Edit: The album’s out! In my view, it’s her best one to date. Check out my review right here.

Us Swifties have been spoilt, really. Less than two years since her smash record ‘reputation’ and Taylor’s already getting ready to drop a new album… and I am so ready for it. We’ve had a world tour (which was aired on Netflix), three songs and two stellar music videos since.

All we’ve got left to do is sit around and wait patiently and calmly until Miss Swift drops the album. Just kidding, it’s time to scour the internet for every clue and Easter Egg we can get our hands on.

When is ‘Lover’ going to be released?

Thankfully, Taylor has officially announced that ‘Lover’ is going to drop on August 23rd. It’s so close I can taste it!

Also, the days themselves (8, the month of August, plus 2 and 3) adds up to… you guessed it… 13. We see what you did there, Taylor, you sneaky snake.

It’s right on schedule for her biyearly release roll-out, and I’m thankful that she hasn’t kept us waiting for too long. (Looking at you, Lady Gaga…)

What will ‘Lover’ sound like?

It’s anyone’s guess, really. But judging from the first two singles – ‘Me!’ and ‘You Need To Calm Down’, it’s going to be full-on bubblegum pop and I am here for it. Even ‘The Archer’ has a light, ethereal sound. ‘Lover’, the track, is a perfect emotional wedding tune, filled with fluff and love. Long gone are the venom-infused tracks from ‘reputation’, along with the dark and brooding era. So far, ‘Lover’ is splashed with colour and has an all-round lighter vibe.

It’s also her first record under the new label Republic Records, so this fresh start for Taylor may signify a change in sound. I guess we’ll find out on August 23rd.

So far, the only producers that are 100% confirmed to be on the album are Taylor herself and Joel Little, who both worked on her prior two singles. Jack Antonoff also produced ‘The Archer’ and ‘Lover’ – who’s known for his work on ‘1989’. Little’s also worked on Lorde’s ‘Melodrama’ and Imagine Dragons’ ‘Origins’, so that should give you a rough idea of what vibe TS7 will feature. It’s shaping up to be pretty damn sick.

Taylor also said in her Instagram live (during which she unveiled the album art and told us the release date), that ‘Lover’ is romantic in sound. She went on to say that “not just simply thematically, like it’s all love songs or something. The idea of something being romantic, it doesn’t have to be a happy song. You can find romance in loneliness or sadness or going through things in your life… it just looks at those things through a romantic gaze.” Bring on those gut-punching, impactful lyrics that she’s so skilled at.

For now, the only guide we have for the sound of the album is the two singles, one of which features the brilliant Brendon Urie. Having said that, ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ sounds nothing like the rest of her album ‘Red’, so honestly, who truly knows how ‘Lover’ will turn out?





Speaking of features, are there any collabs?

Edit: The only collab is with the Dixie Chicks, on ‘Soon You’ll Get Better’

So far, none have been confirmed. I mean, we had the crazy appearance of Katy showing up in the ‘You Need To Calm Down’ music video, squashing their feud once and for all, so it’s possible that she’ll make an appearance on the record.

There were theories that Hayley Kiyoko might also pop on the album, due to her firing an arrow at a target with a great big number 5 over it. Alas, it turned out to be a cheeky wink to the fact that track 5 has, typically, been Taylor’s most heartfelt songs. ‘The Archer’ hit us right in the feels.

There was also the sly little Dixie Chicks Easter Egg in the ‘ME!’ music video, but whether that means Taylor will be appearing on their upcoming album or vice versa remains to be seen. The former is probably more likely, as Jack Antonoff (producer of ‘1989’ and ‘The Archer’) is producing their next record. But who knows? With Taylor, her Easter Eggs could literally mean anything.

Do we know any track titles?

Edit: Taylor released the track list! It’s: 1. I Forgot You Existed 2. Cruel Summer 3. Lover 4. The Man 5. The Archer 6. I Think He Knows 7. The Americana and The Heartbreak Prince 8. Paper Rings 9. Cornelius Street 10. Soon You’ll Get Better ft. Dixie Chicks 11. Death By A Thousand Cuts 12. London Boy 13. False God 14. You Need To Calm Down 15. Afterglow 16. ME! 17. It’s Nice To Have A Friend 18. Daylight.

Hah, if only. Rumours are rampant that they’ll be a track called ‘Cruel Summer’, due to Ellen Degeneres getting the writing inked on her during the ‘You Need To Calm Down’ music video. Other than that, nothing has officially been stated. All we know is that it’ll feature 18 tracks – the most on any Taylor Swift album to date. Aren’t we lucky?

Fans have been theorising though. When looking for hints in the ‘ME!’ music video, before we knew what the album was called, there was speculation about it being called ‘Home’, ‘Kaleidoscope’, ‘City of Love’ and such forth. Maybe they’ll sneak their way onto the album as tracks?

There’s also this supposedly leaked tracklist. I mean, it’s probably fake. Anyone can edit a photo and upload it to Twitter these days. But you never know.

Edit: This tracklist has been confirmed as being fake with the release of ‘The Archer’, which clearly doesn’t make the cut here. Damn, I was already looking forward to ‘Room 121’…

Anything else?

There’ll be four versions of ‘Lover’ available at Target, each coming with their own selection of goodies, including audio recording of her in the studio.

She’s also working with Stella McCartney by wearing the designer’s clothing, lately. Whether this has an impact and trickles into the tour and future music videos remains to be seen.

It also seems as if Taylor is coming with a political point of view this time around, shown with ‘You Need To Calm Down’. Now that she’s broken her political silence, it’s likely that she’ll be tackling some harder themes on ‘Lover’.

View this post on Instagram ✌️Friday calmness✌️ A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Jun 28, 2019 at 8:35am PDT

In true Taylor fashion, there are probably many, many Easter Eggs out there that we’ve all missed. After all, she even dropped one in her Ellen interview that only made sense after the ‘YNTCD’ video was released! I’m sure we’ll look back and see how obvious some of the clues were, but until then, I’m gonna keep searching while I listen to ‘ME!’ another 800 times.





What about the Secret Sessions?

Good question. If you don’t know – the Secret Sessions are where Taylor and her team pick some of her most devoted fans and invite them (usually) to her house, to play her newest album in full. It’s all very hush-hush, and super cool that Swifties are trusty enough for Taylor to do this. Honestly, it’s a feat in this day and age and makes my heart all warm and fuzzy. Although they’re asked not to leak anything – some stuff does get out. Here’s what we know about the Secret Sessions, so far…

Track one is the perfect album opener. According to Swifities, Track One sets the tone of ‘Lover’ perfectly.

Track 10 is meant to be a heart-breaker. According to reports from fans who were there, track 10 is her most heartfelt song to date, even knocking ‘All To Well’ out of the water. Yeesh. Get the tissues ready.

‘Lover’ sounds like ‘1989’. According to one fan, it’s light and poppy production is reminiscent of ‘1989’, so any stans of that album are in for a treat.

It’s full of bops. If there’s one word I keep seeing over and over again about ‘Lover’, it’s ‘bop’. Apparently, it’s full of them. I can’t wait!

You can pre-order ‘Lover’ for just £10.29 from Amazon at the link above, and have it ready and waiting for the big release day. To kill time until the album’s out, check out my list of Taylor Swift’s most underrated songs, or my review of ‘You Need To Calm Down’.