Taylor Swift and Beyoncé Arrange to Avoid Chart Rivalry

The two queens of pop music have spaced out their album releases to avoid direct competition on the charts.

Taylor Swift and Beyoncé Knowles – two queens of pop – are often considered rivals, but they have continuously supported each other and spaced out their album releases to avoid direct competition on the charts.

When Taylor Swift took the stage at the Grammys in February to accept her award for Best Pop Vocal Album, after a heartfelt thank you to the Recording Academy and her fans, she announced, “The Tortured Poets Department – My new album is coming out April 19.” It was a message to her fans, and a veiled warning to any singers planning to release a new album this spring: “If you want your new album to be No. 1 on the charts, don’t release it on April 19.”

A week later, following a teaser in a Super Bowl commercial, Beyoncé also dropped news of her new album Cowboy Carter, due out March 29.

Beyonce is the first black female artist to top the Billboard 100

For their part, the two artists have frequently expressed goodwill toward each other and have made moves to try to eliminate potential discord. In 2009, at the MTV Video Music Awards, Kanye West interrupted Swift’s acceptance speech to support Beyoncé; that evening, Beyoncé brought Swift on stage to finish her speech. In 2021, Swift shared on Instagram that Beyoncé had sent her flowers after Swift won the Grammy for Album of the Year for Folklore. Swift called Beyoncé “a queen of grace and grandeur.” Last year, after a blockbuster stadium tour, they appeared at each other’s concert film premieres, a move that served as a response and rebuke to the trolls who sought to sow discord between the two.

In an interview with Time Magazine, Swift shared: “It would obviously be very beneficial for the media and the extremists to pit two women against each other, even if the two artists in question refused to participate in that fight.”

Taylor has won Album of the Year four times.

In fact, the two superstars have often avoided each other when it comes to album releases, whether intentionally or not. The only time they released vinyl around the same time was in November 2008, when Beyoncé’s I Am… Sasha Fierce replaced Swift’s Fearless at No. 1. Apart from that, every studio album by Beyoncé and Swift—a total of 21, including re-recordings of Swift’s back catalog—has reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Beyonce Knowles

In the streaming era, where songs have replaced albums as music’s primary currency and chart positions are based on an opaque formula that combines streams with sales, a No. 1 album is no longer as prestigious as it once was. But it still matters to artists, as recognition of their talent from critics and fans. And it matters to the online fanatics who pride themselves on putting their heroes on the map.

Taylor Swift on Era Tour

Beyoncé and Swift are considered equals in pop music and on the charts, both with huge fan bases. Taylor Swift is a global star with hit songs that are loved by listeners around the world. Swift has broken numerous records and won countless awards for her music over the years. In 2024, she became the first artist to win Album of the Year four times for Midnights.

Beyoncé is one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She became the first black artist to reach number one in the country music category in the history of the Billboard charts, which have traditionally been dominated by white male singers.