The full album -- and a music video for one of the tracks -- will drop on Friday.
Taylor Swift is about to release the quarantine album of our dreams! The 30-year-old singer took to Instagram on Thursday to announce that she's releasing a surprise album, Folklore, on Friday.
"Most of the things I had planned this summer didn’t end up happening, but there is something I hadn’t planned on that DID happen. And that thing is my eighth studio album, folklore. Surprise ?," she captioned a black-and-white pic of herself standing in the woods. "Tonight at midnight I’ll be releasing my entire brand-new album of songs I’ve poured all of my whims, dreams, fears, and musings into."
Swift "wrote and recorded this music in isolation," but that didn't stop her from collaborating with some of her "musical heroes" like Bon Iver, Jack Antonoff and more.
"@aarondessner (who has co-written or produced 11 of the 16 songs), @boniver (who co-wrote and was kind enough to sing on one with me), William Bowery (who co-wrote two with me) and @jackantonoff (who is basically musical family at this point)," she revealed. "Engineered by Laura Sisk and Jon Low, mixed by Serban Ghenea & Jon Low. The album photos were shot by the amazing @bethgarrabrant."
Swift ended her announcement by writing, "Before this year I probably would’ve overthought when to release this music at the ‘perfect’ time, but the times we’re living in keep reminding me that nothing is guaranteed."
"My gut is telling me that if you make something you love, you should just put it out into the world," she explained. "That’s the side of uncertainty I can get on board with. Love you guys so much ♥️"
In a second post, this one a black-and-white pic of Swift's back along with the album's track list, the singer revealed that Folklore will have 16 songs, and a bonus edition that will include a bonus track, "the lakes."
"Because this is my eighth studio album, I made eight deluxe CD editions and eight deluxe vinyl editions that are available for one week?," she added. "Each deluxe edition has unique covers, photos, and artwork. Available exclusively at taylorswift.com."
A third happy announcement came in the next post, with Swift revealing that a music video for one track, "cardigan," will also be released on Friday.
"The music video for 'cardigan' will premiere tonight, which I wrote/directed. A million thank you’s to my brilliant, bad ass video team - cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, producer Jil Hardin, executive producer Rebecca Skinner, AD Joe ‘Oz’ Osbourne, editor Chancler Haynes, special effects wizards David Lebensfeld & Grant Miller, and set designer Ethan Tobman," she wrote, before explaining the safety measures she took to film the video.
"The entire shoot was overseen by a medical inspector, everyone wore masks, stayed away from each other, and I even did my own hair, makeup, and styling ?," she wrote.
On top of all this, the GRAMMY winner also debuted a folklore Instagram filter.
Swift's folklore announcement comes after the release of her seventh album, Lover, last August. The new music is also dropping on the same day that Kanye West is to release his new album, Donda.
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