Taylor Swift surprised fans early Thursday by announcing that her eight studio album is coming... on Friday!
"Tonight at midnight I’ll be releasing my 8th studio album, folklore," Swift tweeted. "An entire brand new album of songs I’ve poured all of my whims, dreams, fears, and musings into."
“I wrote and recorded this music in isolation but got to collaborate with some musical heroes of mine,” Swift wrote in a message accompanying the big news, listing the National's Aaron Dessner, Bon Iver, William Bowery (rumoured to be a pseudonym for beau Joe Alwyn) and her frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff.
Swift said Iver also contributed his vocals to one track, "exile."
According to Swift, the standard edition of folklore has 16 songs and the physical deluxe editions – there are eight CD versions and eight vinyl – include a bonus track, “the lakes.”
Before the album drops, Swift will premiere a self-directed video for "cardigan." ("The entire shoot was overseen by a medical inspector, everyone wore masks, stayed away from each other, and I even did my own hair, makeup, and styling," the pop star pointed out.)
In April, Swift pulled the plug on her 2020 tour due to COVID-19. She told fans: “I’m so sad I won’t be able to see you guys in concert this year, but I know this is the right decision. I’ll see you on stage as soon as I can but right now what’s important is committing to this quarantine, for the sake of all of us."
“Before this year I probably would’ve overthought when to release this music at the ‘perfect’ time, but the times we’re living in keep reminding me that nothing is guaranteed. My gut is telling me that if you make something you love, you should just put it out into the world.
“That’s the side of uncertainty I can get on board with.”
The new album comes only 11 months after Swift released Lover, which spawned hits "Me!" and "You Need to Calm Down."
— Aaron Dessner (@aaron_dessner) July 23, 2020