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Lover (album)

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"False God" redirects here. For the religious concept, see False god.

Lover
Studio album by
Taylor Swift
ReleasedAugust 23, 2019 (2019-08-23)
RecordedNovember 2018 – February 24, 2019
Studio
Various
    • Electric Lady (New York City)
    • Golden Age West (Auckland)
    • Golden Age (Los Angeles)
    • Electric Feel (Los Angeles)
    • Metropolis (London)
Genre
Length61:48
LabelRepublic
Producer
Taylor Swift chronology
Reputation Stadium Tour Surprise Song Playlist
(2018) 		Lover
(2019)
Taylor Swift studio album chronology
Reputation
(2017) 		Lover
(2019)
Singles from Lover
  1. "Me!"
    Released: April 26, 2019
  2. "You Need to Calm Down"
    Released: June 14, 2019
  3. "Lover"
    Released: August 16, 2019

Lover is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on August 23, 2019, by Republic Records. As executive producer, Swift worked with producers Jack Antonoff, Joel Little, Louis Bell, Frank Dukes, and Sounwave on the album. Described by Swift as a "love letter to love", Lover celebrates the ups and downs of love and incorporates brighter, more cheerful tones, departing from the dark sounds of its predecessor, Reputation (2017). Musically, it is a pop, pop rock, electropop and synth-pop record that contains influences of country, dream pop, pop punk, funk and R&B.

Lover features collaborations with the Dixie Chicks and Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco. It was preceded by three singles, the international top-five singles "Me!" and "You Need to Calm Down", and the title track. The album received generally positive reviews from critics, who commended Swift's songwriting conveying emotional maturity and honesty. A few commentators found the album lengthy and inconsistent in places.

Background

Speculation of the album started on February 24, 2019, when Swift posted a photo of seven palm trees to her Instagram account,[1] which she later confirmed was the day she finished the album.[2] On April 13, Swift released a countdown on her official website, counting down to midnight EDT (UTC-04:00) on April 26.[3] At midnight, Swift released the album's lead single, "Me!" featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco, along with its accompanying music video.[4] Swift encouraged fans to find hints about the album title in the video and many fans pointed out that at one point in the video, the word "Lover" appeared at the top of a building in the background.[5]

On June 13, 2019, Swift confirmed the album title in a livestream on Instagram, and that the album would be released on August 23, 2019.[6] The numbers of the release date (eight, two, and three) add up to 13, Swift's favorite number.[7] Swift also announced that the album's second single, "You Need to Calm Down", would be released the next day on June 14, followed by its music video three days later.[7] She described the album as a romantic one, stating that it was "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."[6] In a Vogue interview published in August 2019, Swift described the album as a "love letter to love, in all of its maddening, passionate, exciting, enchanting, horrific, tragic, wonderful glory."[8] While promoting the album in a YouTube livestream on August 22, Swift revealed that the title of the album was Daylight before she wrote the song "Lover".[9]

Recording

Swift produced the album with frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff, as well as first-time collaborators Joel Little, Louis Bell, Frank Dukes, and Sounwave.[10] Swift and Antonoff first worked together on the song "Sweeter than Fiction" for the 2013 film One Chance; Antonoff went on to write and produce two of Swift's albums—1989 (2014) and Reputation (2017), as well as the song "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" for the 2017 film Fifty Shades Darker. Antonoff co-wrote eight and co-produced eleven songs in the album.

Little, known for his work with Lorde co-wrote and co-produced four songs, including the singles "Me!" and "You Need to Calm Down". Bell and Dukes, who worked with artists including Camila Cabello and Post Malone, co-wrote and co-produced three songs. Sounwave is credited with a co-writing and co-producing credit on the song "London Boy". Other artists with writing credits include St. Vincent, Cautious Clay, and Brendon Urie. Swift was the sole writer of three songs, including the third single and title track "Lover", and co-wrote every other song in the album. She also co-produced every song, and served as executive producer of the album.

