Robbie Williams Delayed His New Album Because of Taylor Swift's Life Of A Showgirl: "You Can't Compete With That"

"The UK pop legend recently revealed that he had to delay his latest album, Britpop, to avoid direct competition with all that is Swift-Mania. "We're all pretending [the scheduling change] is not about Taylor Swift, but it f**king is," Williams said. "You can't compete with that." The revelation (via ) came during Williams' Thursday evening set at London's Dingwalls."

"The event was effectively two gigs: The evening began with an in-full performance of Williams' seminal 1997 debut album, Life Thru A Lens, before switching to a preview of the singer's upcoming 13th studio album. Reportedly this show had been scheduled to coincide with Britpop's original release (October 10th) before that LP was pushed back due to an undefined series of "scheduling issues.""

"Williams - who will now release Britpop on February 6th, 2026 - isn't the first leading artist to experience the unbridled force of Swift-dom. Recently, fans online believed that Drake pushed back his long-awaited Iceman to avoid similar competition with Showgirl. Meanwhile, in October 2024, both Joe Jonas and Shawn Mendes reportedly delayed their albums to steer clear of the heft of Swift 's reputation (Taylor's Version). There were even rumblings on Reddit recently that Harry Styles might have pushed back his own album plans due to Swift's latest."

Robbie Williams postponed his Britpop album release from October to February 6, 2026, citing direct competition with Taylor Swift. Williams announced the change during a London Dingwalls show that included a full performance of Life Thru A Lens and a preview of Britpop. Multiple prominent artists have reportedly adjusted release plans amid Swift's recent success, with rumors involving Drake, Joe Jonas, Shawn Mendes, and Harry Styles. Showgirl has moved 3.4 million in pure album sales, the largest single-week sales since electronic tracking began in 1991. Some scheduling changes remain hearsay, but Williams' statement highlights Swift's market influence.

Read at Consequence