Proving how much can really be done in quarantine, Taylor Swift just announced that she’s releasing her second album of 2020, ‘Evermore,’ at midnight tonight (December 10).
In a post announcing the surprise to her 141 million fans on Instagram, Swift called her new record a “sister record” to ‘Folklore,’ which she recorded and released without warning back in July. Evermore will feature collaborations with Haim, The National and Bon Iver.
“I’m elated to tell you that my 9th studio album, and folklore’s sister record, will be out tonight at midnight eastern,” Swift wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of herself facing away from the camera and standing in the woods. “To put it plainly, we just couldn’t stop writing songs,” she continued. “To try and put it more poetically, it feels like we were standing on the edge of the folklorian woods and had a choice: to turn and go back or to travel further into the forest of this music. We chose to wander deeper in.”
“I’ve never done this before,” Swift wrote. “In the past I’ve always treated albums as one-off eras and moved onto planning the next one after an album was released. There was something different with folklore. In making it, I felt less like I was departing and more like I was returning. I loved the escapism I found in these imaginary/not imaginary tales. I loved the ways you welcomed the dreamscapes and tragedies and epic tales of love lost and found into your lives. So I just kept writing them.”
The singer went on to say that she collaborated with Aaron Dessner, Jack Antonoff, WB – the pseudonym for her boyfriend of three years, Joe Alwyn – and Justin Vernon. “We’ve also welcomed some new (and longtime) friends to our musical kitchen table this time around,” she teased.
In a follow-up post, Swift wrote that she wanted to give back to her fans for her 31st birthday. “Ever since I was 13, I’ve been excited about turning 31 because it’s my lucky number backwards, which is why I wanted to surprise you with this now,” she captioned her post.
“You’ve all been so caring, supportive and thoughtful on my birthdays and so this time I thought I would give you something! I also know this holiday season will be a lonely one for most of us and if there are any of you out there who turn to music to cope with missing loved ones the way I do, this is for you.”
Swift also announced that a video for the album’s first single, ‘Willow,’ is being released at the same time as the full album tonight.
Excuse the pun, but: Ready For It.