The album was recorded in under three months, finishing on February 24, 2019.[2] Much of the album was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City,[11] while some recording took place at Golden Age West in Auckland, New Zealand, Golden Age and Electric Feel Studio, both in Los Angeles, and Metropolis Studios in London.[10]

Music and lyrics

At eighteen tracks, the standard edition is the longest in Swift's catalogue.[12] The deluxe edition adds two voice memos. Lover is a departure from the darker, hip hop-influenced sound of Reputation (2017),[13][14] returning to the 1980s-influenced synth-pop of 1989 (2014).[15][16] Lover also revisits the country music of Swift's earlier albums,[14] and draws from a range of genres including pop,[17] pop rock,[12] electropop,[16][18] pop punk,[15] and R&B.[19] Many publications also noted Swift's tackling of politics and social issues in the album, after previously receiving criticism for maintaining an apolitical public image.[20]

Opener "I Forgot That You Existed" is a cheery farewell to the events that inspired Reputation,[14][21] set to a minimalist arrangement of piano and finger snaps.[22][23] "Cruel Summer" is a synth-pop song co-written with St. Vincent, which according to Swift is about "the feeling of a summer romance... where there's some element of desperation and pain in it, where you're yearning for something you don't quite have yet".[21][19] "Lover", the title track and third single, is a slow country waltz[24][25] that has been compared to Mazzy Star's "Fade into You".[13][26] In "The Man", over an uptempo, synth-pop tune, Swift imagines the media's treatment of her if she were male.[27][8] The promotional single "The Archer" is a dream pop song in which Swift reflects on her flaws.[13][15] The funk-influenced "I Think He Knows" sees Swift examining the blossoming of a relationship, while also referencing Nashville's Music Row.[17][28]

The high school setting of "Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince", complete with cheerleader chants, is reminiscent of Swift's earlier work "You Belong with Me".[29] The gloomy synth-pop song has been interpreted as Swift expressing disillusionment over the state of US politics,[30][16] and was compared to the work of Bruce Springsteen and Lana Del Rey.[19][24][25] The bubbly "Paper Rings" contains elements of pop punk, in which Swift sings about committing to a relationship.[14][15] "Cornelia Street" is named after a street in Greenwich Village where Swift rented an apartment;[31] in the piano-backed ballad, she expresses fears that her fledging relationship will not survive.[26] The upbeat breakup song "Death by a Thousand Cuts" was inspired by the Netflix film Someone Great, which in turn was inspired by Swift's 2014 album 1989.[26][32] "London Boy" features a spoken word intro from Idris Elba and James Corden, both of whom star with Swift in the film Cats, namechecks the designer Stella McCartney, with whom Swift launched a fashion line in connection with the album, and is presumed to be about Swift's partner, actor Joe Alwyn.[21][17] Some commentators drew parallels with Ed Sheeran's "Galway Girl".[30][33] The country ballad "Soon You'll Get Better" features slide guitars and the Dixie Chicks contributing banjo, fiddle, and backing vocals;[19][34] Swift addressed her parents' battle with cancer, especially her mother's second bout.[35]

"False God" is a sensuous R&B-influenced love song, where a lone saxophone intertwines with lyrics invoking religious imagery.[19][26] The second single "You Need to Calm Down" is an LGBT-friendly anthem that takes aim at internet trolls and homophobes alike.[36] The ballad "Afterglow" sees Swift apologizing to a romantic partner for the failure of a relationship.[27][30] Swift duets with Urie of Panic! at the Disco in the lead single "Me!" about themes of self-affirmation and individualism.[37][28] The indie pop-influenced ballad "It's Nice to Have a Friend" charts the progression of a romance from childhood into adulthood,[28][38] with Swift's vocals backed by steel drums, harps, and punctuated by a trumpet solo near the middle.[38][13] The song also samples the track "Summer in the South" from the album Parkscapes by the Toronto-based Regent Park School of Music.[39] The closing ballad "Daylight" calls back to the song "Red" from the 2012 album of the same name; some publications interpreted it as a sign of Swift's personal growth and more mature understanding of love.[30][15] The song ends with Swift delivering a monologue: "I want to be defined by the things I love. Not the thing I hate, not the things I'm afraid of, not the things that haunt me in the middle of the night. I think that you are what you love."[27]

Release and promotion

Distribution

The album was released on August 23, 2019, by Republic Records, the first by Swift to be released under the label since her departure from Big Machine Records in November 2018.[40] The album is also the first to be owned by Swift herself.[25] The standard edition was released on CD and for digital download and streaming, and later in the month on cassette tape.[41] It is the first time Swift released an album the initial release day for streaming and the first time she sold an album directly on her website for digital download. The deluxe edition comes in four versions, each containing a CD, two bonus audio memos and a blank journal, with different bonus content of Swift's old diary entries, photos, and a poster.[42] The deluxe editions are distributed exclusively by Target in the US,[43] and on Swift's official website globally.[44] The album cover photo was shot by 24-year-old Valheria Rocha, a Colombian artist.[45] The cover art features Swift before a pink, blue and yellow sky, with a heart-shaped pink glitter arrangement surrounding her right eye.[28]

