On July 24, Taylor Swift delighted fans with the surprise release of a new album, “folklore.” It’s already a major hit, having sold more than 1.3 million copies since its debut. It was streamed over 80 million times on Spotify on its first day, making it the global record with the most first-day album streams by a female artist.
The album broke another record on Apple Music, becoming the most-streamed pop album on the platform in 24 hours with 35.47 million streams.
Swift announced the secret project on Twitter, where she described her recent burst of creativity. “In isolation, my imagination has run wild and this album is the result,” she wrote, referring to being in lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In isolation my imagination has run wild and this album is the result. I’ve told these stories to the best of my ability with all the love, wonder, and whimsy they deserve. Now it’s up to you to pass them down. folklore is out now: https://t.co/xdcEDfithq
: Beth Garrabrant pic.twitter.com/vSDo9Se0fp
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 24, 2020
“I’ve told these stories to the best of my ability with all the love, wonder and whimsy they deserve,” her tweet continued. “Now it’s up to you to pass them down.”
Swift’s latest album was made in collaboration with The National’s Aaron Dessner, who said they worked hard to keep the project under wraps until it was ready for release.
“There was no outside influence at all,” Dessner told Pitchfork. “In fact, nobody knew, including her label, until hours before it was launched. For someone who’s been in this glaring spotlight for 15 years, it’s really liberating to have some privacy and work her own terms. She deserves that.”
Swift wrote several songs on the album with her regular producer, Jack Antonoff, and she also collaborated with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, along with another songwriter credited as William Bowery.
In addition to the 16 tracks on the standard edition of “folklore,” the physical deluxe editions include a bonus song, “the lakes.”
“Because this is my 8th studio album, I made 8 deluxe CDs & 8 deluxe vinyls available for 1 week,” Swift explained in a tweet. “Each has unique covers & photos.”
folklore will have 16 songs on the standard edition, but the physical deluxe editions will include a bonus track “the lakes.” Because this is my 8th studio album, I made 8 deluxe CDs & 8 deluxe vinyls available for 1 week
Each has unique covers & photos https://t.co/zSHpnhUlLb pic.twitter.com/tG34e0MpgJ
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 23, 2020
Have you listened to “folklore” yet?
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