Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards held at Prudential Center on ... [+]
Today is all about Taylor Swift and her new album The Tortured Poets Department—well, almost. She’s the biggest artist in the world, and her latest full-length is headed for what may be a historic start on the Billboard charts in a week or so. But as many well-known musicians did what they could to avoid conflicting with her, one superstar decided to compete directly with her—and she’s winning.
Nicki Minaj dropped a new version of her single “FTCU” on Friday (April 19). The tune is facing incredibly tough competition from Swift and the many songs featured on her album The Tortured Poets Department, but so far, she’s winning the sales race when it comes to individual tunes.
“FTCU” sits at No. 1 on iTunes in America. The new version of the single is beating every song featured on The Tortured Poets Department, which sees many cuts rising toward the summit. At present, Swift occupies nine rungs inside the top 10 on the U.S. iTunes chart, but Minaj is still outselling all of them.
The hip-hop superstar reinvigorated interest in “FTCU” by recruiting some fellow well-known rappers for a new take on the single. Now titled the “Sleezemix,” the updated cut features Chris Brown, Sexxy Red, and Travis Scott.
Presently, two versions of the Sleezemix of “FTCU” appear on the U.S. iTunes ranking. One is up at No. 1, while another, closely-related cut lands just inside the top 20. At the time of writing, that second edition sits at No. 18.
“FTCU” was already a hit, and it’s been living on the Billboard charts for months. The tune has become a huge win on the rap and hip-hop tallies, spending plenty of time inside the top 10 on a handful of lists. All the purchases of the Sleezemix reworking should help it climb on a variety of rankings next week, based only on a few hours of sales activity—and the tune is just getting going.
In the coming hours or days, Swift may replace Minaj and her friends at No. 1 on iTunes, but her power and popularity has already been established. By besting Swift in this moment—when her album and its tunes are the most exciting—is incredibly impressive, and it doesn’t really matter what happens from here on out with “FTCU.”
