Viral Taylor Swift video sends The Darkness’ ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’ to Number 1

10 September, 2024

The Darkness and Taylor Swift

The Darkness’ track ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’ has shot to Number 1 after Taylor Swift was filmed enthusiastically singing it to boyfriend Travis Kelce.

While attending the US Open Women’s Final in New York on Sunday (September 8), the singer was seen dancing and singing along to the 2003 track, inadvertently prompting a new wave of affection for the song.

In another example of what’s been dubbed “Swiftonomics” – meaning the enduring financial and cultural hold of the ‘You Belong With Me’ singer –  the song promptly reached Number One on the iTunes Rock Chart in America and shot up various other charts worldwide, over 20 years after its original release.

Now trailing behind the track on the iTunes Rock Chart are ‘The Gallows’ by Black Label Society, ‘Thunderstruck’ by AC/DC and ‘In the End’ by Linkin Park.

Per Variety, streams of ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’ spiked by nearly 70 per cent on Spotify yesterday (September 9), with streams of the Darkness rising by nearly 60 per cent globally.

The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins has since posted a message to Swift and Kelce on TikTok, addressing his gratitude for the renewed love of the song.

“A few weeks ago my daughter and I went to see Taylor Swift at the stadium in Zurich and the hospitality they showed us was extraordinary. They put us in a lovely VIP area, I had Chris Rock on one side, Roger Federer on the other side, I was dad of the year,” he said.

Having learned that the footage went viral after receiving countless messages from fans, he continued to say it was “a really heart-warming moment for me, and my little girl can’t wait to tell her friends at school.

“So thanks Taylor, thanks Travis, thanks everybody who enjoys tennis, that’s a really lovely start to the day. Nice one guys.”

Fans are calling it a “full-circle moment”, given Swift  was featured in an advert for Apple Music in 2016, in which she lip-synced to the song and danced around a home office.

Speaking to Billboard about the advert at the time, Hawkins said: “I didn’t think we could get any sexier, but somehow Taylor raised the bar! Taylor Swift used to come to a lot of our shows back in the day. It’s good to see she hasn’t given up on her roots! Take it to the bridge, Swiftmeisteress!”

The post Viral Taylor Swift video sends The Darkness’ ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’ to Number 1 appeared first on NME.