Robbie Williams Delayed ‘Britpop’ to Avoid Taylor Swift Competition

Robbie Williams admitted that he delayed the release of his new album Britpop to avoid competition with Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl as he chases a monumental U.K. music charts record.

Britpop was originally slated to arrive today, Oct. 10, but in September (about one month after Swift announced her new album), the singer pushed his 13th studio LP to Feb. 6, 2026, because of “scheduling changes.” At the time, many speculated the change was Swift-related, especially because Williams is positioned to break a tie with the Beatles and score a record-setting 16th Number One on the U.K. Albums Chart. (Both Williams and the Beatles currently have 15 apiece.)

At an intimate show in London last night (Oct. 9) — originally scheduled to coincide with Britpop’s release — Williams confirmed that’s exactly what happened. “We’re all pretending [the scheduling change] is not about Taylor Swift, but it fucking is,” Williams cracked (per Billboard). “You can’t compete with that.”

While Williams admitted he was initially “worried” about making his fans wait several more months for the album, in an endearing display of pop star ego and self-deprecation, he quipped. “But then I was like, ‘Fuck it.’ 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 U.K. has fucking ever had?” 

Funnily enough, while Williams is now likely to secure that chart record next year, he may not get to hold onto it very long — because of Swift. She currently has 13 Number One albums in the U.K., with The Life of a Showgirl slated to be her 14th. (The U.K. albums chart will refresh with releases from last week later today, Oct. 10.)

Along with potentially being his 16th Number One album, Britpop is also Williams’ first proper pop album since 2016’s The Heavy Entertainment Show. In 2019, he released a holiday album, The Christmas Present, which contained a handful of seasonal standards but was otherwise filled with Christmas-themed originals.