The clock struck midnight and Taylor Swift’s 10th studio album was released to the public. The highly anticipated Midnights surged with great astounding success right off the bat, immediately breaking barriers in the music industry. Midnights shares an autobiographical journey, taking listeners through the late night reflections of the renowned singer. The album provides thirteen relatable stories based around thirteen sleepless nights experienced throughout her life. She returns to her roots of pop, straying away from the structure of her more recent albums, folklore and evermore. In these previous albums, Swift used storytelling to convey the songs to the listener, pulling from the lives of characters within novels and films. Although pop seems to be the focus of the singer-songwriter’s newest release, listeners can still hear hints of her previous musical genres (pop, country, alternative, and folk) intertwined within the tracks.

Swift announced the release of Midnights at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), instantly making its arrival a highly anticipated, worldwide sensation. On October 21, history was made. Never before has a musical artist swept the first ten spots on the Billboard Top 100. The next twenty-four hours were a whirlwind. Not only did Swift make history in the number of top hits, but she also surpassed the record number of streams on Spotify and Apple Music. Her album became the most streamed album ever, surpassing Drake’s 2021 Certified Lover Boy (153.4 million). The 161.5 million streams the album received allowed Midnights to be momentarily listed as the first thirteen spots of the Top 15 with “Anti-Hero” coming in at number one. This No.1 hit was released as a music video later in the day of October 21. As of November 15, 2022, “Anti-Hero” continues to stay in the same spot, at number one for its third consecutive week. “Anti-Hero” tells the story of her struggles to separate from the constant expectations of others. The lyrics take a deep dive into the act of falling short and never being enough for the world in which one is meant to live. 

Along with the release of Midnights at midnight, Swift announced a second part, the 3am Edition, publicizing seven more hits just a few hours after the original thirteen. These bonus tracks came later to complete the experience of the rest of the album, adding in the songs that she wrote during the process of the original thirteen. Swift later released two music videos for tracks three and nine, “Anti-Hero” and “Bejeweled.” These videos, written and directed by Taylor Swift herself, bring her songs to life, providing the audience with depth, meaning, connections, and collaborations. The “Bejeweled” music video, released second of the two videos available so far, tells a rendition of the classic fairytale, Cinderella. This concept, a well-known story with a main midnight component, was inspired by the childhood fairytale version but with a new, contemporary ending. The films, although written by Swift, spotlight many of her friends and famous names within the industry. Some of these individuals include the band HAIM, Laura Dern, and Jack Antonoff. Aside from the music videos, other collaborators on the album include Lana Del Ray, Dylan O’Brian, Zoë Kravitz, and Aaron Dessner.

As if this wasn’t enough, Swift continues to build anticipation for her fanbase. After a four year hiatus, Taylor Swift announced her tour on the first of November. The pandemic and the recent releases of two her re-recorded albums have prevented a worldwide tour since the release of her 2018 album, Reputation. The recent events of the tour came in a whirlwind, taking attention away from daily news and causing controversy between Taylor Swift, her fans, and Ticketmaster. The dilemma is still playing out but has already resulted in the most loyal of her many fans not having the opportunity to purchase tickets.

Whether or not a fan of Taylor Swift, this album is something that has made history and continues to make waves among the masses. This album shares an autobiography of a life, one that takes place in the dead of night.