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Midnights

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For other uses, see Midnight (disambiguation).

Midnights
Vinyl cover art for "Midnights": White background, with a square image of Taylor Swift in makeup holding a lighter on the bottom right corner, occupying two thirds of the image. There is a track list on the left of the image, featuring undisclosed track titles.
Temporary version of standard vinyl LP cover
Studio album by
Taylor Swift
ReleasedOctober 21, 2022 (2022-10-21)
LabelRepublic
Taylor Swift chronology
Red (Taylor's Version)
(2021) 		Midnights
(2022)

Midnights is the upcoming tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, set to be released on October 21, 2022, through Republic Records. It marks her first body of new work since her ninth studio album, Evermore (2020). Swift revealed the album at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28. Stemming from her thoughts during "sleepless nights", Midnights has been described by Swift as a concept album encapsulating "a journey through terrors and sweet dreams".

Background and release

After the dispute over the sale of the masters of her first six studio albums, American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift announced plans to re-record these albums,[1] releasing the first two, Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version), in 2021.[2] The latter spawned the release of a short film, written and directed by Swift, for the 10-minute version of her 2012 song "All Too Well".[3] Mainstream media expected Swift to release her third re-recording next.[3]

Swift garnered five nominations for the short film at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28, 2022,[4] winning three of them.[5] In her acceptance speech for the Video of the Year award, she announced a "brand-new" studio album scheduled for release on October 21, 2022.[6] Shortly after the reveal, Swift's official website was updated with a countdown clock and a phrase that read "Meet me at midnight".[6] Her social media was also updated with the phrase.[7] Some of Swift's releases on Spotify received changes to their canvases, with a visual featuring the same clock counting to midnight.[8] That midnight, Swift unveiled the name of her tenth studio album, Midnights, along with a written premise, and posted a cover artwork on her website and across her social media accounts. She described the album as "the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life".[6] The album was also made available to pre-save and pre-order on her website.[9][10] On September 1, three limited-edition color variants of the vinyl LP were made available as well,[11] featuring different cover artworks.[note 1]

Cover artwork

The standard artwork of Midnights is a minimalist cover.[12] It takes inspiration from old-fashioned LP jackets where songs are listed on the front cover, but currently has them listed with the placeholder names of "Track One," "Track Two" and so on, up to 13.[13] The photograph of Swift featured in the artwork depicts her in a blue eye shadow, a black eye liner, and her signature red lips,[12] observing a glimmering lighter held near her face.[14] The white space bordering the photograph has a blue gradient.[12] The vinyl edition of the cover, posted by Swift across her social media, splits the track-list into an A-side and B-side, indicating a two-sided LP.[15]

Press response

Some media outlets speculated that Swift's outfit for the VMAs afterparty—a dark blue Moschino romper bejeweled with silver stars—teased the album's aesthetic.[16][17][18] The A.V. Club opined that midnights are a recurring lyrical motif in Swift's music, having been employed in different contexts and viewpoints across her albums so far, and welcomed Midnights as a concept album that expands the "artistic motif into a full-blown album."[19] The media also noted Swift incorporated her lucky number, 13, into the number of tracks on the album, a tradition she had implemented with her music and career multiple times.[20][21] Time admired the track-list length, calling it a "concise lineup" for Swift, whose last album, Red (Taylor's Version), consisted of 30 tracks.[22] Pondering over its sound, Variety reported that "there's been a curiosity" regarding the album's musical style on the internet, whether Midnights would "continue in that more subdued, acoustic, Americana vein" of her 2020 records Folklore and Evermore, or return to the "pure pop" of Lover (2019) and its immediate predecessors.[13] The New York Times called Swift a "restless creative force" for having five album releases within three years, and expected Midnights to become one of 2022's best-selling albums despite its October release.[23]

Release history

Release dates and formats for Midnights
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various October 21, 2022
Republic [24]
Brazil November 30, 2022 CD Universal Music Brasil [25]
January 20, 2023
  • Cassette
  • vinyl LP
 [26]

Footnote

  1. ^ They are called as "Jade Green", "Blood Moon" and "Mahogany" editions. The widely available, standard artwork of Midnights is named "Moonstone Blue".[12]

