Taylor Swift's seventh album, Lover, is almost here! After returning to music with her whimsical single "ME!" in April, the singer has given us a handful of details about her upcoming album. During an Instagram Live, Swift gave us a glimpse of the deluxe versions of her new album, which will include some very cool surprises for dedicated Swifties to commemorate the 13th year of her career. Most recently, she unveiled the tracklist for the album, which includes a Dixie Chicks collaboration. As we patiently wait for Aug. 23 to finally arrive, here are all the details we have about her seventh album so far.
Just like with her Reputation magazines, Swift is crafting four deluxe versions of the album with Target. Each booklet will include Swift's personal diary entries, dated all the way back to when she was 13. During an Instagram Live video in July, she added that the booklets include never-before-scene photos, drawings, and even the original lyrics of "All Too Well."
Get ready for even more songs this time around! During an Instagram Live video in June, Swift revealed that the album will feature 18 tracks.
When Swift unveiled the tracklist, she also announced that one of the songs would feature the country group the Dixie Chicks. The song is rumored to be about her mother Andrea's battle with cancer.
During a radio interview with Zach Sang, the singer revealed the album was already completed before she released "ME!" in April. "I like to be able to have the information to give [before I release a lead single], and when I have something done, that's when I can fully plan and make it the most fun experience for fans," she explained. In fact, she actually started working on the album after the Reputation tour ended. "I started working on it pretty much immediately after, but I did have a lot of ideas I'd been cultivating while I was on tour," she told Kiss 92.5. "I pretty much got into the studio when I got off tour and stayed there. I was very ready to make the next thing. I knew exactly what I wanted to make next."
If Swift's colorful and peppy "ME!" music video didn't give it away, this seventh album will be a complete 180 from her Reputation album. In an iHeartRadio interview, Taylor said the new era will be "mischievous," "glittery," and "a little bit more playful than last time." During an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music's Beats 1, she also revealed the album will be "more playful and actually inward facing" from the "defensive tone" of Reputation. "Like, when you get into this album, it's much more about me as a person — no pun intended with the song title. But it's kind of taking those walls, taking that bunker down from around you that I felt like I had to put up . . ."
While "ME!" was certainly fun and light, Swift added that the single doesn't necessarily "sum up what the album is" as a whole. In fact, she teased that fans can expect a lot more emotional tracks with "in-depth lyrics." "The album has lots of different emotional tones to it, in the same way that a person is never going to just be happy all the time," Swift said. "When I make an album, it's never just going to be a happy album."
During her Instagram Live in June, Swift gave fans a glimpse of the album cover, which features the singer in front of a rainbow backdrop and a heart around her eye.