Lover (album)

''Lover'' is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on August 23, 2019, through Republic Records, and is her first album release after her departure from Big Machine Records, which resulted in a highly publicized dispute. Swift recorded ''Lover'' with producers Jack Antonoff, Joel Little, Louis Bell, and Frank Dukes from November 2018 to February 2019 following her 2018 Reputation Stadium Tour, where she felt motivated by the fans, helping her recover her mental health after the controversies leading up to ''Reputation'' (2017). Swift conceived ''Lover'' as a "love letter to love", taking inspiration from her recalibrated personal life and newfound artistic freedom.

Compared to the dark, heavy, hip hop-influenced tones of ''Reputation'', ''Lover'' brighter sound draws mostly from electropop, pop rock, and synth-pop, with melodies characterized by atmospheric synthesizers, mid-tempo rhythms, and acoustic instruments. The songs incorporate eclectic styles ranging from country and folk to funk and bubblegum pop; they explore emotions such as infatuation, commitment, lust, and heartache; a few discuss contemporary American political issues like LGBT rights and feminism.

Swift, who had secluded herself from media attention after ''Reputation'' release, embarked on an extensive promotional campaign for ''Lover'' through television shows, magazine covers, and press interviews. ''Lover'' cover art and visual aesthetic feature bright pastel colors. Four singles were released—"Me!" featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco, "You Need to Calm Down", " Lover", and " The Man"—the first three of which charted in the top 10 of the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Swift also played City of Lover, a one-day concert in Paris, on September 9, 2019. ''Lover'' was Swift's sixth-consecutive album to debut at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200. It also topped the charts in Australia, Canada, Mexico, the UK, and elsewhere, and sold 3.2 million copies in 2019, becoming the year's best-selling studio album.

''Lover'' received positive reviews from music critics, who praised its emotional maturity and free-spirited sound, though some took issue with its disparate musical styles, calling it inconsistent. Many publications included the album in their lists ranking the best albums of 2019. At the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020, ''Lover'' was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album; the title track was nominated for Song of the Year and "You Need to Calm Down" was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance. The album won Favorite Pop/Rock Album at the American Music Awards of 2019, and its singles won four MTV Video Music Awards.

Background

On her synth-pop fifth studio album '' 1989'' (2014), American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift changed her sound and image from country music to pop. Within a year of its release, ''1989'' sold over five million copies and confirmed Swift's status as a global pop star. During promotion of ''1989'', Swift was a target of tabloid gossip; her "America's Sweetheart" reputation, a result of her wholesome, innocent image, was tarnished by the publicizing of her romantic relationships and disputes with other celebrities. Swift's mid-2016 dispute with rapper Kanye West, who released the single " Famous", led to an internet cancellation movement against Swift, in which she was labeled a "snake". Swift secluded herself from press attention and released her sixth studio album ''Reputation'' in November 2017, as an answer to the media attention surrounding her celebrity. Before ''Reputation'' release, Swift cleared her social media accounts, and began posting images and videos of snakes.

''Reputation'' has a dark, heavy, hip hop-influenced production, and contains songs with themes of vengeance and drama. Swift avoided promoting the album in mass media as she had done for her previous albums, instead holding fan-exclusive listening sessions and performing on television a few times without being interviewed. ''Reputation'' is the first album Swift released outside her usual two-year album release cycle, and her last under her 12-year, 2006 contract with Big Machine Records. Swift supported ''Reputation'' with her Reputation Stadium Tour (2018), on which she used a giant model of a cobra as a stage centerpiece; the tour broke the record for the all-time highest-grossing U.S. tour. In November 2018, upon completing the Reputation Stadium Tour, Swift signed with Universal Music Group label Republic Records, whose contract allowed her to own the master recordings to her albums. She endorsed two Democrat candidates for the 2018 midterm elections in her home state of Tennessee; it was the first time she publicly voiced her political opinion.

