Taylor Swift has done it again. With the recent release of Midnights, her new album takes listeners on a journey of thirteen sleepless nights throughout her life. Opinions on the album so far have been diverse, with fans and critics reacting heavily to Swift’s long-awaited tenth album. As a lover of every album she has released, from her debut to Evermore, her most recent, I’m here to give you my opinion on Midnights.

After the announcement of Midnights at the 2022 MTV awards, “Swifties” started looking forward to the album and began theorizing what the songs would sound like or what surprises Swift would give her fans. For those who don’t know, whether it be through music videos or through speeches at New York University, Taylor Swift is quite the mastermind and is constantly messing with her fans by releasing teasers and “easter eggs.”

”One of the things my fans like to make fun of me for is the kind of cryptic needing to plan things out. I think we stopped pretending it’s accidental at this point,” Swift said on “The Tonight Show.”

I want to start by saying that every album of Swift’s needs to be listened to more than once to fully grasp her storytelling and intricate wording. When I first listened to Midnights, I was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t matching my expectations following previous albums. However, after listening again and reading each lyric, I was blown away.

The songs I was expecting to like the least ended up being my favorite. I consider “You’re on Your Own, Kid” a work of art and my personal favorite song. It’s the story of someone who grew up on their own without anyone to help them and became successful despite all of their struggles. Not only is it a great song, but it’s also inspirational and heartfelt.

Compared to her other albums, Midnights is middle ground compared to the others. My favorite albums are still Folklore and Evermore. 

Emma Bowman, senior, said, “It’s not her best but it’s not her worst. It’s a 1989 and Reputation love baby.” 

Personally, Midnights was a 9/10 album with the biggest flop of the album being “Anti-Hero.” Before the release, I thought “Snow On The Beach” was going to be my favorite because it featured Lana Del Rey and I am, if nothing else, a Lana and Taylor fan. But, my top three favorite songs from the album have to be “You’re on Your Own Kid,” “Midnight Rain” and “The Great War.”

One day after its release, Midnights hit number one on the Billboard 200 with 1.578 million units sold. One week after the album was released, Swift became the first artist in history to claim all top 10 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 at once. Despite my own opinion, “Anti-Hero” led the way in this effort and became Swift’s ninth career No. 1 song. 

When asked about her record-breaking, Bowman said, “She deserves it. After all, karma is her boyfriend.”

Fans will have the opportunity to see Swift live and in person as she embarks on The Eras Tour and travels to stadiums across the country. She will stop in Pittsburgh on June 16 and 17, 2023, at Acrisure Stadium to play songs from the Midnights album, as well as some long-term fan favorites.