After racking up accolades at the 2022 MTV VMAs, Taylor Swift used the moment to make a big announcement. On Sunday evening, the singer-songwriter scooped up three awards for her short film “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version),” including best longform video, best direction, and video of the year.
After winning the video of the year award, Swift leveraged the platform to announce a new album, coming out October 21. Dubbed Midnights, Swift’s upcoming 10th record will include 13 tracks.
Setting multiple records, Swift became the only artist in VMA history to ever win three nods for video of the year, after snagging the Moonperson in 2015 with “Bad Blood,” and in 2019 with “You Need to Calm Down.” She also became the first artist to win for a video they directed themselves.
“I’m so honored to have been recognized alongside such amazing artists and directors in this category and I just want to say, I’m so heartened by the fact that, for the first time in VMA history, four of the directors nominated in the video of the year category are women,” Swift said in her acceptance speech.
She went on to gush over her fans. “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,” she continued. “Because I wouldn’t be able to re-record my albums if it weren’t for you.”
“You embolden me to do that and I had sort of made up my mind that if you were going to 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.”
When the clock struck midnight, Swift shared more information about the new album on Instagram. “Midnights, the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life, will be out October 21,” she wrote. “Meet me at midnight.”
The album cover features the singer examining a lit lighter. “We lie awake in love and in fear, in turmoil and in tears,” the next slide in her post read. “We stare at walls and drink until they speak back. 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,” the post explains. “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 twelves…we’ll meet ourselves.”
She celebrated her wins and announcement at the Republic Records MTV VMAs afterparty at the Fleur Room in N.Y.C., in a look that gave major “Miss Americana” vibes. Styled by Joseph Cassell Falconer, Swift sported a royal blue Moschino romper, embellished with shimmering silver stars and a bedazzled neckline and spaghetti straps. Swift completed her ultra-glam ensemble with a white furry coat and silver sky-high platform sandals.
Swift maintained her signature red statement lip, tying together the theme of red, white, and blue.
