Taylor Swift’s tenth studio album, Midnights, was released just a few weeks ago on Friday, October 21. Opinions on this new album have been very controversial; some say it is their new favorite album while others call it mid and cliché.

Taylor Swift announced her surprise release at the 2022 VMA’s after winning Video of the Year for her All Too Well (10 Minute Version) Short Film. “I had sort of made up my mind that if you were going to be this generous and give us this [award], I thought it might be a fun moment to tell you that my brand new album comes out October 21st,” Swift said in her VMA speech. “And I will tell you more at midnight.”

At midnight, Swift posted on her Instagram that her tenth studio album would be titled ‘Midnights,’ featuring 13 songs that were “the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life.” Pre-orders for digital copies, CDs, cassette tapes, and vinyl records immediately went on sale after the announcement.

The fans immediately started theorizing, as ‘Swifties’ are most well known for. “Especially in other songs in [the Red album], they talk about midnight being a time, so I thought maybe she would pull out instances or experiences from those times, or maybe some pieces from those songs, or another re-do,” said senior Addy Smith. “I didn’t really know what to expect but I thought it would be a tie to that.”

A few weeks later, Swift started announcing the album’s track titles on her TikTok in a series called ‘Midnights Mayhem with Me.’ In each short episode, she would roll a bingo ball out of a bingo machine, revealing which track title she would reveal next.

“Did it keep me up every night leading up to the album? Yeah, it totally did, but I looked forward to it,” said senior Kaydance Vandersteen. “I personally think it was a super fun idea Taylor had for announcing her track titles and bringing promotion to her album.”

Soon, the night of October 20th came and many ‘Swifties’ around the world anxiously stayed up waiting for midnight, October 21st, for the album drop.

The first sound from the album begins with the iconic line “Meet me at midnight,” from the song Lavender Haze, which is the main line she used to tease the album. However, the new album brings new sounds and lyric choices that fans aren’t used to hearing. 

“I didn’t expect it and I think it was just a shock at first,” Vandersteen said. “I couldn’t make a first impression on it initially. I didn’t really like most of the songs the first time I listened through to be completely honest.”

However, others enjoyed this new twist to Swift’s music. “I was so weirded out by all the synthesized sounds and how unique the backtrack was and how much auto-tune there was, but I loved it,” said senior Molly Olsen. “It was totally a unique sound and something you don’t usually hear from her so that new style was kind of jarring but also awesome. It suits her really well.”

Swift is notorious for switching genres. She started with country in her first four albums, then switched to pop for a few years, and her most recent studio albums, Folklore, and Evermore lean more to the folky side of music. In this new album, Swift seems to be revisiting her pop era.

“The background and everything made it interesting to listen to and I loved it,” Smith said when talking about her favorite track on the album, Mastermind. “I really like the upbeat and super dramatic type things.”

The shock did not stop there. After the original album was released, Swift announced a “3 am surprise” that included the deluxe version of Midnights, meaning another seven songs were being added to the album. 

“The Midnights ones are when it’s midnight, you’re half asleep, you’re a little unhinged, it’s fun, it’s loud, and it’s a vibe. It’s very authentic in confidence,” Olsen said. “Then you come to these other ones and they’re less confident about the insecurities. They’re the quieter, more sincere songs. […] You can tell there’s a difference between the way they’re written.” 

But as many of us know, Taylor Swift does not rest. Just a week after the album release, fans were given two music videos, a Target exclusive album, multiple talk show interviews, and even her first tour in over four years. 

“If you would’ve asked me [about more Midnights content] yesterday I would’ve said no, except there was a tour announcement this morning!” Olsen said with excitement. “Obviously there is something else coming! There’s a freaking tour!”

On the morning of October 31, Swift posted on her Instagram “I am enchanted to announce my next tour: Taylor Swift – The Eras Tour, a journey through the musical eras of my career (past and present!) […] I can’t wait to see your gorgeous faces out there. It’s been a long time coming.” Swift also mentioned in her announcement that some of her performance openers would include Paramore, beabadoobee, Phoebe Bridgers, girl in red, MUNA, HAIM, GAYLE, Gracie Abrams, and OWENN. 

Taylor Swift is certainly keeping fans on their toes as they wait for tour tickets to go on sale, possibly another music video, and much more. We look forward to what is to come in the future of Swift’s career.