Promotion

A few weeks before the expected release of the album, Swift invited select group of fans to private listening parties called Secret Sessions, a tradition which began with the album 1989 in 2014. Secret Sessions were held in London,[46] Nashville,[47] and Los Angeles.[48] Audio recordings of the Secret Sessions were played on iHeartRadio.[21]

Swift partnered with Amazon in the lead-up to the release, with Amazon featuring Lover designs on some of their cardboard delivery boxes.[49] On August 20, Swift released an exclusive playlist on Spotify, which incrementally revealed lyrics from the album.[50] The next day, Swift unveiled a line of clothing and accessories designed in collaboration with McCartney.[51]

On August 16, 2019, Swift announced the track listing of the album on her social media.[52]

Singles

The song "Me!" featuring Urie of Panic! at the Disco serves as the album's lead single. It was released along with its accompanying music video on April 26, 2019.[4] The lyric video was released on May 1. The song broke several records, including the biggest single-week jump on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in its history.[53] It peaked at number two in the United States and in Canada,[53] while it debuted and peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart.[54]

The second single, "You Need to Calm Down", was announced during Swift's album release livestream on Instagram on June 13, 2019, and was released on June 14, along with the lyric video.[6] The accompanying music video, which was released on June 17,[55] had special appearances from a variety of guests, most of whom are part of the LGBTQ+ community, including Ellen DeGeneres and RuPaul.[56][57] It debuted and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

At the 2019 Teen Choice Awards, Swift announced that the title track would be released as the third single on August 16, 2019.[58][59][60] On August 15, 2019, Swift announced on her social media that the music video for the song would premiere during a live Q&A session on YouTube the day before the album release, on August 22, 2019.[61]

Promotional singles

"The Archer" was released as the album's only promotional single on July 23, 2019.[62] Swift explained it would not be a single and it was meant to showcase a side of the album unseen by fans with the two singles; therefore, the song would not receive an accompanying music video. A lyric video was released on YouTube on the day the track was released.[63] It debuted at number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the chart dated August 3, 2019.

Live performances

Swift promoted the album and its songs on several live performances. On May 1, 2019, Swift made the first live performance of "Me!" at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards with Urie at Las Vegas, Nevada.[64] Swift and Urie performed the song again at the season finale of the sixteenth season of The Voice on May 21.[65] Swift performed "Me!" solo at the finale of the fourteenth season of Germany's Next Top Model on May 22.[66] On May 24, she appeared on The Graham Norton Show as a musical guest, performing "Me!".[67] On May 25, Swift performed "Me!" at the quarter-finals of the eighth season of The Voice: la plus belle voix, the French edition of The Voice.[68]

On July 10, Swift headlined the Amazon Prime Day Concert 2019 in New York City, performing "Me!" and for the first time "You Need to Calm Down", as well as a selection of songs from her previous albums.[69] On August 22, the day before the album's release, Swift performed a concert at Central Park in New York City on Good Morning America.[70] Swift then performed "The Archer" on a YouTube livestream later that day.[71] Swift opened the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards with a medley of "You Need to Calm Down" and "Lover" on August 26, where she also won three awards.[72]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.5/10[73]
Metacritic79/100[74]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[75]
The A.V. ClubA-[30]
The Daily Telegraph[16]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[37]
The Guardian[19]
NME[17]
Pitchfork7.1/10[15]
Rolling Stone[12]
Slant Magazine[13]
Variety9/10[27]

Lover received mostly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received a weighted average score of 79 based on 23 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews"; the highest Metascore of any of Swift's albums.[74]

Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone called the album "overpowering" and a "career-capping masterpiece".[76] Also in Rolling Stone, Nick Catucci wrote Lover was "evolutionary rather than revolutionary" and "Swift at her most liberated".[12] Annie Zaleski from The A.V. Club called the album "one of [Swift's] strongest, most relatable albums to date... unburdened by external expectations and her own past."[30] Jon Caramanica from The New York Times described Lover as "reassuringly strong", and "a palate cleanse, a recalibration and a reaffirmation of old strengths" compared to Reputation (2017).[14] Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times commended the album's maturity and emotional wisdom, calling it "very impressive".[77] Billboard's Jason Lipshutz summarized the album as "whimsical, moving, imperfect, exhilarating", adding it was "a towering work that's worth both close analysis on headphones and scream-alongs on stadium speakers".[78]

