The whole world knows who Taylor Swift is: a country artist turned pop star from the town of Nashville, Tennessee. In the past few weeks, on October 21, Swift released her tenth studio album named “Midnights;” after having announced it at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards. While many critics have had plenty of words to say about this album, I’m here to tell you that Swift’s return to pop after the temporary departure for her albums “folklore” and “evermore” was sensational.

 “Midnights” has a total of thirteen tracks, with a runtime of about forty four minutes. The album opens up with a track called “Lavender Haze,” where Swift wrote about having to protect a relationship from the intrusiveness of the media. The song was made from a new sound that Swift started experimenting with, and I personally like it. I think it’s good that even after sixteen years of releasing music, Swift is still changing up the genres and vibes of her music. 

While Swift still majorly sticks with songs about love, she branches out with the songs “Anti-Hero,” which is about her struggles with mental health and insecurity, “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” which is about reflecting on growing up and the hardships that come with it, and “Karma,” which is about how karma comes back around to the people that have wronged Swift in the past. These songs were nicely done, and to all the people who say Swift “only writes about her exes,” there’s another reminder for you that you are incorrect. 

Furthermore, Swift released more tracks with her “3 am surprise” featuring seven bonus tracks. These tracks were different and felt more like the style Swift picked up with “folklore” and “evermore” (even featuring the main producer of those albums, Aaron Dessner!). From happier bops like “Paris” to heartaches like “Bigger Than The Whole Sky,” Swift manages to show a wide variety in only a few songs, which is very impressive. My personal favorite is “Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve,” which is about a traumatic relationship that has left a large metaphorical scar on the narrator that won’t fade away. The lyrics “Living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts / Give me back my girlhood it was mine first” are, in my opinion, some of the most painful lyrics Swift has ever written, and as someone that loves sadder music, it really sold it for me. 

Overall, Swift has once again shown her brilliance with her tenth studio album. Between the standard thirteen tracks, the seven she surprise released three hours after the standard album came out, and the bonus tracks on the Target exclusive edition of the CD, Swift has reminded the world that even after a break from more traditional pop with “folklore” and “evermore,” she is still a international popstar.