“Midnights” by Taylor Swift: Everything We Already Know
October 4, 2022
On August 28, 2022, Taylor Swift shocked the world during her acceptance speech for Video of the Year at the 2022 VMAs. She announced that her brand new album will be released on October 21. At midnight that night, Swift revealed the title of her tenth studio album, Midnights.
In the post she made, she gave more insight regarding what inspired the album: “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 twelve… we’ll meet ourselves,” Along with the caption, Swift posted the cover of the album, which is a photo of her in shimmery blue eyeshadow while she sparks a lighter.
Since the announcement, Swift has slowly revealed more information regarding the album. She is famous for using hints, also known as “easter eggs”, to drop clues about her upcoming projects. Fans have been diligently searching for any hidden messages and symbols that could unveil more details about the album. Since the original album announcement, much more information has been learned about Midnights.
On September 16, Swift upload a Tik Tik sharing a behind-the-scenes look at her creating Midnights. In the video, Jack Antonoff is spotted in one of the clips. Anto
noff is a producer who has worked with Swift for the past nine years. He has produced and co-written songs on her albums 1989, Reputation, Lover, Folklore, and Evermore. After being seen in the Tik Tok, fans have speculated that he will also be working with Swift on Midnights. This has contributed to theories about what genre the new album will be. Some people predict that it will be more rock-inspired, while others are predicting it will be pop.
Another theory inspired by that Tik Tok is a possible Lana Del Rey collaboration. A few months ago, Lana uploaded a photo on Instagram of her posing with Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff. In the photo, Taylor is seen wearing a striped sweater. In Taylor’s behind-the-scenes Tik Tok, Taylor is seen again wearing the same exact sweater. This has led fans to believe that these two clues are from the same day. They believe that Lana was present while Taylor was making Midnights and there could be a possible collaboration between the two.
The Tik Tok video was also accompanied by the song “life you lead” by artist Niceboy Ed. Fans noticed that “life you lead” is the only song released by that artist and it was released just days before Taylor uploaded the Tik Tok. This has led fans to believe that Taylor has something to do with the song. Some even speculate that Niceboy Ed is a pseudonym for somebody that Taylor collaborated with on Midnights. This theory is especially believable because Taylor has used pseudonyms in the past. Her boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, used a pseudonym when he worked with Taylor on songs from her albums Folklore and Evermore. Fans think that she could be using a pseudonym again to keep the real person’s identity a secret until the album is released. This song has also raised questions about what genre the album will actually be, as the “life you lead” sounds more indie than pop or rock.
One of the only definite things known about the album is the tracklist. Taylor Swift recently started a new Tik Tok series where she announces the title of songs. Called “Midnights Mayhem with Me”, Swift uses a bingo roller machine to randomly select ping-pong balls labeled with a number representing each of the 13 tracks. So far she has revealed six song titles.
Less than one month before the release of Midnights, there are so many speculations about what the album will contain. Swift has stayed remotely quiet the past month so it has been up to fans to decide what they think the album will be like.