Nick Levine from NME considered Lover to be "more sprawling and further from flawless" than 1989 (2014), but it succeeds due to Swift's "frequently dazzling" melodies, and the "loved-up lyrics are ultimately quite touching." He concluded that despite "the odd dud", the album is a "welcome reminder of her songwriting skills and ability to craft sonically inviting pop music."[17] Alexandra Pollard from The Independent awarded the album four stars out of five, writing "there is a brilliant album among the 18 songs, if only it had been pruned a little."[34]

In a less favorable review, Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine wrote the album "attempts to be something to everyone" but "lacks a unified sonic aesthetic".[13] Alexis Petridis from The Guardian called Lover "too long" and appear to be an attempt by Swift to "reassert her commercial dominance". However, he remarked Swift's songwriting as better "than any of her competitors" and praised "False God" and "It's Nice to Have a Friend" for being "more satisfying".[19] Writing for The Observer, Kitty Empire summarized the album as a "kitsch-leaning festival of humour, pastels, butterflies and the desire not to be defined by negatives", but also wonders if it might be "a partial retrenchment until Swift decides what to do next", giving it three stars out of five.[36]

Commercial performance

As of July 2019, Lover is the most pre-saved album by a female artist in its first day on Apple Music, totaling more than 178,600 pre-adds worldwide on the platform.[79][56] Lover also holds the record for most pre-added pop album in its first day worldwide, also on Apple Music.[79] On August 20, Variety, quoting Republic Records founder and chairman Monte Lipman, reported album pre-sales worldwide were nearly one million.[80] Three days later, Target confirmed that it was their highest selling pre-ordered album of all time, beating out a record held by Swift's previous album Reputation.[81]

In the United States, the album sold roughly 450,000 copies within one day of its release, becoming 2019's highest-selling album.[82] By the end of its first week, the album sold 679,000 copies and earned 867,000 album-equivalent units, posting the biggest first-week sales for an album since her own Reputation and thus making Swift the only female artist in US history to have six albums sell more than 500,000 units first-week. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.[83]

In the United Kingdom, Lover debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with 53,000 album-equivalent units that consisted of 24,000 traditional sales. It helped Swift became the first female artist, and seventh in total, to have four chart-topping albums in the decade.[84] In Australia, the album debuted at number one, becoming Swift's fifth consecutive chart-topper.[85]

In China, Lover became the first international album to surpass one million combined total streams, downloads and sales within a week of its release.[86] The album debuted at number three on the Japan Oricon chart with only three days of tracking.

Globally, Lover has surpassed 3 million units in consumption as of August 30, 2019.[87]

Track listing

Track listing and credits adapted from Apple Music and Tidal.[88][89]

Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."I Forgot That You Existed"
2:51
2."Cruel Summer"
  • Antonoff
  • Swift
2:58
3."Lover"Swift
  • Antonoff
  • Swift
3:41
4."The Man"
  • Little
  • Swift
3:10
5."The Archer"
  • Swift
  • Antonoff
  • Antonoff
  • Swift
3:31
6."I Think He Knows"
  • Swift
  • Antonoff
  • Antonoff
  • Swift
2:53
7."Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince"
  • Swift
  • Little
  • Little
  • Swift
3:54
8."Paper Rings"
  • Swift
  • Antonoff
  • Antonoff
  • Swift
3:42
9."Cornelia Street"Swift
  • Antonoff
  • Swift
4:47
10."Death by a Thousand Cuts"
  • Swift
  • Antonoff
  • Antonoff
  • Swift
3:19
11."London Boy"
3:10
12."Soon You'll Get Better" (featuring Dixie Chicks)
  • Swift
  • Antonoff
  • Antonoff
  • Swift
3:22
13."False God"
  • Swift
  • Antonoff
  • Antonoff
  • Swift
3:20
14."You Need to Calm Down"
  • Swift
  • Little
  • Little
  • Swift
2:51
15."Afterglow"
  • Swift
  • Bell
  • Feeney
  • Dukes
  • Bell
  • Swift
3:43
16."Me!" (featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco)
  • Swift
  • Little
  • Urie
  • Little
  • Swift
3:13
17."It's Nice to Have a Friend"
  • Swift
  • Bell
  • Feeney
  • Dukes
  • Bell
  • Swift
2:30
18."Daylight"Swift
  • Antonoff
  • Swift
4:53
Total length:61:48
Target deluxe edition and Japanese bonus tracks[90][91]
No.TitleLength
19."I Forgot That You Existed" (piano/vocal)3:30
20."Lover" (piano/vocal)5:39
Total length:70:57
Japanese special edition bonus DVD[91]
No.TitleDirector(s)Length
1."Me!" (music video)
4:09
2."Me!" (lyric video)
  • Jordan Lynn
  • Swift
3:15
3."Me!" (behind the scenes: The Story of Benjamin Button) 3:09
4."Me!" (behind the scenes: Je Suis Calme) 3:17
5."You Need to Calm Down" (music video)
  • Drew Kirsch
  • Swift
3:31
6."You Need to Calm Down" (lyric video)Cheryl Lee2:58
7."You Need to Calm Down" (behind the scenes: Pop Queen Pageant) 2:55
8."You Need to Calm Down" (behind the scenes: Taylor Park) 2:55
9."You Need to Calm Down" (behind the scenes: Morning Routine) 3:01
Total length:29:10

