Meet Her at Midnight: Taylor Swift Releases her Tenth Album
Written and Photographed by Sarah Nash
Styled by Ashlee Finke and Liz Garcia
Modeled by Kendall Darnell and Ashlee Finke
On August 28th, Taylor Swift showed up bejeweled to the “MTV Music Video Awards” with an announcement: her tenth studio album would be released in October. First, let’s take a brief look at what has led her to this point.
Swift made her mainstream debut as a cowboy boots-wearing teen with her country single “Tim McGraw.” The song would begin her 2006 self-titled album, a sweet collection of young hope and heartache that’s still beloved today. Two years later, her career exploded with the sophomore album, “Fearless,” filled with chart-topping hits like “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me.” “Fearless” became even more of a fairytale when Swift took it on her first worldwide stage tour and won album of the year at the Grammys. Already under constant media scrutiny, the young songwriter released her third album, “Speak Now,” without a single co-writer, kicking off the 2010s. Although still finding immense success in her sparkly country hits, Swift moved in a new direction with her fourth album, 2012’s “Red,” releasing both pop and country songs.
In 2014, Swift shifted gears and released her first completely pop album, “1989,” boldly grabbing another album of the year at the Grammys. 2017’s “Reputation” and 2019’s “Lover” continued the pop direction –– “Reputation” marking her first ever full stadium tour and “Lover” her first self-owned album. The following year, Swift shifted genres once again with not one but two surprise albums “Folklore” and “Evermore,” bringing her undeniably intelligent lyricism into an alternative sound. Sure enough, Folklore won her third album of the year at the Grammys. With 2021, came her immensely successful recordings of “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” and “Red (Taylor’s Version),” which brings us to 2022.
On October 20th, fans around the world gathered to listen to Swift’s tenth studio album, “Midnights.” Majorly produced by long-time friend and artistic partner, Jack Antonoff, “Midnights” explores the concept of “what keeps you up at night.” The songs highlight these different midnights of her life with recollections of relationships, significant moments of her career, moments of self-doubt, and more. Just days after the album's release, Swift became the first artist to have every song spot on Billboard Hot 100’s Top 10 –– and all of the songs are from this album.
If there’s one thing Swift will do, it’s think ahead. With her second music video release for “Midnights,” “Bejeweled,” she uses this better-without-you song to retell a Cinderella story. Riddled with easter eggs, and celebrities, the background music, costumes, and dialogue hint to the album that fans think she will be rerecording next –– “Speak Now.” The album’s lead single is “Anti-Hero,” which Swift discusses is about her own insecurities and self-loathing, the chorus admitting, “I'll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror, it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero.” “Midnights’” fifth track, “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” shares a sentimental bridge of the loneliness of her career. Swift has always made her track fives her most vulnerable on the album –– famously: “All Too Well,” and from her most recent: “Tolerate It” –– “You’re On Your Own, Kid” fits this box perfectly.
More songwriting highlights from the album include Swift’s highly anticipated collaboration with Lana Del Rey, “Snow On The Beach,” “Maroon,” and her bonus track “Hits Different.” In “Snow On The Beach,” they describe a strange and unexpected romance with shimmery visuals like “stars by the pocketful” and “your eyes are flying saucers from another planet.” A reminiscent pop song, “Maroon,” shares some classically-Taylor tropes like dancing around with a friend in New York and comparing feelings to colors, but she also gives us a new metaphor for distance and loss of communication à la “the rust that grew between telephones.” She describes “Hits Different” as having one of her favorite musical bridges via Instagram. With this example of her most famous type of song –– the breakup song –– she struggles to get over a past relationship. With objectively relatable lines such as “I pictured you with other girls in love, then threw up on the street,” Swift continues to bring the drama.
Out of her 229 songs, everyone has at least one that they can relate to. A world-renowned prodigy in storytelling, Swift continues to run the industry and relate even more to people’s lives just when you think she has already said everything you needed. “Midnights” will certainly not be the last we see of her.
