Taylor Swift crushes Trump’s Joe Rogan podcast ratings with 'New Heights' debut

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Taylor Swift’s podcast appearance on 'New Heights' with Jason Kelce shattered online viewership records, surpassing President Donald Trump’s previous appearance on 'The Joe Rogan Experience'.

The first hour of the episode drew 1.3 million live viewers on YouTube—almost double Trump’s 800,000 in his debut hour. The surge in audience activity caused chaos on YouTube as Swift’s fans overwhelmed the platform.

Taylor Swift breaks records on 'New Heights' podcast

The two-hour interview on the football-focused New Heights instantly went viral. At the 1 hour, 44-minute mark, fan activity spiked so dramatically that YouTube’s comment section became flooded. The episode’s buzz helped the channel’s subscriber count jump from 2.85 million to 2.94 million.

Trump’s appearance on 'The Joe Rogan Experience' in October last year drew 800,000 viewers in its first hour.

Five hours after release, Swift’s 'New Heights' episode had surpassed 6 million views.

While 'The Joe Rogan Experience' topped YouTube’s podcast chart last week, 'New Heights' hadn’t been in the Top 100 during its hiatus—until Swift’s episode dropped.

Taylor Swift discusses relationship and personal moments

During the podcast, Swift revealed that hearing Kelce talk about wanting to meet her helped spark their relationship. She said, "This kind of felt more like I was in an ’80s John Hughes movie… He was just like standing outside of my window with a boombox, being like, ‘I want to date you. Do you want to go on a date with me? I made you a friendship bracelet. Do you want to date me?’”

Kelce added, “And I was sitting there at the Eras Tour listening to every single one of those songs, like, I know what she wants me to do!”

Swift called her boyfriend “a vibe booster in everyone’s life that he’s in. He’s like a human exclamation point,” while Kelce said, “I’m the luckiest man in the world.”

Swift also used the podcast to announce the October 3 release of her 12th studio album, 'The Life of a Showgirl', featuring Sabrina Carpenter on the title track. She confirmed the album will include 12 tracks, produced in Sweden with Max Martin and Shellback, with no additional bonus songs.

The episode marks a milestone for 'New Heights', which had been on hiatus until Swift’s appearance. Its most popular prior episode — featuring Jason Kelce’s wife, Kylie, in 2023 — amassed 8.6 million views.

By comparison, Trump’s Joe Rogan episode has drawn 59 million total views, while Elon Musk’s 2018 appearance remains the platform’s most-watched at 69 million.