On the night of Thursday October 20, fans stayed awake awaiting the release of the anticipated new Taylor Swift album. With no released singles, fans did not know what style of music would be included in the album. With this, there is also the promise of mystery and a 3 a.m. surprise. 

Taylor Swift’s 10th studio album Midnights is a contemporary electro-pop genre that creates an upbeat style that is similar to her past 1989 and Reputation albums. This new style surprised fans, since Swift’s last release was a folk style. Bellefonte junior Sadie Thomas shares her favorite parts of the new album.

“My favorite song on the new Taylor Swift album is “Mastermind” because I really like the beat and the lyrics,” Sadie said. 

It is clear that fans were excited to listen to the new album. Sophomore Anna Dello Stritto shares her enjoyment and excitement about the new album.

“I think her new album is very good. I’m very happy she finally released a whole new album that SHE owns. I think it shows different sides of her. It almost reminds me of a mix of Lover and Reputation,” Anna said.

Along with the original 12 a.m. release, Swift surprised her fans with a 3 a.m. addition. She released 7 new tracks, taking the album from 13 tracks to 20. In Swift’s normal fashion, she leaves riddles for her fans to figure out her big surprises. Sadie explains how she feels about the 3 a.m. surprise. 

“I was very excited about the 3 a.m. surprise, I love when she surprises her fans,” she said. 

In comparison to her past 9 albums, this is not celebrated as her best, but also not ranked as the last. Junior Grace Novitsky gives her comparison.

“I would rank this album right in the middle of the pack. It’s good, but not her best. I believe that this album is a mature 1989 album,” Grace said. 

Taylor Swift is praised in the music community for her songwriting and musical talent. This album creates the same opinions from the music community. BAHS band director and teacher Mr. Rebarcheck weighs in his opinion about Swift’s progression as a musician.

“I like the variety that her music has had throughout her career. You can hear her “growing up” from her early albums to her more recent ones, and I really appreciate how that comes through musically. Her early pop-country style is nice, but I really like some of her more recent things (yes, I still consider 1989 to be recent…). That she can do albums like 1989 and Folklore equally well shows some great musical prowess,” Rebarchak said. 

Taylor Swift continues to excite fans with her new projects and Midnights is no exception. Midnights broke the Spotify record of the most-streamed album in a single day with 180.6 million streams. So the next time you’re up at midnight, maybe listen to this album.