Award-winning American singer, Taylor Swift shocked fans early Thursday morning when she announced the surprise release of her 9th studio album, Evermore. Swift upholds a memorable reputation of meticulously planning album releases over the period of exasperated months after strategically releasing singles, dropping easter eggs, and planning tours. Quarantine broadened Swift’s horizon letting her imagination run wild. Swift turned her copious amounts of free time into productivity. She started writing and released her first surprise, Folklore album on July 24th. Following Folklore’s release, Swift refused to take a hiatus from writing music. Both shocking releases thrilled fans, sending the “Swiftie” fandom into a frenzy.

Americans have cherished Swift’s music for the past 14 years. The critically acclaimed artist gained popularity in 2006 after signing a record deal with Big Machine Records and releasing her self titled debut album. Swift’s vast fan base stretches across the globe. With 42,252,005 monthly listeners on Spotify alone, Swift’s music reaches millions on a daily basis. Despite the enormous size of her following, Swift’s latest album possesses the ability to personally connect with each listener. Evermore’s dark theme of heartbreak, grief, and healing resonates with Swift’s listeners more than ever after a year of ubiquitous darkness and unprecedented hurdles. From a young age, Swift obsessed over the number 13 and revealed it had sentimental value to her. Swift celebrated her 31st birthday last Saturday. The number 31 viewed backward resembles her lucky number 13. As a birthday gift to not only herself but to her beloved fans, Swift released Evermore on December 11, just two days before her 31st birthday. 

“Ever since I was 13, I’ve been excited about turning 31 because it’s my lucky number backward, which is why I wanted to surprise you with this now. You’ve all been so caring, supportive, and thoughtful on my birthdays and so this time I thought I would give you something,” Swift said.

Evermore closely resembles the lyrical and instrumental styles debuted in Folklore and serves as a sister album to the previous surprise album. Both albums reveal intertwined stories featuring the livelihood of fictional characters. James, Betty, and a third unnamed character created an engaging love triangle in Folklore. In Evermore, Swift introduced two new characters: Dorthea and Marjorie. Swift revealed that in her mind, all of these complex characters attend the same school.

“I think that this album, much like Folklore, solidifies Taylor’s incredible songwriting skills. Her turn to fictional characters has proven her ability to write lyrics that can still speak to all of our heartbreak and happiness. There is a lonely, contemplative quality to this record that really channels how most of us are feeling in 2020. She is feeding my literary-loving soul with these characters and stories,” NC teacher, Jenna Essenburg said.

Collaborating with the Haim sisters, Swift returns to her country roots on track five with track 6, “No Body, No Crime”. Swift shared that the inspiration for the intense song rooted in her love of crime shows. The eerie undertone of the song and catchy lyrics detail a murder mystery of a woman named, Este. Swift named the victim of her song after her close friend, Este Haim.

“Working with the Haim sisters on “No Body, No Crime” was pretty hilarious because it came about after I wrote a pretty dark murder mystery song and had named the character Este because she’s the friend I have who would be stoked to be in a song like that,” Swift said.

Evermore’s release sent Swift fans into a new era as they spent countless hours relishing in new music, decoding lyrics, and searching for easter eggs. Numerous fan theories regarding a third sister album have already emerged, but for now, fans enjoy the depth of Swift’s latest release.