Who’s the man? She’s the man! Serving a devastating blow to the estate of Jackson Maine, fellow country-crossover star Taylor Swift’s seventh album Lover has unseated the A Star Is Born soundtrack from its position as 2019’s top-selling album in the U.S. On Sunday, Billboard reported that Lover, which was released on Friday, August 23, had sales approaching 500,000 units after one day. These numbers handily surpass Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born, which has sold 444,000 to date in 2019. (A Star Is Born has sold 1.148 million albums total in the U.S. since its October 2018 debut, so Lover still has some catching up to do for total sales.) These strong first-week numbers have certainly been bolstered by merch bundles that sound like Swiftie catnip, including multiple collectible deluxe editions at Target and a $70 Prime Day Lover preorder bundle that came with a tee, butterfly socks, and a crazy straw. According to Billboard, “forecasters expect that Lover will bow at No. 1 on the Sept. 7-dated Billboard 200 with over 700,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Aug. 29.†These stats all sound pretty impressive, but just like in the “You Belong With Me†music video, Taylor’s worst enemy is, once again, herself: Lover’s sales numbers couldn’t beat her own Reputation, which sold 1.216 million copies in its first week in 2017.
