miss americana released 100000 versions", commented a fan.

"Swift did not break the record , she rewrote the music industry handbook 💅🔥", declared another.

"At this point, Taylor Swift is not just breaking records she is rewriting what “mainstream” even means. But it also shows how music today is less about sound and more about storytelling, branding, and loyalty. She built a movement, not just an album.", lauded a third.

Adele's 25 has stood as the commercial benchmark standard for album launches. It was released in November 2015. The record sold 3.378 million copies in its debut week. Until now, no artist had come close. Swift's 3.5 million equivalent album units finally broke that record in this streaming era.

Congratulations, Taylor Swift!

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Also Read: "Spinning criticism into free promo": Internet reacts as Swift accepts mixed response to 'The Life of a Showgirl'

Taylor Swift 'The Life of a Showgirl': Every track ranked from best to worst

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