Taylor Swift drops live edition of TTPD as charts battle with Billie Eilish heats up
New York, New York - Taylor Swift has dropped yet another version of The Tortured Poets Department as she battles with Billie Eilish to hold onto her No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200.
On Thursday, the 34-year-old singer unveiled three new digital versions of her 11th studio album bearing the "(Live from Paris) acoustic" distinction.
Swifties can purchase one of the three versions – all of which bear different covers – on her online store until May 24 at 6 PM ET.
As an incentive to snag all three, each comes with a different live acoustic performance from The Eras Tour Paris: loml, My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys, and The Alchemy x Treacherous Mashup.
Fans have been chattering online about what some believed were deliberate efforts by Taylor to block Billie's new album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, from topping her on the charts.
The night before the 22-year-old's album drop, the Karma singer released three other digital editions of TTPD – with these featuring original voice memos of three different tracks.
Is Taylor Swift intentionally sabotaging Billie Eilish's album debut?
Taylor is currently projected to maintain a five-week streak at the top of the Billboard 200, with Billie expected to debut at No. 2.
Should the projections hold true, this will be the first time the What Was I Made For? artist failed to hit No. 1 during an album's debut week.
Sales typically decline after debut week, but Taylor's repeated special editions and their exclusive features have created an incentive among her dedicated fanbase to purchase yet another copy – potentially sinking Billie's chances of overtaking her.
Billie has released a few special editions herself in an attempt to boost sales, including slowed and sped-up versions of the album as well as an extended edit of L'AMOUR DE MA VIE.
The fan-fueled feud has also been amplified by earlier comments from Billie criticizing the "wasteful" vinyl variants artists typically release to increase an album's debut sales – something Taylor has had quite the reputation for doing.
Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO / TT & UPI Photo