Nearly a year after her release of Red (Taylor’s Version), Taylor Swift announced the release date of her new album Midnights, which is set to launch on Oct. 21 . On Aug. 28, 2022 , after Swift won a Video Music Award (VMA) for her 10 minute version of “All Too Well”, the artist announced the release on national television, stating that she had more to share “at midnight”. 

   After the VMA awards, Taylor posted on her social media at midnight on August 29, revealing the cover art and comments about her new album. “Midnights [contains] the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life,” Swift wrote. 

   Proceeding the initial announcement of her new album, Swift started to reveal the titles of her tracklist through a TikTok series titled “Midnights Mayhem With Me”, where she randomly revealed titles of her songs at midnight, for thirteen consecutive days, slowly unveiling the entire tracklist of the album. 

   Many students at Westerville North, including Loren Anderson (10), believe that Taylor’s unique approach to revealing her tracklist to Midnights was intriguing, setting her apart from other artists in the industry. 

   “It was a very creative approach to releasing the tracklist…she revealed each song with a different video so it made each reveal as important as the last,” Anderson said.

   Ali Kidder (10), agrees with Anderson, noting that Swift uses a strong caliber regarding her projects and their reveals, one that no other artist seems to have used yet. 

   “I feel like she [reveals projects] in a very planned out and particular way. She knows which hints she’s dropping, and she knows how she wants people to think… in a very puzzle piece type of way,” Kidder said. 

   Not only has her unique way of projecting and launching her projects helped her gain and maintain popularity, fans of Swift believe that her songs and way of storytelling are relatable. 

   “She’s so gifted lyrically and she’s a great storyteller, while also being able to make her songs really catchy,” Anderson said. 

   While she is generally very popular with most of the students at Westerville North, some believe that Swift has reached the peak of her fame. 

   Kacee Bohan (9) believes that Taylor is a talented artist, yet the younger generation is ready to move onto newer artists. 

   “[While] Taylor is popular because she produces a lot of relatable songs… I think there are more modern singers who have taken her spotlight,” Bohan said.

   While there are some who simply do not like her music, the excitement and buzz for Swift’s new album has swept the community of Westerville North and the world with anticipation for October 21. The world does not know if the album will be a smash hit, only that the world craves more of her projects. One will see at midnight.