The diva's new single is primed to make a big splash on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and could become her second No. 1.
The song could debut on the Hot 100 as early as Wednesday (Aug. 20) based on just its initial airplay. The tune could then rocket up the chart next week, once its sales and streams have kicked in. "Shake It Off" is the first single from Swift's fourth studio album, 1989, which will be released on Oct. 27.
"Shake It Off" premiered during Swift's Yahoo! live stream shortly after 2 p.m. PT on Monday (Aug. 18).
The stream was also carried on more than 140 Clear Channel-owned radio stations. A few minutes after the song's premiere, it was serviced to mainstream top 40 radio stations and adult top 40 stations by her label, Big Machine Records. It also quickly flew to No. 1 on the real-time Billboard + Twitter Trending 140 chart.
"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" had a similar chart trajectory: It debuted at No. 72 on the Hot 100 from its first few days of airplay, and then jumped to No. 1 the next week after it racked up an incredible sales debut. The song sold 623,000 downloads in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It remains the largest sales week ever for a song by a woman, and the second biggest ever (behind only Flo Rida's first week with "Right Round," 636,000).
Considering that the song was just released to digital retailers on Monday, it's still a bit early to forecast how many downloads it might sell in its first week. (That said, multiple industry sources are guessing that "Shake It Off" could debut with 500,000.) A proper first-week forecast will be possible after the song has been on sale for a full day, so chart-watchers and analysts can see how it is trending.
http://www.billboard.com/articles/co...e-it-off-chart
