Taylor Swift has been keeping busy in quarantine.
After releasing a surprise album, “Folklore,” in July, she’s doing it again. Her ninth studio album “Evermore” — which Swift announced on Thursday — will drop at midnight ET tonight.
“To put it plainly, we just couldn’t stop writing songs,” Swift wrote on social media, describing “Evermore” as a “Folklore” “sister record.”
Swift revealed that “Evermore” will be a continuation of the “Folklore” era of her music, with more songs from “Folklore” collaborators Aaron Dessner, Jack Antonoff, Justin Vernon and “William Bowery” (which Swift recently revealed is a pseudonym for her boyfriend Joe Alwyn).
“I’ve never done this before,” Swift wrote on social media. “In the past I’ve always treated albums as one-off eras and moved onto planning the next one after an album was released. There was something different with folklore. In making it, I felt less like I was departing and more like I was returning.”
“Evermore” will have 15 tracks, including collaborations with The National, Bon Iver and Haim. The music video for her first single, “Willow,” will also be released at midnight.
Swift also talked about the timing of the new album’s release in another social media post.
“Ever since I was 13, I’ve been excited about turning 31 because it’s my lucky number backwards, which is why I wanted to surprise you with this now,” wrote Swift, who turns 31 on Sunday. “You’ve all been so caring, supportive and thoughtful on my birthdays and so this time I thought I would give you something!”
“I also know this holiday season will be a lonely one for most of us and if there are any of you out there who turn to music to cope with missing loved ones the way I do, this is for you.”
Apart from the studio albums Swift has released this year, she also recently released a concert film to Disney Plus, the Deseret News reported. In “Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions,” Swift performed tracks from “Folklore” and discussed her inspiration and songwriting process for the album.
“Folklore” was also the first album to sell 1 million copies in 2020, and last month Swift received five Grammy nominations for the album — including for album of the year, according to the New York Times.