Taylor Swift’s album “Midnights” released on Oct 21. “Midnights” and the extended version, “Midnights (3am edition)”, has held its place in the top five albums on the music charts since its release. This album marks Swift’s return to pop music as it is her first pop album since 2019. 

“I was excited for this album because I had no idea what type of sound she was going to do because she has explored so many genres,” said Rose Wagner, senior mass communication major. “I was happy to hear it have a pop sound again because I missed it.”  

Unlike her last two folk albums, Swift wrote this album about her life experiences. By writing songs about herself, fans relate to her music on a deeper level, and this reliability has helped Swift build a dedicated fan base throughout her career. 

“My favorite song is ‘Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve’ because I resonate with it as someone who has dealt with a toxic relationships in the past,” said Dani Mathis, senior early childhood education major.   

“Midnights” contains upbeat dance songs that are reminiscent of the songs from her previous albums. Similar to the 2012 hit song “Red”, the song “Maroon” also uses the color red to represent a complex love story. 

“I like the synth in the song Lavender Haze,” Wagner said. “The synth reminds me of the songs on her album ‘1989’.”

The songs, “Karma” and “Vigilante Sh*t”, are allegedly about Swift’s old manager, Scooter Braun. These songs are comparable to her songs on the album “Reputation” because she wrote the album about the betrayal she felt from Braun. 

Although these are energetic pop songs, some of the lyrics analyze heavier societal issues. For instance, “Anti-Hero” has an energetic tone, but the lyrics depict her struggle with anxiety and condemn female beauty standards. This song is the most played song on the album because many fans can empathize with this topic. 

This album also contains ballads that show Swift’s vulnerability. There is speculation that the slower love songs such as “Bigger Than The Whole Sky” and “Glitch” are about her current romantic partner, Joe Alwyn. However, it is believed that the song “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” is about her romance with John Mayer who was 13 years her senior because this song is focused on the manipulative nature of age gap relationships. 

“My second favorite song on the album is ‘Bigger Than the Whole Sky’ because it makes me want to be in love,” said Meyers Ezzell, senior mass communication major. 

To promote the release of this album, Swift used TikTok to announce the name track titles in the days leading up to the album release, and this created immense excitement among fans. 

“She is seriously the queen of earned and owned media,” said Amanda Respess, mass communication professor. 

When Swift announced in her TikTok series that the song “Snow On The Beach” would feature Lana Del Rey, fans of Del Rey and Swift were excited to see the two popular pop artists collaborate. However, after the song was released, some fans were disappointed by Del Rey only singing the background harmony. 

“I felt bated and robbed because Lana is my all time favorite artist and Taylor Swift is a powerhouse,” said Collin Zabroske, senior mass communication major. “I thought she was going to do what she did with Phoebe Bridgers when she gave her an entire verse on her rerelease of Red.” 

Other fans of the two were just excited to hear the pop icons on a song together. 

“My second favorite song is the one with Lana,” said Mia Scarborough, senior mass communication major. “I’m a Lana fan through and through. I was disappointed at first that you can only hear Lana harmonizing in Snow on the Beach but then I realized that my two favorite people were in the same room and they were happy. If they are happy, then I am too.” 

Although there was some backlash, “Midnights” received primarily good reviews. This is due to the fact that it is a well rounded and diverse album that displays her growth as an artist yet is still reflective of her past work.