Taylor Swift fans thought they were getting a treat when the singer appeared at last night’s MTV Video Music Awards.
Then, during her acceptance speech, Swift announced an entirely new album and release date for fans to obsess over.
Taking the stage to accept the VMA for Best Video, for her song “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)(Taylor’s Version)(From the Vault)”, Swift thanked her fans for “emboldening” her.
"I had sort of made up my mind that if you were going to be this generous and give us this [award] that it might be a fun moment to tell you that my brand new album comes out October 21,” she added.
The VMA win for Best Video also makes the only artist to ever be awarded the accolade three times – she also netted the prize for Bad Blood in 2015, and You Need To Calm Down in 2019.
Titled Midnights, the singer has described the album as a journey through the sleepless nights that she has experienced in her life.
In true Swift style, the album will also have 13 tracks – a number widely acknowledged by fans to be her favourite (and the date of her birthday).
Writing on her social media channels, Swift described it as “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 12… we’ll meet ourselves.”
The cover has also dropped since the VMAs and features an image of Swift rocking blue eyeshadow and her signature red lipstick.
Midnights will be her first original offering since the twin indie-folk albums Folklore and Evermore, which were released during the pandemic and marked a new direction for the singer.
However, Swift has also been busy over the past years re-recording and releasing her back catalogue, which so far include Fearless and Red.
This follows a long-running dispute between Swift and music manager Scooter Braun, who purchased the rights to her pre-2019 music despite the singer’s attempts to purchase them herself.
The re-recording of Red, which dropped earlier in 2022, topped the UK and US charts when it was released. Expect Midnights to do the same.
