Jack Antonoff Production! Easter Eggs! Everything to Know About Taylor Swift’s ‘Midnights’ Album So Far

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Jack Antonoff Production! Easter Eggs! Everything to Know About Taylor Swift's 'Midnights' Album So Far

Magic at Midnight. Taylor Swift surprised fans during the 2022 Video Music Awards when she announced her tenth studio album while accepting the award for video of the year. “I’m just so proud of what we made,” the 32-year-old singer said on August 28 while accepting a Moonperson for the “All Too Well” short film. “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.” The “Welcome to New York” performer went on to say that she was excited to surprise her fans with some news: her next record. “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,” Swift told the crowd. “I will tell you more at midnight.” [jwplayer 0z5zJfsW-zhNYySv2] When the clock struck 12 A.M. on August 29, the Grammy winner revealed that her new project is called Midnights. “Midnights, the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life, will be out October 21. Meet me at midnight,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. In a second photo, the pop star added: “We lie awake in love and in fear, in turmoil and in tears. 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, 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 twelve … we’ll meet ourselves.” The set of songs will be her 10th studio album, following her 2020 releases Folklore and Evermore. Her last record, Red (Taylor’s Version), debuted in November 2021. In addition to the intriguing artwork Swift shared with fans on the night of the announcement, the “Blank Space” songstress has been teasing more details leading up to the launch of the album. Scroll down to find out more about Midnights, from its release date to potential easter eggs and more.

Credit: Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Jack Antonoff Production! Easter Eggs! Everything to Know About Taylor Swift's 'Midnights' Album So Far

Magic at Midnight. Taylor Swift surprised fans during the 2022 Video Music Awards when she announced her tenth studio album while accepting the award for video of the year. “I’m just so proud of what we made,” the 32-year-old singer said on August 28 while accepting a Moonperson for the “All Too Well” short film. “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.” The “Welcome to New York” performer went on to say that she was excited to surprise her fans with some news: her next record. “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,” Swift told the crowd. “I will tell you more at midnight.” [jwplayer 0z5zJfsW-zhNYySv2] When the clock struck 12 A.M. on August 29, the Grammy winner revealed that her new project is called Midnights. “Midnights, the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life, will be out October 21. Meet me at midnight,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. In a second photo, the pop star added: “We lie awake in love and in fear, in turmoil and in tears. 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, 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 twelve … we’ll meet ourselves.” The set of songs will be her 10th studio album, following her 2020 releases Folklore and Evermore. Her last record, Red (Taylor’s Version), debuted in November 2021. In addition to the intriguing artwork Swift shared with fans on the night of the announcement, the “Blank Space” songstress has been teasing more details leading up to the launch of the album. Scroll down to find out more about Midnights, from its release date to potential easter eggs and more.

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When Does 'Midnights' Come Out?

During her speech at the MTV VMAs in September, the “Bad Blood” singer revealed that her latest project will be released on October 21 at — you guessed it — midnight.

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What Is 'Midnights' About?

Following her announcement at the VMAs, Swift shared photos of the cover and interior art for Midnights, writing that it was a "collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams."

"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 twelve ... we'll meet ourselves," the “Reputation” singer wrote via Instagram. "Midnights, the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life, will be out Oct. 21. Meet me at midnight,” she concluded.

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What Does the Cover Art for 'Midnights' Look Like?

Swift shared the official artwork along with her announcement, which shows her striking a lighter while wearing shimmery blue eyeshadow. Two weeks later, she pointed out via social media that there are “four different covers” for the album and, if you turn them around, the separate back covers form a clock to emphasize the theme of time.

The vinyl variants also contain four different colors: Moonstone Blue, Jade Green, Blood Moon and Mahogony. Social media users took note of the particular retro, nostalgic aesthetic of the art, pointing out that the hazy photos not only evoked the 1970s, but also echoed early 2010s Tumblr and indie rock bands like Vampire Weekend.

Credit: Courtesy of Taylor Swift/TikTok

How Many Songs Are on Midnights?

The “Lover” crooner initially confirmed that there are 13 tracks, though she didn’t reveal any song titles at the time. On September 21, however, Swift took to TikTok to share a video set to elevator music, explaining that she wanted to “defy” her “habit of dropping cryptic clues and Easter eggs.”

The pop star went on to spin a bingo roller machine filled with white Ping-Pong balls labeled to match each of the album’s 13 tracks. "I'm going to be using this technologically advanced device to help me allow fate to decide exactly what track titles I'm going to be announcing and in what order," Swift says in the video.

"In this cage are 13 Ping-Pong balls labeled 1 through 13, each representing a track on the Midnights album. So, let's leave it up to fate." After rolling the contraption a few times, the ball that rolled out contained the number 13. “Because of course,” the musician quipped about her favorite digits, before informing fans the name of the song: “Mastermind.”

One night later on September 22, Swift was back again, this time revealing track no. 8: "Vigilante S—t."

In the September 29 episode of "Midnights Mayhem," the "Everything Has Changed" singer revealed the second track on the album: "Maroon."

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Will There Be Any Collaborations on 'Midnights'?

In a video shared on her various social media channels, Swift confirmed that friend and frequent collaborator, producer Jack Antonoff, worked on the album together.

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Are There Any Bonus Tracks on Midnights?