Notes

  • "The Archer" contains an interpolation of the nursery rhyme "Humpty Dumpty".[92][93]
  • "London Boy" contains a sample of "Cold War" by Cautious Clay and a snippet from James Corden interviewing Idris Elba.[10][27][94]
  • "Me!" is stylized in all caps, and does not contain the lyric "Hey, kids, spelling is fun!" on the album version.[95]
  • "It's Nice to Have a Friend" contains a sample of "Summer in the South" by the Toronto-based Regent Park School of Music.[96]

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes.[10]

  • Taylor Swift – all vocals; writer (all tracks); producer (all tracks); executive producer; journal entries (deluxe); personal photographies (deluxe); packaging creative direction; percussion (track 8)
  • Jack Antonoff – producer, keyboards, programming, recording (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8–13, 18); writer (tracks: 2, 5, 6, 8, 10–13); piano (tracks: 3, 8, 9, 12, 18); live drums (tracks: 2, 3, 8, 9); acoustic guitars (tracks: 3, 6, 8, 12); electric guitars (tracks: 6, 8, 18); percussion, bass (tracks: 3, 8, 11); vocoder (track 2); synthesizers (track 10); guitar (track 10); wurlitzer (track 12); background vocals (track 8)
  • Louis Bell – producer, writer, programming, recording (tracks: 1, 15, 17); keyboards (track 1)
  • Frank Dukes – producer, writer, guitar, programming (tracks: 1, 15, 17)
  • Joel Little – producer, writer, recording, keyboards, drum programming (tracks: 4, 7, 14, 16); synths, guitar (track 16)
  • Laura Sisk – recording (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8–13, 18); background vocals (track 13)
  • Annie Clark – writer, guitar (track 2)
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing (all tracks)
  • John Hanes – mix engineer (all tracks)
  • Randy Merrill – mastering (all tracks)
  • Grant Strumwasser – assistant (track 1)
  • John Rooney – assistant (tracks: 2–6, 9–13, 18)
  • Jon Sher – assistant (tracks: 2, 6, 8, 11)
  • Nick Mills – assistant (tracks: 8, 11, 18)
  • Joe Harrison – guitar (tracks: 1, 15, 17)
  • Serafin Aguilar – trumpet (track 1)
  • David Urquidi – saxophone (track 1)
  • Steve Hughes – trombone (track 1)
  • Michael Riddleberger – live drums (tracks: 2, 13)
  • Sounwave – producer, writer (track 11)
  • Sean Hutchinson – live drums (track 11)
  • Mikey Freedom Hart – keyboards (track 11); background vocals (track 13)
  • Evan Smith – keyboards, saxophones (tracks: 11, 13)
  • Emily Strayer – banjo (track 12)
  • Martie Maguire – fiddle (track 12)
  • Dixie Chicks – featured artist (track 12)
  • Brandon Bost – background vocals (track 13)
  • Cassidy Ladden – background vocals (track 13)
  • Ken Lewis – background vocals (track 13)
  • Matthew Tavares – guitar (tracks: 15, 17)
  • Brendon Urie – featured artist, writer (track 16)
  • Valheria Rocha – photography
  • Andrea Swift – personal photographies (deluxe)
  • Scott Swift – personal photographies (deluxe)
  • Joseph Cassel – wardrobe stylist
  • Riawna Capri – hair
  • Lorrie Turk – makeup
  • Josh & Bethany Newman – packaging art direction
  • Parker Foote – packaging design
  • Jin Kim – packaging design
  • Ryon Nishimori – packaging design
  • Abby Murdock – packaging design

