Taylor Swift released her new album Midnights on October 21, 2022. The album has already broken records, including being the most streamed album in a single day on Spotify and surpassing 3 million sales worldwide. 

The original album has 13 tracks, all of which were written over the course of “13 sleepless nights” as Swift previously stated.

After listening to the entire album, I am pleasantly surprised. My predictions for the album were a little different then what she put out, but nonetheless I am in awe. Swift was able to incorporate many different sounds in this album. I can tell that she really took her time with this record and incorporated so many different sounds in the background music. I have been listening to Swift since her first album came out, and I cannot express to you the improvement I’ve been able to hear in her voice and songwriting. 

“Lavender Haze” is definitely my favorite song on the album simply because I love the way it sounds. Her singing is absolutely stunning, and the background vocals add a really nice touch. I am also very fond of the message behind this song.

Lavender haze was a term used in the 1950s that described what being in love felt like. Being as famous as Taylor Swift is, her relationships can go public very quickly. Thus, the public can infringe on the “lavender haze” with lies and rumors. 

Swift discusses this issue in a tweet saying “[In] my relationship, for six years we’ve had to dodge weird rumors, tabloid stuff, and we just ignore it, and so this song is about the act of ignoring that stuff to protect the real stuff.”

Though this message isn’t necessarily “relatable” for most people since many of us can’t even comprehend how famous the singer is, it really shows her growth through her career. Starting off as a 16 year old superstar is not the easiest thing to do, especially with all the hate in the world today. This song has really shown that she has learned to ignore the negative and just focus on the positive, which to me, is beautiful and inspirational. 

“You’re On Your Own Kid” takes the cake for best lyrics. So many people have been able to relate to this song. The song is about a person who is struggling to find themselves, and they’re creating unhealthy habits to cope with their insecurities.  

Even though I personally don’t relate, she is able to put me in her shoes, so I can feel exactly what this person might have been feeling at this point in their lives. It is also beautiful to me how I can see the person grow as they become more sure of themselves. It shows that if you do relate to this song, there is always hope for a better future. 

This is definitely one of my favorite albums from Taylor Swift. I loved the way she was able to circle back to her two previous albums, Lover and reputation. Though these albums seem to be polar opposites, with reputation’s message being dark revenge and Lover’s message being forgiveness and light, she was able to combine their respective sounds and messages into this wonderful album. Taylor, you’ve done it again!