In addition to the regular release, there will be a deluxe version of the album available at Target. The vinyl and CD will be lavender-colored and will contain three bonus tracks.

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What Songs Are on Taylor Swift's ‘Midnights’ Album?

Swift has been revealing the Midnights tracklist out of order via TikTok, which includes “Mastermind,” “Vigilante S—t,” “Question?” and “Midnight Rain.” The album will also feature songs titled “Bejeweled” and “Karma.”

On Friday, October 7, the pop star unveiled the full track listing including “Lavender Haze,” “Snow on the Beach,” “Labyrinth,” and “Sweet Nothing.”

“Maroon,” “Anti-Hero” and “You’re on Your Own, Kid” are also song titles. 

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What Is 'Lavender Haze' About?

In October 2022, Swift revealed that the Midnights opener, "Lavender Haze," was partly inspired by her romance with Joe Alwyn. "I happened upon the phrase 'lavender haze' when I was watching Mad Men and I looked it up because I thought it sounded cool, and it turns out that it's a common phrase used in the '50s where they would just describe being in love," she explained in an Instagram video. "Like, If you were in the lavender haze, that meant you were in that all-encompassing love glow, and I thought that was really beautiful. And I guess theoretically when you're in the lavender haze, you'll do anything to stay there and not let people bring you down off of that cloud." 

The "I Know Places" songstress explained that the new tune is about trying to maintain that feeling of happiness in the face of adversity. "I think a lot of people have to deal with this now — not just, like, quote-unquote public figures — because we live in the era of social media and if the world finds out that you're in love with somebody, they're gonna weigh in on it," she said. "My relationship for six years, we've had to dodge weird rumors, tabloid stuff, and we just ignore it. And so this song is sort of about the act of ignoring that stuff to protect the real stuff. I hope you guys like it."

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Will There Be Any Collaborations on Taylor Swift's 'Midnights' Album?

Swift announced on Friday, October 7, that Lana Del Rey will be featured on the song “Snow on the Beach,” which is track four on the record. 

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What Will the Week of the ‘Midnights’ Release Look Like?

On October 16, Swift revealed the rollout plan for the week following the album’s release. 

On Thursday, October 20 — the night prior to launching Midnights — the “Shake it Off" singer will debut a teaser trailer during the third quarter of Thursday Night Football on Prime Video. At the same time that the album drops at 12 a.m. PT on Friday, October 21, Swift announced that she would also be unveiling a “very chaotic surprise” before releasing a music video for the album’s first single, “Anti-Hero,” along with YouTube shorts, at 8 p.m. ET. Lyric videos for all 13 songs will also be available at that time. 

The Grammy winner will be making an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Monday, October 24, before releasing a second untitled music video that same day. The Folklore crooner will then pop up for her second interview on The Graham Norton Show on Friday, October 28. 

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Who Helped Taylor Write 'Midnights'?

Three days before the album's release, fans discovered a list of Swift's collaborators, which included Jack Antonoff and Zoë Kravitz. One song, "Sweet Nothing," is credited to Swift and William Bowery — the pseudonym used by her boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, when he contributed lyrics to her 2020 albums Folklore and Evermore.

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What 'Midnights' Lyrics Have Taylor Revealed?

Swift teamed up with Spotify to reveal lyrics from Midnights in the days leading up to the album's release on various billboards around the world. “I should not be left to my own devices," read one in New York City, while a London billboard featured the line, "I polish up real nice." In Mexico City, a sign revealed the line "Breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out," — which many Swifties remembered was also a quote from Swift's May 2022 NYU Commencement Speech.

“Hard things will happen to us. We will recover, we will learn from it, we will grow more resilient because of it," the "All Too Well" singer, who was presented with an honorary doctorate, told graduates at the time. "And as long as we are fortunate enough to be breathing, we will breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, and breathe out. And I am a doctor now, so I know how breathing works."

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Will There Be Music Videos for 'Midnights'?

Hours prior to the release of Midnights, Swift dropped a teaser trailer featuring clips from music videos set to premiere alongside her chosen singles that will “visually explore” the album.

“I love storytelling, I love songwriting, I love writing videos, I love directing them and this was a really fun opportunity to work again with the cinematographer, Rina Yang, who was my collaborator on the 'All Too Well' 10-minute short film,” the “Evermore” songstress shared during Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime. 

She added, “We really wanted to challenge ourselves to do different things this time around and stretch. I’m really proud of what we made and I really hope you like them.”

The montage — which highlighted brief snippets from each video but didn’t unveil any music from the record — showed Swift in different scenarios including getting shot with an arrow before bleeding bright lavender, fighting off a second version of herself and gazing out a castle window.

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What Is the 'Chaotic Surprise?'

Swift teased that a "chaotic surprise" was coming at 3 a.m. ET on October 21, three hours after Midnights hit streaming services. The big reveal was seven additional songs, three of which were cowritten with Folklore producer Aaron Dessner. “Surprise! I think of Midnights as a complete concept album, with those 13 songs forming a full picture of the intensities of that mystifying, mad hour,” she wrote via Instagram after the tracks dropped online. “However! There were other songs we wrote on our journey to find that magic 13. I’m calling them 3am tracks. Lately I’ve been loving the feeling of sharing more of our creative process with you, like we do with From The Vault tracks. So it’s 3am and I’m giving them to you now.”