Addison Plummer
Taylor Swift's new album, Midnights, came out on October 21st, at midnight. The album consists of thirteen new tracks, along with seven extras, which Swift stated are written based on 13 sleepless nights she has had, and 7 songs that didn't make it into the final album. The album starts with a song called “Lavender Haze” and finishes with the track titled “Mastermind.” The song “Snow On The Beach” is the only one that features another artist, Lana Del Ray. In addition to 13 “Midnight Mayhem” videos posted on Tik-Tok by Swift, she released many clues to songs on the album, or possible announcements for fans to de-code.
“Lately I've been loving the feeling of sharing more of our creative process with you, like we do with From The Vault tracks. So it's 3am and I'm giving them to you now,” Swift announced in an instagram post.
Swift announced a “chaotic surprise” would be coming at 3am, and many suspected a re-record of one of her old albums, or possibly tour tickets coming out due to hints she had left on social media platforms. Swift ended up releasing 7 extra songs, and called the full 20 track version Midnights 3am Edition. Many say though the album has a completely different sound then her last two albums, these seven songs sound more like them than the rest.
“This is one of Taylor's best works, while I loved Folklore and Evermore, I really enjoy how she is going back to pop,” NHS sophomore Bennett Quinn said.
As of now, the album has not faced too much controversy, but there are debates on whether or not it was unfair to state “Lavender Haze” would be featuring Lana Del Ray, as she can only be heard in background vocals, while many fans were hoping for her to receive a whole verse, as Phoebe Bridgers did in Folklores song, “Nothing New.”
“I’m kinda disappointed, after listening a few times I like it better, but she’s Taylor Swift, and I feel like this isn’t her best work,” NHS sophomore Rachel Calarossi said.
While this has been the most popular negative comment on the album, many just don't like the whole thing. Critics have said it is not as good as some of her other albums, or it feels like a step back for her.
“Not a smash hit in sight,” David Smyth from The Evening Standard said.
Despite this, the new album is breaking records all over the world, already being the best selling album of 2022 as well as Spotify's most streamed album in only a couple days, and people look forward to what Swift will do next.
Overall, I think the album was very good, but also very different from her more recent albums, which generally feel more mature than her pop albums, including Midnights. I do like how she is expressing what place she's in in her life, but I also see how people could see it as less meaningful than Folklore or Evermore. I'm excited to see how the album will grow on me with time.