Taylor Swift 'Midnights' album: Release date, songs, collabs

A woman with long blond hair grinning over her shoulder while wearing a gold gown

Oct. 20, 2022 2:16 PM PT

Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated new album, “Midnights,” is finally upon us. Are you ready for it?

In August, the pop idol announced that she would soon be releasing her 10th studio album. Swift had just made history that night as the only artist to win the Video Music Award for video of the year three times.

During her acceptance speech, Swift said — to shrieks and cheers from the crowd — that she “thought it might be a fun moment to tell” her fans about a new project in the works.

“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,” Swift said in a statement after the show.

“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.”

Per usual, Swifties have been fervently speculating for weeks on social media about the Grammy winner’s forthcoming record and how it fits into her evolution as an artist. From song lyrics to collaborations, here’s everything we know about “Midnights.”

When does the album come out, and how can I listen to it?

“Midnights” is set to arrive Thursday at 9 p.m. Pacific.

Until then, the album is available for pre-order on major streaming platforms — including iTunes, Amazon Music, Spotify and Apple Music — as well as at retailers such as Target and Walmart.

How many songs are on it?

The total number of tracks on “Midnights” is 13 — Swift’s lucky number.

For a while, the musician gradually revealed the titles of each song in retro fashion via her TikTok bingo series, “Midnights Mayhem With Me.” On Oct. 7, she unveiled the full list:

“Lavender Haze”
“Maroon”
“Anti-Hero”
“Snow on the Beach”
“You’re on Your Own, Kid”
“Midnight Rain”
“Question...?”
“Vigilante S—”
“Bejeweled”
“Labyrinth”
“Karma”
“Sweet Nothing”
“Mastermind”

Who’s featured?

Last week, Swift gushed about the “Midnights” track “Snow on the Beach,” featuring Lana Del Rey. The singer-songwriter added that she’s “such a massive fan of” Del Rey, whom she deemed “one of the best musical artists ever.”

“The fact that I get to exist at the same time as her is an honor and a privilege and the fact that she would be so generous as to collaborate with us on this song is something I’m going to be grateful for for life,” Swift said on Instagram. “Absolutely love her and I really hope you love this song as much as I do.”

Additionally, the album’s credits reveal that actors Zoë Kravitz and Joe Alwyn — Swift’s boyfriend of six years — helped write some of its songs.

“The Batman” star co-wrote “Lavender Haze” and “Karma,” while Alwyn worked on “Sweet Nothing.” The “Catherine Called Birdy” star is credited as William Bowery — the same pseudonym he used as a co-writer on Swift’s last two albums, “Folklore” and “Evermore.”

It’s unclear whether Kravitz, who also sings for the electropop duo Lolawolf, contributed vocals to the album as well.

Have any songs been released yet?

Swift hasn’t released any singles from “Midnights” prior to its debut (there’s still time, Tay!), but she has been feeding fans morsels of information on social media about some of its tracks.

“Lavender Haze,” for example, was inspired by a 1950s term she learned from the period drama “Mad Men” and explores her relationship with Alwyn.

“If you were in the ‘Lavender Haze,’ that meant you were in that all-encompassing love glow, and I thought that was really beautiful,” she explained in an Instagram video. “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. And I think a lot of people have to deal with this now ... 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.

“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.”

Swift also dished about her Del Rey collab, “Snow on the Beach,” which captures the “cataclysmic, fated moment where you realize someone feels exactly the same way that you feel.”

“The song is about falling in love with someone at the same time as they’re falling in love with you,” Swift said. “And you’re kind of looking around going like, ‘Wait, is this real? Is this a dream? Is it ... Is this real? Is this happening? Is it really happening?’ Kind of like it would be if you were to see snow falling on a beach.”

Swift deemed “Anti-Hero” one of her favorite songs that she’s ever written and described the tune as “a real guided tour throughout all the things I tend to hate about myself.”

“I don’t think I’ve delved this far into my insecurities in this detail before,” she said in a video on Instagram. “I struggle a lot with the idea that my life has become unmanageably sized and ... not feeling like a person.

“Don’t feel bad for me — you don’t need to — but ... we all hate things about ourselves, and it’s all of those aspects of the things we dislike and like about ourselves that we have to come to terms with ... I like ‘Anti-Hero’ a lot because I think it’s really honest.”

Many Swifties seem to believe that “Karma” is about the singer’s drama with rapper Kanye West and reality TV star Kim Kardashian. Swift hasn’t confirmed or denied this theory, so fans will just have to wait until the album arrives to find out if it’s true.

What about an album trailer?

A short teaser for “Midnights” is set to run during “Thursday Night Football” on Prime.

“Midnights teaser trailer tonight during the 3rd quarter of Thursday Night Football on @primevideo so … meet me there?” Swift tweeted Thursday morning.

The Arizona Cardinals (2-4) play host to the New Orleans Saints (2-4) starting at 5:15 p.m. Pacific.

What’s on the cover?

The edgy main album artwork for “Midnights” depicts Swift wearing glittery blue eyeshadow, holding a lighter and staring at the open flame — a marked departure from the whimsical cottagecore vibes of her last two records.

Alternative vinyl covers of the album show Swift lying on the cold, hard ground in a pensive state. And if you’re wondering why all four vinyl albums have numbers printed on them, it’s because they can be arranged to make an analog clock (because the title is “Midnights.” Get it?). If that wasn’t nifty enough, the vinyl set reads “Meet,” “me,” “at,” “midnight” when pieced together in the correct order.

Any merch?

Along with the clockwork vinyl set, fans have the opportunity to purchase a stunning array of “Midnights” merchandise — from bracelets and backpacks to water bottles and sweatshirts.

The retro items range in price from $11.99 (Midnights: Moonstone Blue Edition Digital Album) to $75 (Taylor Swift Midnights Vinyl Collector’s Case) and are available to browse on Swift’s website.

What’s with all the billboards?

Leading up to the release of “Midnights,” Swift has been scattering song lyrics on Spotify billboards in major cities around the world, including London, New York, Nashville, São Paulo and Mexico City.

Without specifying the track, the billboards have displayed lyrics such as, “I should not be left to my own devices,” “Just like clockwork, the dominoes cascaded in a line,” “I polish up real nice,” “Breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out” and “Did you ever have someone kiss you in a crowded room?”

Will there be a ‘Midnights’ tour?

All signs point to yes! And by “all signs,” we mean a statement posted on Swift’s U.K. website that encourages fans to “pre-order the new Taylor Swift album ‘Midnights’ on any format from the official UK store to get special presale code access for forthcoming and yet to be announced Taylor Swift UK show dates.”

The message notes that further information (and — we can only hope — some Los Angeles tour dates) will be confirmed at a later date.

What else has Swift said about the album?

Swift had said that “Midnights” stems from “13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life.”

So what, exactly, has been keeping the musician up at night?

In a series of Instagram videos, Swift shared the five key themes of the restless record: “Self-loathing,” “fantasizing about revenge,” “wondering what might have been,” “falling in love” and “falling apart.”