PSA: Taylor Swift’s New Album ‘Midnights’ Is Finally Here!

If you just so happened to feel the ground around you rattle a bit this past August at the MTV VMAs, that’s probs because Taylor Swift announced she’s releasing an album *checks calendar* today!!! While receiving the top honor at this year’s awards show, the singer used her acceptance speech to reveal that her 10th studio album will be debuting on October 21, 2022.

“You guys, I’m just so proud of what we made, and I know that every second of this moment that we wouldn’t have been able to make this short film if it weren’t for you, the fans,” she told the audience while accepting the Video of the Year Award for the certified anthem “All Too Well (10-Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version).” She continued, “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,” before teasing more details at midnight.

True to her word, Tay shared deets on her social media shortly after the awards show ended, including the title of the project: Midnights.

“Midnights, the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life, will be out October 21. Meet me at midnight,” she wrote on Twitter and Instagram.

And because she always has so much (!!) to give, we can’t help but note that the announcement came almost a year after the singer released Red (Taylor’s Version) in November 2021, which…was an out-of-body experience that I’m still actively recovering from, lol. Anyway! Here’s everything to know about Taylor’s studio album Midnights—get ready to take notes.

What is the new album about?

Real Swifties know that Taylor could legit be writing about produce and the song would be a hit for *at least* 10 weeks, but for those of you who needed a bit more than blind faith to keep you going until today, here goes!

“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 12…we’ll meet ourselves. Midnights, the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life, will be out October 21. Meet me at midnight,” Taylor wrote online.

TL;DR: It’s a new classic.

Is there cover art yet?

Yes! And she’s stunning! Behold:

Shimmery blue shadow? ✅ Dreamy film quality? ✅ Semi-menacing but deeply alluring flame? ✅ Obsessed already.

How many songs will be on the album?

Oh, just the most Taylor-esque number of all: 13. (Not only is this the singer’s lucky number, but it’s also the date she was born.) All of the track titles are already public (!!), but more on that later. What we definitely do know, though, is that there’s an A side with a total of six songs and a B side with a total of seven songs.

Do we know any of the names?

Yes! Taylor kicked off her Midnights Mayhem With Me TikTok series on September 21 at—yep, you guessed it!—12 on the dot. In the premiere episode, the singer dished that she would slowly reveal the track list for Midnights while sitting next to an old-fashioned lottery ball cage with the unrevealed song numbers. Once she chose a ball at random, we’d be clued in to the corresponding title. Okay, leave it to Tay to find *the* most creative way to give us major intel on the album!

The singer took no time during the first episode to choose a ball, and we quickly learned that the title of track 13—her fave number, ofc 🥺—would be called “Mastermind.” Her second video was posted the very next day at the same time and even featured a special guest: her cat Meredith. In it, Tay gifted us yet another treat in the form of the name of track 8, “Vigilante Shit,” which marks the first time a curse word has appeared in one of her song titles!!

On September 26, the singer once again posted a vid of herself sitting next to the lottery ball machine and announced, “Good evening, and welcome to another episode of Midnights Mayhem With Me. I’m about to unveil another track from the Midnights album. Here we go!” After giving the cage a couple of spins, the number 7 was chosen and we were told that its name would be “Question…?” And the day after that, the songstress revealed yet another title—this time track number 6—“Midnight Rain.”

As for the rest of the songs? That would be “Maroon,” “Anti-Hero,” “Bejeweled,” “Karma,” “Lavender Haze,” “You’re on Your Own, Kid,” “Labyrinth,” “Sweet Nothing,” and “Snow on the Beach” coming in at tracks 2, 3, 9, 11, 1, 5, 10, 12, and 4, respectively. (FYI, the last title is a collaboration with none other than Lana Del Rey!!!)

The singer didn’t get *too* into the weeds about the inspo behind the rest of the songs, save for “Lavender Haze,” which she discussed in a separate video: “I happened upon the phrase ‘lavender haze’ when I was watching Mad Men. And I looked it up because I thought it sounded cool, and it turns out that it’s a common phrase used in the ’50s where they would just describe being in love. Like, if you were in the lavender haze, then that meant that you were in that all-encompassing love glow—and I thought that was really beautiful.”

To say I’m obsessed with this series is a serious understatement.

Has she dropped any Easter eggs?

Fans initially thought Taylor could have been hinting at a Reputation rerelease because a line from her VMAs acceptance speech acknowledged that her win was “an indication we did something right”—which could have been a reference to the song “Call It What You Want,” in which she repeats, “I did one thing right.”

Fans also noticed that the singer’s stunning crystal-covered dress was pretty much identical to the one she wore in her “Look What You Made Me Do” music video, which kicked off the Reputation era…plus, she even sported the matching updo! And IDK about you, but this TikTok she posted of herself in the ensemble over Blackpink’s song “Pink Venom” legit SCREAMS the iconic album:

That said, now that we know that the names of the songs don’t quite match up to the Reputation album, the theory is kind of a bust. But hey! There’s still def the theme of revenge in a number of Midnights songs. 👀

What does the internet have to say about all this?

Simply put: a lot, lol.

Two words: ^fully agree.

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