Taylor Swift Used an Old-School Trick to Get ‘Opalite’ to No. 1—Could Anyone Else Do It?

Taylor Pulled Out All the Stops to Get That Rare Second No. 1 Hit from One Album

(February 27, 2026) – Taylor Swift’s formula for getting her record 14th Hot 100 No. 1 single this week was deceptively simple: she released a single.

An actual single.

A physical CD and vinyl version of “Opalite,” the second-biggest hit from her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl.  Well, that plus a bunch of remixes and a music video – you know, the way it used to be done back in the old days.

The Return of the Physical Single?

Swift’s label – likely spurred on by the very chart-conscious superstar singer herself – pressed and shipped nearly 150,000 copies of “Opalite” in six CD-single variants – each one containing a different remix of the song to encourage Swifties to make multiple purchases – plus one vinyl 45.  The combined sales of those seven physical options were all counted during the chart’s tracking week (the week of delivery to fans) and were enough for the song to overcome a four-month blockade and catapult itself into the elusive No. 1 slot.

In the process, “Opalite” became the second No. 1 hit from her current album The Life of a Showgirl, making it Swift’s first album in more than eleven years to generate multiple Hot 100 chart-toppers, since 1989.

Sales Were the Deciding Factor

The 168,000 units “Opalite” sold – 144,000 physical copies plus 24,000 digital downloads – made up nearly half of the total chart points the song garnered to claim the top spot, with streaming and radio play combining to make up the other half.  The upbeat tune was the only one on the entire Hot 100 with more than a 5 percent contribution from sales.  The next biggest seller, Ella Langley’s former No. 1 “Choosin’ Texas,” sold just 7,500 digital units (no physical components were on the market).

No other song sold more than 5,000 digital downloads and none appear to be available in vinyl or CD configuration during the tracking week.  In an even more Swiftian move, Taylor’s team delayed the shipment of the physical singles by one week to avoid an unwinnable clash with Bad Bunny’s “DtMF” on last week’s chart in the wake of his Super Bowl spike.

Still, it took nearly all those physical sales to get “Opalite” to the top.  Had she done just half those numbers, “Opalite” would have fallen short without the requisite points to top “Choosin’ Texas” on the overall list.

Without its physical availability, “Opalite” would have lost roughly 40% of its chart points — enough to rank only No. 6 this week instead of No. 1.

Otherwise, the song would have needed to move more than 63,000 digital downloads to claim the No. 1 spot, and let’s face it – it’s a rare feat these days for fans to download that many copies of a song they’d already been hearing for four months, even a fan favorite like “Opalite.”

In other words, vinyl and CD singles didn’t just help the song reach the top — they were the difference between victory and defeat.

A Strategy Few Artists Can Replicate

All of this begs the question: could any of this week’s other top artists pull off the strategy of releasing physical singles, remixes and a music video to get a No. 1 hit?

There was a time when physical single availability was a requirement for songs to chart on the Hot 100.  Similarly, a music video or a suite of remixes often generated renewed interest in songs that labels were now promoting as “singles.”  Swift simply revisited this old formula and tapped into high demand knowing her loyal fan army had rarely met a new Taylor vinyl record they wouldn’t purchase.  But should – or more accurately, could other artists now follow suit to send their tunes to the top of the chart?  Or is Taylor – the biggest pop star on the planet – in her own zeitgeist?

A Short Stay

“Opalite” is projected to fall out of the No. 1 spot next week with all those singles shipments out of the way, making room for one of the other chart contenders.  Only one song in this week’s top ten – Olivia Dean’s “Man I Need” – is neither a former No. 1 hit nor a tune by Bad Bunny, who is now coming down from the Super Bowl high. Had Dean timed it perfectly, she could have made “Need” available in physical configurations to give it the points needed to muscle past fellow top contenders on next week’s list.  As it turns out, the soulful tune is projected to return to No. 2 behind “Choosin’ Texas” – and by a relatively slim margin that a few thousand physical units could have easily overcome.

But does Dean have the muscle or the incentive that Taylor did to pull out all the stops for “Man I Need”?  It’s already her biggest single in America and there’s no shame in having a song peak at No. 2 (unless your name is Swift).  And, let’s face it, it costs money to produce remixes and press new vinyl, money that may not be within the label’s marketing budget for an artist who’s doing just fine without it, thank you.

In the streaming era, labels don’t invest in physical singles because streaming normally provides a cheaper, scalable path to chart success. Manufacturing, shipping, and remix production require upfront costs with no guarantee of return — unless the artist has Swift-level demand.

Chart History — and Legacy — at Stake

Conversely, Taylor had plenty of incentive to push “Opalite” to the top.  Aside from boosting Showgirl’s legacy, the victory carries historic implications.  “Opalite” gives Swift her 14th Hot 100 No. 1, tying Rihanna for the second-most among solo artists — behind only Mariah Carey’s 19 — and placing Swift ahead of Michael Jackson and Drake, both with 13.

Still, the fact that “Opalite” was essentially the only single available for purchase on this week’s Hot 100 – plus the numerous remixes that she dropped to radio to grow its listening audience – makes it fair game for critics to challenge its No. 1 merits (especially with its streaming component dropping significantly after its one-week spike following the release of the music video).

But I’ll leave this for the fans to debate.  Was Swift’s strategy an act of desperation — or a masterclass in chart strategy?

Either way, she has demonstrated that in a streaming-dominated era, an old-fashioned single can still move big numbers.

The real question now isn’t whether the strategy works.  It’s whether anyone else has the fan base — or the incentive — to make it work.

DJRob

DJRob (he/him) is a freelance music blogger from the East Coast who covers R&B, hip-hop, disco, pop, rock and country genres – plus lots of music news and current stuff!  You can follow him on Bluesky at @djrobblog.bsky.social, X (formerly Twitter) at @djrobblog, on Facebook or on Meta’s Threads.

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