Taylor Swift never ceases to surprise fans with her upcoming album drops and 2022 is no different. Just when curious fans were up for yet another re-recording of her old albums, she announced her 10th studio album Midnights at the 2022 VMA Awards on 28 August.
The album, released on 21 October 2022, has her lucky number 13 running through every aspect of it. Chronicling the tales of 13 sleepless nights, the album comprises 13 songs. Swift dropped hints over the last couple of months but had essentially remained tight-lipped about the songs and tracklist.
Here are all the details about Taylor Swift’s Midnights
The songs and tracklist
Since August, Swift slowly trickled down information and released small snippets of what the music album would be like. As a run-up to the unveiling of Midnights’ tracklist, the “Cardigan” singer posted a 13-part video series of what was called ‘Midnights Mayhem’ on Tik Tok. The songs are as follows:
1. “Lavender Haze”
2. “Maroon”
3. “Anti-Hero”
4. “Snow On The Beach” ft. Lana Del Rey
5. “You’re On Your Own, Kid”
6. “Midnight Rain”
7. “Question…?”
8. “Vigilante S—”
9. “Bejeweled”
10. “Labyrinth”
11. “Karma”
12. “Sweet Nothing”
13. “Mastermind”
There are a few bonus edition tracks as well — “Hits Different,” a strings rendition of “You’re on Your Own, Kid,” and a piano rendition of “Sweet Nothing.”
Swift also posted a number of videos, taking fans behind the creative process of writing and creating the songs. The announcement of “Anti-Hero” was followed by a small video feature where she speaks about delving deep into her innermost feelings, it is also a ‘guided tour’ into her most vulnerable insecurities. She calls it one of her favourites that she’s written so far.
In another instance, Swift posted another video about the opening song “Lavender Haze” which is based on her six-year relationship with actor Joe Alwyn. She said, “And I guess theoretically when you’re in the lavender haze, you’ll do anything to stay there and not let people bring you down off of that cloud.”
Featured guests and collaborators
Taylor Swift’s Midnights has a number of noted guests and collaborators, and some of them have been regularly working with Swift.
“Snow on the Beach” features Lana Del Ray (who has also co-written the song) and the two connect perfectly on their love for pensive music. In a video about the song, Swift said, to be a contemporary and being present at the same time as Lana is “an honour and a privilege.”
Jack Antonoff, who often teams up with her, co-wrote 11 songs with Swift. Interestingly, Zoë Kravitz has writing credits for “Lavender Haze” and “Karma” while Alwyn gets featured under his pen name William Bowery.
Midnights album art, lyrics and theme
In September, the songstress unveiled four new album covers of Midnights, each featuring her in a pensive mood in different settings. She also shared a video revealing that if one collects all four album covers, it actually turns into a clock when arranged in a square.
The album has an overarching 1970s theme to it with images and silhouettes featured on the cover art, taking fans on a ride into a bygone era. With Midnights, it’s a return to the pop genre for her. Some of the lyrics were actually displayed on billboards all over the world starting in New York and then in Sao Paulo and Mexico.
According to an EW report, in a collaboration with Spotify, Swift mentioned the things that kept her awake past midnight and influenced her songwriting for this album — ‘self-loathing, fantasising about revenge, wondering what might have been, falling in love and falling apart.’
Where to buy and stream Midnights
Midnights is now available on Apple Music and Spotify. Fans can also purchase physical copies of vinyl, CD or cassette tapes from Swift’s official website.
The album can be bought in four different colour variations — Moonstone Blue Edition (the standard version), Jade Green Edition, Blood Moon Edition and Mahogany Edition.
The website also mentions all the items that come with every album purchase besides the 13 songs. These include one out of four collectable albums with unique front-and-back cover art, one of four unique collectable disc artworks, one of four unique marbled-colour CD discs, and a collectable lyric booklet with never-seen-before photos.
(Main and featured image credit: Taylor Swift/ @taylorswift/ Instagram)
