Taylor Swift soars atop US chart, ends 'Despacito' reign

[NEW YORK] Taylor Swift's vengeful new track topped the US singles chart Tuesday with the year's highest one-week sales, halting the historic reign of global sensation "Despacito." "Look What You Made Me Do," a dark dance track that is the first single off Swift's upcoming album "Reputation," pushed "Despacito" to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week through Thursday.

The pop superstar's song has broken the one-day streaming record on Spotify - to which Swift recently returned after a high-profile boycott.

Tracking service Nielsen Music said "Look What You Made Me Do" had the second highest number of streams ever over all platforms, trailing the 2013 viral dance craze track "Harlem Shake." "Look What You Made Me Do" also posted the year's most downloads, at 353,000, the most since Justin Timberlake's feel-good summer song "Can't Stop the Feeling!" in May 2016.

Swift ended the 16-week streak at the top of "Despacito," the reggaeton track by Puerto Rican pop star Luis Fonsi with rapper Daddy Yankee, whose remix featured pop celebrity Justin Bieber.

"Despacito" tied "One Sweet Day," the 1995 ballad by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men, for the most weeks at number one. The feat is all the more striking as few non-English songs have dominated the US charts.

"Look What You Made Me Do," accompanied by a video laden with pop culture references, marks Swift showing a more sinister side with lyrics that appear to hit back at rapper Kanye West over unflattering remarks.

AFP