After two years of releasing re-recorded versions of her old albums, Taylor Swift has announced a brand-new record, Midnights, while accepting the award for video of the year at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Wearing a sparkling Oscar de la Renta dress, the 11-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter surprised a screaming crowd with the news of her 10th album and first new studio release since Folklore and Evermore in 2020.
Kicking off her speech as a love letter to her fans – or “Swifties” as they have become colloquially known – Swift proceeded to reveal the album, frequently pausing as the audience’s excitement grew to a fever pitch.
“We wouldn’t have been able to make this short film if it weren’t for you – the fans. Because I wouldn’t be able to re-record my albums if it weren’t for you. You emboldened me to do that,” Swift said.
“I had sort of made up my mind that if you were going to be this generous and give us this, I thought it might be a fun moment to tell you that my brand-new album comes out October 21.”
She ended the speech with a promise of more to come, sending the crowd into further rapture. “I will tell you more at midnight,” she said.
Keeping her promise, a post on Instagram confirmed the name of the album, number of tracks (13, of course) and a taste of the cover art, which suggested an artistic, perhaps grittier side to the musician.
“Midnights, the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life, will be out October 21. Meet me at midnight,” Swift wrote on Instagram.
“We lie awake in love and in fear, in turmoil and in tears. We stare at walls and drink until they speak back. We twist in our self-made cages and pray that we aren’t – right this minute – about to make some fateful life-altering mistake. 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. For all of us who have tossed and turned and decided to keep the lanterns lit and go searching – hoping that just maybe, when the clock strikes twelve … we’ll meet ourselves.”
Further details regarding the album, such as its producers and the overall genre or style are yet to be confirmed.
The 32-yer-old singer claimed three VMA awards for her 10-minute version of All Too Well, including best longform video, best direction, and the aforementioned video of the year. She took the opportunity to applaud the fact that four of the directors nominated in the video of the year category were women, a VMA record.
News of Swift’s album catapults her back onto the music main stage after two years of re-releases and soundtrack contributions, including Red (Taylor’s Version) in 2021 and the theme track for the blockbuster film Where the Crawdads Sing, Carolina.
Beyond her music, the country-turned-pop icon has been busy earning other accolades, such as an honorary doctorate of fine arts from New York University and becoming the first global ambassador at the 2022 Record Store Day, which celebrates independent record shops, local and international artists, labels and releases.
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