Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” Sets Sales Record, Tops Hot 100

Robbie Daw | August 22, 2012 8:02 am

Taylor Swift‘s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” has officially become her first #1 on the Hot 100, following its debut at #72 last week. And the lead single from Tay’s upcoming fourth LP Red did so by setting a record for biggest digital sales week for a song by a female artist. Billboard reports that “We Are Never…” moved 623,000 paid downloads last week, putting it just behind all-time champ “Right Round” by Flo Rida (featuring a then-unknown Ke$ha), which racked 636,000 in late February 2009.

Swift’s new single also trumps Lady Gaga‘s “Born This Way” — which came out of the gate with 448,000 in February 2011 — to become the best overall sales debut by a female artist. “Born This Way”, however, sold that amount in only three days, as it was released on a Friday.

As far as top sales weeks for songs by women as lead artists go, “We Are Never…” is now trailed by Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok” (which sold 610,000 the chart week dated January 9, 2010), Gaga’s “Born This Way” (509,000 the chart week of March 5, 2011) and Katy Perry‘s “Firework” (also 509,000, the chart week of January 8, 2011).

Up next for Taylor: performing her latest smash hit live for the very first time at the MTV Video Music Awards on Thursday, September 6.

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