Robbie Williams recently admitted that he delayed the release of his upcoming album BRITPOP to avoid competing with Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl for the No. 1 spot on the UK charts. Williams' new project, his 13th studio album, was initially scheduled for release on October 10, one week after Swift's 12th album was released on October 3. However, in mid-September, Williams announced that he was postponing the album's release to February 6, 2026, due to "scheduling changes."During a show at Dingwalls in Camden on October 9, 2025, the former Take That singer told the 600-capacity venue that he delayed his album's release to secure his 16th No. 1 album in the UK, which he felt he would not have been able to achieve if he had released his album around the same time as Swift.For context, Williams' upcoming album could help him reach a milestone. The singer would become the first UK artist to have 16 No. 1 albums in the UK if BRITPOP debuts at No. 1 on the UK charts, helping him surpass The Beatles.The Taylor Swift Updates @theTSupdatesLINK‼️| Robbie Williams says he delayed new album to avoid Taylor Swift's, according to BBC.During the concert, Robbie Williams conceded that he could not compete with Taylor Swift, so he and his team decided to push the album's release. According to NME, he also admitted that while he was selfish for making his fans wait for his album when it was entirely complete, he wanted 16 Number One albums to achieve his milestone, suggesting that it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The singer said:"We’re all pretending it’s not about Taylor Swift, but it f**king is. You can’t compete with that. 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 f**k's sake! I’ll put it out the next week’, and they were like: 'She does these other deluxe versions’. I was like: 'F**king hell! Can I put it out the week after that then?’ They were like: 'Oasis might be around then.'"Williams continued: "'For f**k's sake! Let’s do it in f**king February when no one’s got an album out.' I was worried about making you all f**king wait, and then I was like: 'F**k it! I want a 16th Number One album!' I’m sorry, but I’m f**king being selfish. How many times in your life do you get to have the most Number One albums the UK’s ever f**king had?"In a recent conversation with BBC Radio 1, Robbie Williams also said he was "competitive" and "desperately" wanted 16 Number One albums in the UK, adding:"Don't get me wrong. I'm really competitive, too, which is why I moved the album. I desperately want that thing."Robbie Williams previously performed with Taylor Swift on her "Reputation Stadium Tour"Robbie Williams had previously joined Taylor Swift during her "Reputation Stadium Tour" in 2018. The two performed Williams' hit song Angels during her Wembley Stadium show in London that year.During a January 2025 interview with SiriusXM, Robbie Williams revisited the performance, claiming that Swift didn't know anything about him when she invited him for the show. According to NME, the singer implied that Swift's boyfriend at the time might have suggested that she perform with Williams for the show, saying:“I think the interesting thing is that Taylor, I think, knew the concept of a ‘Robbie Williams’ somewhere in the world but I don’t think knew anything about me. And I think maybe whoever she was dating at the time was English and said, ‘Hey, maybe you should get Robbie Williams’. I think this is how it went."Furthermore, Robbie Williams added that Swift apparently looked surprised when the London crowd cheered for him, saying:“But when I came up through the stage and the audience erupted, you could just see this thing in her face go, ‘Uh? Eh?’. And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m the mayor of this here.' I’m a big deal! I keep telling everybody I’m a big deal and she was like, ‘Oh, he’s a big deal!’ And yeah, it was a lovely moment."In other news, Robbie Williams canceled a recent concert in Istanbul, Turkey, "in the interests of public safety." The show, scheduled on October 7, 2025, reportedly coincided with the second anniversary of Hamas's attack in Israel. According to Reuters, several activists and pro-Palestine NGOs protested against Williams' Istanbul concert, resulting in the show's cancellation.