References

  1. ^ Rothman, Michael (August 22, 2019). "Taylor Swift will re-record her old music next year after ownership dispute". Good Morning America. Archived from the original on November 12, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  2. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (June 18, 2021). "Taylor Swift Announces Red As Next Re-Recorded Album, November Release Date". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 19, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Willman, Chris (November 13, 2021). "Taylor Swift Offers Peek Into Her Past With 'All Too Well: The Short Film'". Variety. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  4. ^ Kirkpatrick, Emily. "Taylor Swift Receives Five VMA Nominations For Her Self-Directed "All Too Well" Music Video". Vanity Fair. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  5. ^ Grein, Paul (August 29, 2022). "Taylor Swift Is First Artist to Achieve These VMAs Feats, Plus Other 2022 Record Setters". Billboard. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Martoccio, Angie (August 29, 2022). "Taylor Swift Announces New Album 'Midnights': 'A Journey Through Terrors and Sweet Dreams'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 29, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  7. ^ Fisher, Kelly (August 29, 2022). "Taylor Swift Reveals New Album Release Date During 2022 MTV VMAs". WQLX. iHeartMedia. Archived from the original on August 29, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  8. ^ Fowler, Bella (August 29, 2022). "Taylor Swift to release 10th studio album, Midnights". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on August 29, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  9. ^ Bailey, Alyssa; Puckett-Pope, Lauren (August 29, 2022). "Everything Taylor Swift Revealed About Her 10th Album, 'Midnights', Out October 21". Elle. Archived from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; August 29, 2022 suggested (help)
  10. ^ Daly, Rhian (August 29, 2022). "Taylor Swift announces new album 'Midnights'". NME. Archived from the original on August 29, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  11. ^ Brandle, Lars (September 1, 2022). "Taylor Swift Unveils Trilogy of Colored Vinyl 'Midnights'". Billboard. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d Sanchez, Chelsey (September 1, 2022). "A Comprehensive Guide to Midnights, Taylor Swift's Upcoming 10th Album". Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  13. ^ a b Willman, Chris (August 29, 2022). "Taylor Swift Announces All-New Album, 'Midnights,' Set for October". Variety. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  14. ^ Dailey, Hannah (August 31, 2022). "Heidi Klum & Sofia Vergara Parody Taylor Swift's 'Midnights' Album Cover: 'Midnightsnacks'". Billboard. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  15. ^ Garcia, Gretty (August 29, 2022). "Everything to Know About the Major Bombshell Taylor Swift Dropped on Us Last Night: Her New 'Midnights' Album". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on August 29, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  16. ^ Bonner, Mehera (August 29, 2022). "Fully Convinced Taylor Swift's VMAs After Party Look Is Teasing Her 'Midnights' Era". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on August 29, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  17. ^ Rowley, Glenn (August 29, 2022). "Taylor Swift's 2022 VMAs Afterparty Look Is Perfectly on Theme With Upcoming Album 'Midnights'". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 29, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  18. ^ Bailey, Alyssa (August 29, 2022). "Taylor Swift Kicked Off Her 'Midnights' Style Era in a Starry Slip Dress at the MTV VMAs After Party". Elle. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  19. ^ Kate Carr, Mary (August 29, 2022). "A brief history of Taylor Swift's midnights, in honor of her new album". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  20. ^ Enos, Morgan (August 29, 2022). "Everything We Know About Taylor Swift's New Album 'Midnights'". Grammys. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  21. ^ Gibson, Kelsie (August 29, 2022). "Taylor Swift Shares Details on Upcoming Midnights Album: 'The Stories of 13 Sleepless Nights'". People. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  22. ^ Zornosa, Laura (August 29, 2022). "Everything We Know So Far About Taylor Swift's New Album Midnights". Time. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  23. ^ Sisario, Ben (August 29, 2022). "Taylor Swift Announces 'Midnights,' a New Album Written After Dark". New York Times. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  24. ^ Midnights release formats:
  25. ^ "CD Midnights - Taylor Swift". UMusic Store (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  26. ^ Midnights release formats in Brazil:
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