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Lover (Live from Paris)

Lover (Live from Paris)
A pink heart-shaped vinyl inside of a clear slip, with the vinyl label showing a picture of Swift, and a sticker affixed to the slip displaying the title
Record sleeve photograph
Live album by
Taylor Swift
ReleasedMay 19, 2020 (2020-05-19)
RecordedSeptember 9, 2019
VenueOlympia, Paris, France
Length30:31
LabelRepublic
ProducerTaylor Swift
Taylor Swift chronology
Live from Clear Channel Stripped 2008
(2020) 		Lover (Live from Paris)
(2020) 		Folklore
(2020)

Lover (Live from Paris) is the third live album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on May 19, 2020, by Republic Records, containing the live recordings of eight songs from Swift's seventh studio album, Lover (2019), that she had performed at the City of Lover, a one-day concert at the Olympia theater in Paris on September 9, 2019.

The physical record consists of two heart-shaped LPs. The album was reissued for Valentine's Day on February 14, 2023, as a limited edition LP exclusively available on Swift's webstore. It was granted a wider release on January 7, 2025. Lover (Live from Paris) has charted in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and topped the US Billboard Vinyl Albums chart. It has been described as a collectable.

Background and release

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Swift released her seventh studio album, Lover, on August 23, 2019, via Republic Records.[1] She described Lover as a record exploring all forms of love, acting as a "love letter to love".[2] It received positive reviews from music critics,[3] and enjoyed wide commercial success.[4] To celebrate the album's release, Swift held the City of Lover, a one-off concert, at the Olympia theater in Paris, France, on September 9, 2019.[5] It would become Swift's only concert to support Lover,[5] as her planned sixth concert tour, Lover Fest, was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]

On May 17, 2020, the concert was aired as a one-hour special, titled Taylor Swift: City of Lover, on ABC, and was eventually made available for on-demand streaming on Hulu and Disney+.[7][8] Media outlets opined that the TV special was an alternative to the canceled tour.[9] The TV special only included the eight songs from Lover that were performed at the concert, and excluded the songs she had performed from her other albums.[10] Following the special's premiere, the live versions were released as singles on digital music and streaming platforms,[11] except "The Man", which had been previously available for streaming since February 18, 2020.[12] The songs were available together as a streaming album only through SoundCloud.[13]

On February 13, 2023, Lover (Live from Paris) was announced by Swift's official fan account as a limited-edition vinyl album for release on Valentine's Day via Republic Records.[14] Each package contains two heart-shaped LPs—one pink and the other blue—and was made available for purchase on Swift's webstore exclusively. Lover (Live from Paris) is Swift's third live album, following Speak Now World Tour – Live (2011), Live from Clear Channel Stripped 2008 (2020), and preceding Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions (From the Disney+ Special) (2020).[15] Billboard reported that a total of 13,000 copies of the album were available for purchase in the US.[16]

The album was re-released on January 7, 2025, on Swift's webstore as a 72-hour limited edition. The re-release also contained two heart-shaped vinyl LPs, but both of them pink-colored with yellow and blue marbling, respectively. It sold out within a few hours of release, following which it was made widely available.[17][18]

Reception

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Commercial performance

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Lover (Live from Paris) was the best-selling vinyl album in the United States for the chart week dated March 4, 2023. It topped the Billboard Vinyl Albums chart as Swift's ninth number-one album on the chart,[19] landed at number five on the Top Album Sales chart by selling out all of its 13,000 available copies,[16] and debuted at number 58 on the overall Billboard 200.[20] Alongside the live album's entry on the Billboard 200 chart dated March 4, 2023, Swift charted nine other albums,[note 1] becoming the first artist in history to place at least 10 albums on the Billboard 200 simultaneously since American musician Prince in 2016; Swift is the first living soloist to chart 10 albums in a single week since 1963.[16]

Following its re-release in January 2025, Lover (Live from Paris) sold over 100,000 copies in the first 45 minutes of its availability.[21]

Media

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Publications have described Lover (Live from Paris) as a rare, collectible album. Variety dubbed it as Swift's "rarest vinyl", treated by fans as "fetish item". The outlet reported that the album's original LPs were regularly sold over on eBay for US$1,000.[21] Yahoo! Entertainment described it as a "highly sought-after collector’s item".[22] ClutchPoints said "it may be the rarest entry in her discography to get on vinyl."[23]

Track listing

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All tracks are produced by Taylor Swift and subtitled "(Live from Paris)".[14]

