Just as Taylor Swift prepares for her upcoming wedding to Travis Kelce — reportedly set for June 13 in Rhode Island — the pop superstar scored a major career win in the United Kingdom.
Swift’s career has been full of wins. But this one is significant because it involves Swift’s newest single, “Elizabeth Taylor,” which is set to make its first impact on the prestigious Billboard Hot 100 chart on Tuesday.
The song, from Swift’s most recent album, The Life of a Showgirl, was written by Swift and her producers on the album, Max Martin and Shellback. For the song to become a hit almost always requires prominent radio play — even in the digital streaming age — and it looks like the new Swift single is about to get exactly that in Great Britain.
According to the BBC, the publicly owned broadcasting network in the U.K., “Elizabeth Taylor” was added on Friday to the BBC Radio One “C-List,” one of three playlists used by Radio One, the single biggest and most powerful radio station in the U.K.
What Does it Mean to be on the BBC One C List?
BBC Radio employs three main playlists labeled by letters, A, B and C. The A-list songs are those that receive the most frequent plays on BBC Radio One. The C List is for new tracks that the BBC is testing to see how they connect with British listeners.
Songs by both emerging artists and established ones such as Taylor Swift will be placed on the C List as a necessary first step to moving up to the B and A lists. So the fate of “Elizabeth Taylor” is now in the hands, or ears, of British music fans. If they respond positively to the single when BBC Radio One disc jockeys play it on the air, the song will move quickly into the heavy-rotation lists — which would almost certainly push it to near the top of the U.K. charts.
The rapid rise of “Elizabeth Taylor” is expected — Swift already boasts six No. 1 singles in the U.K., her most recent being “Opalite,” the second single release off of Life of a Showgirl.
New Hints Emerge on Wedding Date
The release of “Elizabeth Taylor” appears as if it will be the final major career move for Swift before her wedding to Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs legend who recently announced that he will return on a one-year contract to continue his own career in football with the Chiefs.
While Swift and Kelce have not made any notable public statements about details of their upcoming wedding, and have not confirmed the alleged June 13 date and Rhode Island locale, one detail emerged this week that makes the reported date appear even more plausible.
Chiefs insider Nate Taylor of ESPN.com reported that the couple “plans to marry before training camp.”
The Chiefs have not yet announced specific dates for their preseason workouts and official training camp, and Taylor did not specify whether “training camp” referred to the mandatory mini-camp that is usually held in early May, or the training camp that opens in late July. Either way, if Nate Taylor’s information is correct, the Swift and Kelce wedding is coming up fast — meaning that watching the rise of “Elizabeth Taylor” may be the last career milestone Swift will enjoy for the next several months.
Taylor Swift Scores Major Career Win as Travis Kelce Wedding Plans Advance