Taylor Swift shocked fans during her acceptance speech at the 2022 MTV Music Video Awards when she announced her 10th studio album “Midnights,” to be released on Oct. 21.

Swift was accepting the Video of the Year award from MTV when she revealed the new project. Swift’s short film “All Too Well: The Short Film” was nominated and won two other awards that night. The film accompanies her song “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault),” which was featured on her November 2021 re-release “Red (Taylor’s Version).”

“Red (Taylor’s Version)” was her second project of 2021, with her previous re-release “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” dropping in April 2021. Swift announced her plans to re-record her first seven albums in August 2019 after the rights to them were bought by talent manager Scooter Braun.

The announcement of “Midnights” sent shockwaves through Swift’s fandom as it was widely assumed “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” would be her next project after the releases of “Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s Version)” and “This Love (Taylor’s Version).” “Bad Blood (Taylor’s Version)” was also featured in the movie “D.C. League of Super Pets.”

“Midnights” marks the first original project from Swift since her 2019 album, “evermore.” The title and release date for the album was announced at midnight after the award show was over. “Midnights” was released at midnight on Oct. 21. At 3 a.m, Swift released 7 bonus tracks as a “chaotic surprise” to celebrate the album. In total, she released 20 tracks with the project.

Later that morning, the first of two music videos for “Midnights” premiered on YouTube. The first track to get a video was  “Anti Hero,” a song about anxiety and fear of being your own worst enemy, which Swift depicts in the video through various nightmares she’s had.

The album shows Swift’s return to pop after the folk-rock diversion of “folklore” and “evermore.” “Midnights” is a combination of the artistic lyricism showcased on “evermore” and “folklore” with a shift back to the synth-pop production of “Lover” and “1989.” The album flows cohesively as a collection of “sleepless nights.” From the upbeat “Lavender Haze” to the melancholic crooning of “Bigger Than the Whole Sky,” Swift again shows the diversity she excels at with every album. Overall, “Midnights” shimmers beautifully in Swift’s growing repertoire of music, receiving praise from fans and critics alike.