On October 21st at 11:59 pm, Taylor Swift released her highly anticipated tenth studio album: Midnights. In just one week, Taylor Swift’s Midnight became the biggest album of 2022.
Her fans showed out in record numbers, crashing Spotify and breaking historical records. Midnights immediately became the most streamed album in a single day, as Swift herself became the most streamed artist in a single day in Spotify history. Along with Spotify records, Swift broke the record for the biggest pop album of all time in Apple Music History.
Even in the streaming era, Swift has also had a record-breaking sales week. In the first three days of the album’s release, she sold 1.2 million album units, making it the first time an artist has sold over 1 million album copies in its first week since Taylor’s own record Reputation dropped in 2017.
The album debuted with a Metacritic score of 98, and as the opening week progressed, the album’s score dropped to 85 with twenty-five critic reviews. The reviews and record-breaking streaming numbers speak for themselves, but the real question is how the album compares to her other works of art.
Midnight’s, an album composed of Swift’s stories of 13 sleepless nights, is her most cohesive work of art yet. Jack Antonoff’s exquisite synth-heavy production creates a dreamy listening experience full of texture and depth. At this point, it is undeniable that Taylor Swift can make good pop music, but this time, the album feels smarter. Her ability to write catchy pop hooks, which stay in the minds of listeners for days, is proven time and time again each time she releases an album. Yet, on midnights the lyrics feel different; instead of one-liners, the choruses are more complex as she delves into her deepest self-reflective lyrics to date. The album is deemed by many to be the love child of her first pop album, 1989, and her darker, more sarcastic album, Reputation. The record, while vivacious, mimics similar restraints from 1989. The Guardian described it best, saying, “That confidence is the thing that binds Midnights together. There’s a sure-footedness about Swift’s songwriting, filled with subtle, brilliant touches.” Unlike any other album she has released in the past, this record holds zero skips, and with every listen, I fall more in love with it.
