Taylor Swift shocked the world when she attended the Video Music Awards on August 28th, 2022. Swift’s appearance at the award show was a surprise alone, but that wasn’t the only secret she had up her sleeve.
All Too Well was announced as the winner of Video of the Year and when Swift accepted the award, she told the world that if she won, we would get the important news we’ve been waiting for: her 10th studio album will be released on October 21st. Right after the public announcement, on taylorswift.com, a clock appeared teasing that there would be new information to come at midnight.
When the clock struck midnight on August 29th, we found out the album will be titled Midnights. Along with the album title dropping, Swift posted the backstory of Midnights to her social media pages. The post states, “This is a collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams. The floors we pace and the demons we face.” As well as, “Midnights. The stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life.”
According to the New York Times, “The album has a strong possibility of becoming one of the year’s biggest commercial successes, rivaling releases like Harry Styles’s “Harry’s House.”
Swift is known for changing her sound constantly and as soon as this announcement came to light, everyone started to speculate what sound she will veer towards after the commercial success of her two sister folk albums folklore, and evermore. Natalia Ortega, a sophomore criminology major at the University of Maryland says, “I think it’s gonna give folkloreand Reputationvibes. I’m very excited about the album when she announced it. It was a total surprise because I thought it was gonna be the announcement of a re-released album so a brand new album is even more exciting.”
Paige McGinnis, a sophomore hearing and speech major at UMD states, “I think her new album will be similar to folklore but also give off winter vibes. I think the title Midnights reminds me of her song 'New Year's Day' which reminds me of the winter. I am very excited for her to release a new album since recently she has been re-recording her previous studio albums and we haven’t gotten much new music from Taylor in a while.
Marta Janeiro, a sophomore business major says, “I’m so excited for the album. I was so surprised when it was announced because we were all expecting her next album to be a re-release so we were all shocked when she decided to announce a brand new album. I’m honestly not sure what it’s gonna sound like. I’ve heard a lot of theories but the one I believe most would probably be that it’s like the darker or more melancholic side of the Lover album.”
Taylor Swift is known for her strategic ways of dropping music and this was a really cool way to let the world know she’s coming back. This album could go in any direction knowing Swift constantly challenges her music to change each era. Midnights is going to take the world by storm and we could not be more excited. Are you… ready for it?