Taylor Swift Announces New Album “Midnights,” Release Date During VMAs 2022 Speech
When Taylor Swift comes back, she really comes back: at VMAs 2022, she won Video of the Year and promptly announced a new album.
During Sunday night’s ceremony, Taylor received Video of the Year for her “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) short film. She took the stage wearing her signature coy grin, that look she wears before she wrecks your life and ruins your plans.
“I’m so honored to have been recognized alongside such amazing artists and directors in this category,” she began. “I’m so heartened by the fact that for the first time in VMA history, four of the directors nominated in the category are women. You guys, I’m just so proud of what we made, and I know with every second of this moment that we wouldn’t have been able to make this short film if it weren’t for you, the fans. Because I wouldn’t be able to re-record my albums if it weren’t for you. You emboldened me to do that.”
Then she dropped the news: “I had sort of made up my mind that if you were gonna be this generous and give us this, I thought it might be a fun moment to tell you that my brand new album comes out October 21. And I will tell you more at midnight.” The cheers from fans were overpowering.
As promised, Taylor shared more info at midnight. The next Taylor album will be called……. Midnights — “the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life.” She also posted what looks to be the album cover on Instagram, along with a message.
“We lie awake in love and in fear, in turmoil and in tears. We stare at walls and drink until they speak back,” the statement reads. “We twist in our self-made cages and pray that we aren’t — right this minute — about to make some fateful life-altering mistake. 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 maybe, when the clock strikes twelve, we’ll meet ourselves.”
The album announcement comes as a fun surprise, since many fans expected she would finish releasing her re-recorded albums before returning to original music. This forthcoming work will be her 10th full-length record, following 2020’s dynamic duo folklore and evermore. Meanwhile, Swifties everywhere are marking their calendars — October 21 can’t come soon enough.
Check out her VMAs speech in full below:
During her acceptance speech for video of the year at the #VMAs, Taylor Swift announces a new album out October 21. https://t.co/K3f4GrgiuJ pic.twitter.com/9q2jGVDoPl
— Variety (@Variety) August 29, 2022
