Robbie Williams has admitted that his new album ‘BRITPOP‘ was delayed to avoid clashing with Taylor Swift’s album ‘The Life Of A Showgirl’.
Last month, fans who pre-ordered the album were sent an email from Robbie Williams’ team, saying, “due to scheduling changes ‘BRITPOP’ will now be released on February 6 2026. Your order will be dispatched in line with the new release date. Apologies for any inconvenience caused, we promise it will be worth the wait.”
At the time, no reason as to why the album got rescheduled was shared, however some fans online had noticed the original release date happened to be close to the release of ‘The Life Of A Showgirl.’
Robbie Williams recently played his smallest ever ticketed show in London where he sang his entire debut album ‘Life Thru A Lens’, as well as performing his upcoming record ‘BRITPOP’
During the show, Robbie Williams admitted to the audience that the album was mainly delayed due to the release of Taylor Swift’s album ‘The Life Of A Showgirl’.
“We’re all pretending it’s not about Taylor Swift, but it fucking is. You can’t compete with that” Williams told the crowd. “Here’s the truth: I want 16 Number One albums. Taylor then decided to put her album out the same weekend as me.”
“I was like, ‘For fuck’s sake! I’ll put it out the next week’, and they were like, ‘She does these other deluxe versions’. I was like, ‘Fucking hell! Can I put it out the week after that then?’ They were like, ‘Oasis might be around then’… ‘For fuck’s sake! Let’s do it in fucking February when no one’s got an album out’.”
He continued: “I was worried about making you all fucking wait, and then I was like, ‘Fuck it! I want a 16th Number One album!’ I’m sorry, but I’m fucking being selfish. How many times in your life do you get to have the most Number One albums the UK’s ever fucking had?”
Fans can pre-order the new album here.
As for Taylor Swift’s album, there have been mixed reviews from fans and the general public.
For the first time, ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ sees Swift not catalysed into artistic growth by love, but merely comfortably secured by it.”
The album has been met by criticism from fans, with some fans calling it her worst album yet, and others condemning the “cringey” songwriting on songs such as ‘Wood’.
Taylor has said she is unbothered by the criticism, “I have such an eye on legacy when I’m making my music — I know what I made, I know I adore it. I know that on the theme of what the Showgirl is, all of this is part of it.”
