Swift released six U.K.-only variants of her new album which were only available for the last five hours remaining on album sales tracking for that week.
According to the Official Charts, the sales from the additional variants catapulted Swift to the top of the charts, with Charli xcx coming in second.
Although there is no proof that says Swift is intentionally chart blocking, fans are still suspicious, with many taking to social media to share their thoughts.
“Taylor Swift is releasing new versions of her snoozefest album only in the U.K. because Charli is predicted to go #1 there,” one X user wrote.
“Why is Taylor Swift threatened by Charli XCX?” another user asked. “[I love you] but you are on top of the world let Charli have her moment.”
Some fans have theorised that Swift chart blocked Charli xcx’s album because she is engaged to George Daniel, drummer of the band The 1975.
Swift’s whirlwind romance with The 1975 frontman garnered extensive media attention. The pair started dating shortly after the news broke that Swift’s six-year relationship with Joe Alwyn ended.
Healy and Swift’s relationship quickly fizzled out, with reports from Entertainment Tonight saying the couple were “not really compatible with each other.”
However, the new release coincided with the start of Swift's U.K. and Europe leg of her record-breaking Eras tour, kicking off in Cardiff's Principality Stadium, with Paramore as support, before heading to London's Wembley Stadium.
The UK-Europe leg sees Swift visit Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Poland and Austria before returning to London.
The mammoth tour will then end in December 2024, with nine shows in Canada.
Social media users also pointed out that this situation feels eerily similar to Swift’s album variant rollout last month when Billie Eilish released ‘Hit Me Hard And Soft’.
Swift’s album variant also knocked Eilish out of the top spot on the charts after her digital album sales boosted her numbers.
Previously, Eilish spoke to Billboard about her efforts to remain sustainable.
“Some of the biggest artists in the world making f–king 40 different vinyl packages that have a different unique thing just to get you to keep buying more,” she said.
“It’s so wasteful, and it’s irritating to me that we’re still at a point where you care that much about your numbers and you care that much about making money — and it’s all your favourite artists doing that sh-t.”
Many theorised that Eilish was taking a dig at Swift.
According to Salon, there have been 58 permutations of the TTPD album.
