Will 'Folklore' be Taylor Swift's biggest hit? Album has 1M pre-saves on Apple Music just hours before release
The queen of country pop, Taylor Swift, offered a delightful new gift to her fans this weekend as she dropped her latest album, 'Folklore'. The songs on this new album were written and recorded during the coronavirus quarantine period, a pleased Swift explained. Recently, the singer had taken to social media to announce, "Surprise. Tonight at midnight I’ll be releasing my 8th studio album, 'Folklore'; an entire brand new album of songs I’ve poured all of my whims, dreams, fears, and musings into." You can read the singer's full announcement here and listen to the album here.
The new 16-track album has been engineered by Laura Sisk and Jon Low and was mixed by Serban Ghenea and Jon Low. There also some familiar stars on the album, which features collaborations with Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National, Bon Iver, William Bowery (who co-wrote two songs) and star producer Jack Antonoff. Swift also tweeted later, "Folklore will have 16 songs on the standard edition, but the physical deluxe editions will include a bonus track 'The Lakes'. Because this is my 8th studio album, I made 8 deluxe CDs & 8 deluxe vinyls available for 1 week. Each has unique covers & photos."
Besides this, Swift also announced a brand new music video for one of the songs from her album, 'Cardigan', which has just dropped. You can check that out here below. Taylor Swift wrote and directed the visual herself and was aided by a team that included cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, producer Jil Hardin, executive producer Rebecca Skinner and assistant director Joe ‘Oz’ Osbourne, editor Chancler Haynes, special effects wizards David Lebensfeld & Grant Miller and set designer Ethan Tobman. Swift also revealed on Twitter, "The entire shoot was overseen by a medical inspector, everyone wore masks, stayed away from each other, and I even did my own hair, makeup, and styling."
The tracklisting for 'Folklore' is as follows:
1.'The 1'
2.'Cardigan'
3.'The Last Great American Dynasty'
4.'Exile' (featuring Bon Iver)
5. 'My Tears Ricochet'
6. 'Mirrorball'
7. 'Seven'
8. 'August'
9. 'This Is Me Trying'
10. 'Illicit Affairs'
11. 'Invisible String'
12. 'Mad Woman'
13. 'Epiphany'
14. 'Betty'
15. 'Peace'
16. 'Hoax'
Bonus Track (Deluxe Edition)
17. 'The Lakes'
This is already shaping up to be a monster platinum hit album for the singer. 'Folklore' has already been pre-saved over half a million times in China, has surpassed over 1M pre-saves on Apple Music US and has close to half a million iTunes pre-orders in the United States. Fans are already predicting that this is going to smash all-time record sales. As one Swiftie declared, "Let's say goodbye to the most-discussed album and global best-selling studio album of 2019, the amazing #Lover album. Welcome, #Folklore." A fellow Swift fan rejoiced, "The era of Folklore is now upon us! This is gonna be her best one yet!" Another die-hard Swift fan declared, "No time for sleep. No time for food. Just Taylor Swift and Folklore. That’s it."