Growing with Taylor Swift — Fans React to Recent Release of "Midnights"

Taylor Swift performing I Photo Courtesy of Eve Rinaldi with Wikipedia Commons.

The opinions reflected in this OpEd are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of staff, faculty and students of The King's College.

Taylor Swift’s new album, “Midnights,” was released Oct. 21 and features themes of insecurity, growth, revenge, and love—easily relatable to all listeners. 

Swift announced the release of her tenth studio album, “Midnights,” on Aug. 28 after accepting MTV’s Video of the Year award for her music video “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version).” 

Swift described it as “a collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams,” in the Instagram post announcing the new album. 

Swift said that she wrote the album for “all of us who have tossed and turned and decided to keep the lantern lit and go searching — hoping that just maybe, when the clock strikes twelve… we’ll meet ourselves.”

“When I saw the announcement about Taylor Swift’s new album, I started freaking out — in a good way,” said Mattie Townson, a senior studying Journalism, Culture and Society, the Editor-in-Chief of the EST, and a fan of Swift’s music.

Before its release, no one knew what the album would be like. While some fans thought it would have the same lyrical, soothing tone as her “Folklore” and “Evermore'' albums, others thought it would be edgy and pop like “Reputation.”

“I’m expecting a sort of reminiscent vibe — definitely something grittier. I’m seeing ‘Play It As It Lays’ by Didion with the 60s glamour and light and colors,” said Townson. 

In contrast Ava Van Hala, a freshman studying Media, Culture and the Arts and huge fan of Swift, says, “I had expected it to be somewhere like ‘1989,’ but much deeper and more depressing.” 

While no one knew what to expect from this album, Swifties worldwide were excited for its release. It was a common belief among fans that Swift would finish her re-recordings before releasing new music, so many were surprised when “Midnights” was announced. 

When the album was released at midnight on Oct. 21, fans got to listen to the songs they waited months to hear. While many fans were satisfied with these 13 tracks, Swift did something unexpected — she released an additional seven songs to be added to a deluxe version of the album. These additional songs are called the “3am tracks” and, when announced on Instagram, described as “other songs we wrote on our journey to find that magic 13 (referencing the original 13 songs on the album).”

On the new album, each track relates to a different reason why Swift had her “sleepless nights.” In the first single, “Anti-hero,” Swift talks about her anxiety and insecurity through a catchy tune and lyrics. In the chorus, Swift says, “It’s me / Hi / I’m the problem it’s me / At teatime / Everybody agrees / I’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror / It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero.” After listening to this chorus once and picking up on the tune, it was hard not to sing along.

Another one of the most popular songs of the album is “You’re On Your Own, Kid.” Swift describes a scene where she sees a friend at a party, but he rejects her and says, “You’re on your own, kid / You always have been.” 

Later in the song, she describes coming to this party “just to learn that my dreams aren’t rare.” Based on this line, it's easy to compare this rejection to a time when Swift was rejected by past boyfriends and people in the music industry. However, the most impactful part of this song is the bridge, where Swift describes how she sacrificed so much for fame, but was still rejected. 

Even though Swift has created a song that highlights the evil in life, she reflects on it and offers advice and encouragement, saying, “So make the friendship bracelets / Take the moment and taste it / You’ve got no reason to be afraid / You’re on your own, kid / Yeah, you can face this.” 

One of the most popular songs on the album is “Vigilante Sh*t.” After listening to songs that talk about Swift’s insecurities, the intensity and mood change — with similar vibes to her “Reputation” album — was shocking. Throughout this song, Swift explored the idea of revenge against someone. In the verses of this song, Swift describes a scene where she helped a friend get revenge against her significant other for a crime he committed.

However, longtime fans of Swift can’t help but connect this idea of revenge to the drama between Swift and Scooter Braun, who owns her previous albums and won’t sell them back to her. This idea is most apparent in the bridge of this song, where Swift says, “Ladies always rise above / Ladies know what people want / Someone sweet and kind and fun / The lady simply had enough.” 

Townson said, “At the moment, [my favorite song] is definitely ‘Karma.’ When I first sat down and listened to it, I got up with my headphones and started fully dancing.” 

Sloane Steenrod, a newer Swift fan, said that her favorite tracks were “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve,” which she describes as being vengeful, having “amazing lyrics,” and a great chorus, and “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” which she describes as “a bop but also a little bit life-ruining.”

 “I think she’s a great example of just how powerful women can be in the music industry. She has a song for every emotion, experience or life change I’ve been through. From high school to now has been soundtracked by Taylor Swift,” Steenrod said.

 “She vocalizes feelings that are incredibly relatable to the experience of being a young person experiencing life through mistakes, joys, beauty, and love.” Townson said. “I have grown up with her — listening and watching as her sound has shape-shifted as we all have changed. That experience is so beautiful — growing and changing with the art you’re consuming. It feels so tangible with Swift.”

Emma Rice is a reporter for the Empire State Tribune. She is a freshman at The King’s College majoring in English.