Taylor Swift Scores Fourth Hot 100 No. 1 With “Bad Blood”
Taylor Swift just racked up yet another victory: "Bad Blood" featuring Kendrick Lamar just hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
As Billboard reports, it's actually the singer-songwriter's fourth Hot 100 No. 1, following "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" in 2012, and "Shake It Off" and "Blank Space" from last year's 1989. And here's another factoid for all of you chart nerds out there: It's the first time three songs from one album have all topped the Hot 100 since Adele's 21 did with "Rolling in the Deep," "Someone Like You" and "Set Fire to the Rain." Oh, and it's also her also her 18th top 10 single. Pretty good, Ms. Swift.
The accolade shouldn't come as a surprise, especially considering the social-media promo siege Taylor launched in the weeks leading up to her "Bad Blood" video premiere at the Billboard Music Awards on May 17. The cavalcade of stars announced as cast members was seemingly endless (check out the gallery below), and the video itself was a bombastic flurry of action that seemed to spare no expense. The outfits alone, purchased at an upscale L.A. sex shop, cost over $13,000. The live awards show premiere capped off the campaign, and Kendrick's surprise verses were the cherry atop the hype-sundae.
Taylor's a savvy businesswoman, and the Vevo-record-shattering success of the "Bad Blood" clip is merely a recent example — but that's not to dismiss the ever-apparent strength of her songwriting, which manages to turn a track that's purportedly over a feud related to tour-dancer theft into a highly relatable anthem.
See All of Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" Character Posters