Side A
  1. "Me!" (Taylor Swift, Joel Little, Brendon Urie) – 3:33
  2. "The Archer" (Swift, Jack Antonoff) – 3:30
Side B
  2. "Death by a Thousand Cuts" (Swift, Antonoff) – 3:19
  3. "Cornelia Street" (Swift) – 4:56
Side C
  2. "The Man" (Swift, Little) – 3:39
  3. "Daylight" (Swift) – 4:22
Side D
  2. "You Need to Calm Down" (Swift, Little) – 3:23
  3. "Lover" (Swift) – 3:49

Personnel

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Charts

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Chart performance for Lover (Live from Paris)
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Australian Vinyl Albums (ARIA)[24] 6
Scottish Albums (OCC)[25] 9
UK Albums (OCC)[26] 90
US Billboard 200[20] 58

Release history

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Release dates and formats for Lover (Live from Paris)
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various May 19, 2020
Republic [13][11]
February 14, 2023 Vinyl LP [14]
January 7, 2025 Vinyl LP (repress) [27]

Notes

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  1. ^ Midnights (2022) – number three, Folklore (2020) – number 28, Lover (2019) – number 41, 1989 (2014) – number 50, Red (Taylor's Version) (2021) – number 56, Reputation (2017) – number 100, Evermore (2020) – number 103, Fearless (Taylor's Version) (2021) – number 172 and Speak Now (2010) – number 192.

References

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  1. ^ Collins, Katie. "Taylor Swift's Lover: How to stream and buy the album now on Apple, Spotify, Amazon". CNET. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  2. ^ Aniftos, Rania (August 8, 2019). "Taylor Swift Calls Lover Album Her 'Love Letter to Love,' Details 2 Unreleased Tracks". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 12, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  3. ^ Moniuszko, Sara (August 23, 2019). "Taylor Swift Lover reviews: Critics are enamored by the 'earnest,' 'romantic' new album". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  4. ^ "australian-charts.com – Taylor Swift – Lover". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Mylrea, Hannah (September 10, 2019). "Taylor Swift's The City of Lover concert: an intimate celebration of her fans and career". NME. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  6. ^ Blisco, Elise (February 27, 2021). "Taylor Swift officially cancels Lover Fest tour because of 'unprecedented pandemic'". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 12, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  7. ^ Kaufman, Gil (May 8, 2020). "ABC To Air Taylor Swift 'City of Lover' Concert Special". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 9, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  8. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (May 17, 2020). "Taylor Swift City of Lover Concert: Best Moments". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 25, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  9. ^ Lanza, Alexis (May 26, 2020). "Taylor Swift: City of Lover review". North by Northwestern. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  10. ^ DeLuca, Dan (May 18, 2020). "Taylor Swift's 'City of Lover' concert special was brief and bittersweet. Remember live music?". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Lipshutz, Jason (May 17, 2020). "Taylor Swift City of Lover Concert: Best Moments". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 25, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  12. ^ "Taylor Swift Releases 'The Man – Live from Paris' Song and Video... and it's Glorious: Stream It Now". Billboard. February 18, 2020. Archived from the original on May 5, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  13. ^ a b "Taylor Swift - Live From Paris". SoundCloud. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  14. ^ a b c Bowenbank, Starr (February 14, 2023). "Taylor Swift Drops Heart-Shaped 'Lover (Live From Paris)' Vinyl Just in Time for Valentine's Day". Billboard. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  15. ^ Skinner, Tom (February 15, 2023). "Taylor Swift announces heart-shaped 'Lover (Live From Paris)' vinyl for Valentine's Day". NME. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  16. ^ a b c Zellner, Xander (February 28, 2023). "Taylor Swift Extends Record Run Atop Artist 100, P!nk Jumps to No. 2". Billboard. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  17. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  18. ^ Willman, Chris (January 7, 2025). "Taylor Swift's Rarest Album, 'Lover (Live From Paris),' Finally Gets a Wider Vinyl Release — but Still Sells Out in an Hour". Variety. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  19. ^ @billboardcharts (February 27, 2023). "@taylorswift13's 'Lover: Live From Paris' debuts at No. 1 on this week's #VinylAlbums chart" (Tweet). Retrieved February 28, 2023 – via Twitter.
  20. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  21. ^ a b Willman, Chris (January 7, 2025). "Taylor Swift's Rarest Album, 'Lover (Live From Paris),' Finally Gets a Wider Vinyl Release — but Still Sells Out in an Hour". Variety. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  22. ^ "Taylor Swift's 'Lover' Heart Vinyl Sells Out Under an Hour". Yahoo! Entertainment. January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  23. ^ Korpan, Andrew (January 8, 2025). "Rare Taylor Swift Album Sells Out In Shocking Time". ClutchPoints. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  24. ^ "ARIA Top 20 Vinyl Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  25. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  26. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  27. ^ "Lover (Live from Paris) Heart-Shaped Vinyl". Retrieved January 7, 2025.