Taylor Swift and Kanye West Are Releasing Their New Albums On The Same Day and Twitter Is Here For The Drama
While on month seven of 2020, it doesn’t feel like the year has given anyone anything good. It truly feels like hit after hit, with things crumbling all around. But, there are some good things that came out of it. And for Taylor Swift fans that now means a brand new, surprise album. But for Kanye West, it also means his album is coming out on the same day as Swift’s.
Taylor Swift is dropping a surprise album
On the morning of July 23, Swift shared on her social media that she’s dropping her new album at midnight (EST) on July 24. Giving fans less than 24 hours to prepare for her eight studio album isn’t something she’s done before, especially considering Lover, her last album came out less than a year ago. Except for one time, Swift is in the habit of releasing her albums around two years apart.
“Most of the things I had planned this summer didn’t end up happening, but there is something I hadn’t planned on that DID happen. And that thing is my 8th studio album, folklore. Surprise,” she wrote on Instagram. “Tonight at midnight I’ll be releasing my entire brand new album of songs I’ve poured all of my whims, dreams, fears, and musings into.”
She shared that people who worked on the album are “some musical heroes” of hers. There’s Aaron Dessner (of the band The National) “who has co-written or produced 11 of the 16 songs,” Bon Iver “who co-wrote and was kind enough to sing on one with me”, and Jack Antonoff. Antonoff has worked extensively with Swift in the past.
“Before this year I probably would’ve overthought when to release this music at the ‘perfect’ time, but the times we’re living in keep reminding me that nothing is guaranteed,” she shared, regarding why she’s releasing it now. “My gut is telling me that if you make something you love, you should just put it out into the world. That’s the side of uncertainty I can get on board with.”
It is the same day that Kanye West is dropping his new album, too
Interestingly, Swift’s surprise album announcement came one day after Kanye West announced he, too, was releasing a new album.
His announcement of DND: WTH CHILD comes after his possible presidential bid, and after he’s been tweeting up a storm. There has been a lot of conversation surrounding mental illness, with Kim Kardashian-West sharing her plea for the public to treat their family kindly during this time.
It’s no secret that Kanye West has a tension-filled past with Swift. Most recently involving the leak of their full conversation that got her “canceled” in 2016.
So, the internet is convinced Swift’s folklore release is not by coincidence.
One Twitter user wrote that Swift is “the most devious american sweetheart” because of it. “she’s so precise & calculated with her facade she’s the regina george of pop music & i love that,” they wrote.
But it’s not just coinciding with West’s release. This is also one of the last weeks to release an album and sell it with merchandise bundles to count toward Billboard charts. Artists have called out this practice for inflating sales or digital downloads on the chart. This practice changes on Aug. 7, and ends completely on Oct. 9, according to Billboard.
Along with being one of the last Fridays before that change, this is also the last week before Grammy consideration ends for 2020 as well. The final round of consideration closes on Aug. 3. So, generally good timing for Swift all around, outside of West’s drop.
This isn’t the first time where a Swift release coincides with someone she has bad blood with
Coincidences do happen, however, this isn’t the first time where Swift has released something on a day that coincides with someone she doesn’t have the best relationship with.
For one, folklore is also premiering on the 10th anniversary of One Direction. Swift dated Harry Styles in 2012 for a few months.
Next, Swift released her single “You Need To Calm Down” on Donald Trump’s birthday, reported Cosmopolitan. While no one really needs to have a reason to dislike Trump at this point, Swift has been in outspoken opposition with Trump in the last year.
Back in 2014, Swift didn’t have her discography on Spotify over their policy on how they pay the artists on the platform. After three years of a boycott, Swift finally re-released her albums on the streaming site in 2017. On the same exact day that Katy Perry released her album, Witness. Swift and Perry had a pretty memorable feud, but they’re fine now.
Lastly, Swift premiered her album Reputation on the 10th anniversary of Kanye’s mother Donda West’s death. Many were angry at the time of its release, and her label released a statement that there wasn’t a connection, according to BuzzFeed News.
Whether these are coincidences or not, the internet will always point these things out. And for fans of Swift, they’re just excited for a new release.