Charts

Chart (2019) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[97] 1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[98] 1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[99] 4
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[100] 1
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[101] 4
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[102] 2
Irish Albums (IRMA)[103] 1
Italian Albums (FIMI)[104] 2
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[105] 3
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[106] 3
Japanese International Albums (Oricon)[107] 1
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[108] 1
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[109] 1
Scottish Albums (OCC)[110] 1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[111] 1
UK Albums (OCC)[112] 1
US Billboard 200[83] 1

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Summaries
Worldwide (Republic Records) — 3,000,000[113]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Edition(s) Label Ref.
Various August 23, 2019
Standard Republic [114]
CD Deluxe [115]
United States August 30, 2019 Cassette tape Standard [116]

See also

References

  1. ^ Elizabeth, De. "Taylor Swift Might Have Just Dropped a Huge Clue About Her Next Album". Teen Vogue. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Suskind, Alex (May 9, 2019). "New Reputation: Taylor Swift shares intel on TS7, fan theories, and her next era". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  3. ^ Atkinson, Katie (April 13, 2019). "Taylor Swift Updates Her Website With Countdown Clock, Teases April 26 Date". Billboard. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Trammell, Kendall; Holcombe, Madeline (April 26, 2019). "Taylor Swift's snake era evolved into butterflies and pastels in her new song 'Me!'". CNN. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  5. ^ Walsh, Savannah. "Taylor Swift's New Album Title Hint Suggests That Apparently Fans May Already Know It". Bustle. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c Bruner, Raisa (June 13, 2019). "Taylor Swift Just Announced the Summer Release Date for Her New Album Lover and Next Song". Time.
  7. ^ a b Atkinson, Katie (June 13, 2019). "Taylor Swift Announces New Song 'You Need to Calm Down' & 'Lover' Album Release Date". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  8. ^ a b Aguirre, Abby (August 8, 2019). "Taylor Swift on Sexism, Scrutiny, and Standing Up for Herself". Vogue. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  9. ^ Bailey, Alyssa (August 22, 2019). "What Taylor Swift Revealed During Her YouTube Live: Her Lover Song Meanings, Old Diary Entries, and More". Elle. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  10. ^ a b c d Lover (liner notes). Taylor Swift. Republic Records. 2019.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ Coscarelli, Joe (August 23, 2019). "Taylor Swift Releases 'Lover' the Old-Fashioned Way". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  12. ^ a b c d Catucci, Nick. "Taylor Swift Reaches For New Heights of Personal and Musical Liberation on 'Lover'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Cinquemani, Sal (August 23, 2019). "Review: Taylor Swift's Lover Course Corrects in Multiple Directions". Slant Magazine. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  14. ^ a b c d e Caramanica, Jon (August 23, 2019). "Taylor Swift Emerges From the Darkness Unbroken on 'Lover'". The New York Times. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  15. ^ a b c d e f Gaca, Anna (August 26, 2019). "Taylor Swift: Lover Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  16. ^ a b c d McCormick, Neil (August 23, 2019). "Taylor Swift, Lover, review: zippy, feminist electropop about young love – and watching rugby down the pub". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  17. ^ a b c d e Levine, Nick (August 23, 2019). "Taylor Swift – 'Lover' review". NME. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  18. ^ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (August 23, 2019). "Taylor Swift: Lover — Cupid's arrow hits the bullseye". Financial Times. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g Petridis, Alexis (August 23, 2019). "Taylor Swift: Lover review – pop dominator wears her heart on her sleeve". The Guardian. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  20. ^ Glatsky, Genevieve (December 6, 2017). "The Weird Campaign to Get Taylor Swift to Denounce Donald Trump". Politico. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  21. ^ a b c d Mastrogiannis, Nicole (August 24, 2019). "Taylor Swift Shares Intimate Details of 'Lover' Songs During Secret Session". iHeartRadio. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
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