STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Critics gave it mixed reviews, but Taylor Swift's album "The Tortured Poets Department" is still topping the album charts. It's now spent 15 weeks at No. 1. Stephen Thompson of NPR Music says that's as much marketing magic as it is music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHO'S AFRAID OF LITTLE OLD ME?")
TAYLOR SWIFT: (Singing) Who's afraid of little old me?
STEPHEN THOMPSON, BYLINE: Last week, Taylor Swift pulled out all the stops to keep "The Tortured Poets Department" at the top of the album chart. She even used a bit of sales sleight of hand to block her longtime nemesis, rapper Ye, from topping the chart with "Vultures 2." That's his new album with Ty Dolla Sign.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PROMOTION")
YE AND TY DOLLA SIGN: (Rapping) Baby girl, hop in, we going everywhere but broke. Like we always do it this...
THOMPSON: Swift released several discount-priced digital variant editions of "Tortured Poets" in the run-up to last week's charts. Each version contained a different bonus track.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE MANUSCRIPT")
SWIFT: (Singing) And at last, she knew what the agony had been for.
THOMPSON: That labor-intensive bit of grade-grubbing paid off when "Vultures 2" entered the chart at No. 2 behind Swift. This week, it plunged all the way to No. 19. But Swift wasn't done working the system. She released another digital variant of the album late last week. The effect on her sales numbers wasn't as dramatic, but she did extend her run at No. 1 to a 15th nonconsecutive week, now tied for third all-time among women artists joining Carole King's 1971 classic "Tapestry."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I FEEL THE EARTH MOVE")
CAROLE KING: (Singing) I feel the Earth move under my feet...
THOMPSON: Climbing from No. 3 to Ye's vacated No. 2 spot, Chappell Roan's "The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess." It's yet another new chart peak for Roan, whose 10-week run in the Top 10 has been marked by slow, steady growth.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GUILTY PLEASURE")
CHAPPELL ROAN: (Singing) So shame on me and shame on you. I fantasize what we would do...
THOMPSON: Others who rose after the fall of "Vultures 2" - Morgan Wallen's "One Thing At A Time" moves up one spot to No. 3. Billie Eilish's "Hit Me Hard And Soft" is at No. 4, and Zach Bryan's "The Great American Bar Scene" climbs back into the Top 5, demonstrating once more that Ye's loss is everyone else's gain.
Stephen Thompson, NPR Music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GUILTY PLEASURE")
ROAN: (Singing) You give me guilty, guilty pleasure... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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