Swift said she wrote ''Reputation'' as a "defense mechanism" that allowed her to cope with the experience. She secluded herself from press attention because she needed to protect her mental health and stop feeling obliged to "explain herself". Commenting on her forgone "America's Sweetheart" reputation, Swift said it was liberating to relinquish her self-awareness of the title and her attempt to be "always smiling, always happy". On the Reputation Stadium Tour, Swift was inspired by the love she received from fans to embrace positivity and vulnerability; despite her tarnished reputation in the press, she realized her fans "see eras a flesh-and-blood human being", which "changed ercompletely, assigning humanity to erlife". To this end, she conceived her seventh studio album as a personal, vulnerable record that would connect her with her audience and showcase her strengths as a singer-songwriter: "This time around I feel more comfortable being brave enough to be vulnerable, because my fans are brave enough to be vulnerable with me".

Writing and themes

Swift began writing ''Lover'' after having adjusted her personal life, freeing herself from her public image. Reflecting on her experience on the Reputation Stadium Tour, Swift learned to take her occupation as an entertainer less seriously than before. Although she used to think of show business as a competitive battlefield, as she performed on tour she realized; "We're just entertaining people, and it's supposed to be fun". Swift reconsidered her social media appearances and realized her focus was her music rather than her social media influence. These realizations inspired Swift to embrace her newfound artistic creativity and write songs from a free-spirited perspective. As with her songwriting for previous albums, Swift wrote ''Lover'' as a reflection of her personal life, describing it as very confessional and autobiographical, yet also playful and whimsical.

In the September 2019 issue of ''Vogue'', Swift described ''Lover'' as a "love letter to love, in all of its maddening, passionate, exciting, enchanting, horrific, tragic, wonderful glory". The track list consists of 18 songs—more than any of her other albums—depicting many sentiments stemming from love. Whereas the protagonists of the songs on ''Reputation'' are exaggerated characters Swift created as a reaction to the controversies, the songs on ''Lover'' are written from an honest, lighthearted perspective, and are inspired by her first-time discovery of "love that was very real". The album's central theme is love; Swift said she envisioned it as a romantic record; in addition to happy songs, it includes songs about sorrow and loneliness, which she said one can perceive "through a romantic gaze". Music critics noted ''Lover'' as Swift's return to her songwriting tradition of exploring love and emotional intimacy after the antagonistic viewpoints of its predecessor, representing her confidence, and her artistic and personal liberation.

Most of the tracks on ''Lover'' are straightforward, open-hearted love songs celebrating the ups and downs of love. Its lyrics are about Swift's personal life but also engage universally relatable feelings that can be applied to many people's relationships, according to ''Time'' critic Dana Schwartz. Although her songs are very personal, Swift avoided disclosing the inspiration behind them.

''Lover'' opening track "I Forgot That You Existed" was inspired by Swift's adjusted personal life; its narrator no longer dwells on vengeance against those who wronged them. The title track " Lover", is about Swift's commitment to a romantic partner; the ways couples customize their marriage vows inspired her to write the bridge. Lust is explored in the tracks "I Think He Knows", which is about self-confidence after a reciprocated infatuation; and "False God", in which the protagonist ponders the ways false promises can help overcome the challenges of a long-distance relationship. According to Dave Holmes of ''Esquire'', "False God" may be about either religion or oral sex.

Some songs—such as "Paper Rings", in which Swift narrates a relationship from its beginning to her proposal of marriage; and " London Boy", on which she declares her love for an Englishman with tongue-in-cheek lyrics that name locations in London and the English fashion designer Stella McCartney—portray playful, quirky aspects of love. The lead single "Me!" is about self-affirmation, self-love, and self-acceptance; the album version omits the lyric "Hey kids, spelling is fun" of the previously-released single version. The penultimate track "It's Nice to Have a Friend" tells a love story that begins in childhood and proceeds to adulthood. Swift considered the song a representation of the feelings one wishes to experience whether they are a child or an adult because "we all want love, we all want to find somebody to ... experience things with".

Other songs explore introspective and poignant aspects of love and life; some are about the pitfalls of romance; Swift assumes responsibility for a failed relationship. " The Archer" is about Swift reflecting on her life; its lyrics describe her self-awareness and acknowledgement of her past mistakes. On " Cruel Summer", she sings about the painful feelings ensuing from a fleeting summer romance. " Cornelia Street", whose title refers to a New York City street on which Swift had rented a townhouse, narrates a relationship in which Swift is afraid she will lose her partner again if she repeats her earlier mistakes. On "Afterglow", she takes the blame for having hurt her partner, and contemplates a loved one's prolonged medical treatment on "Soon You'll Get Better", which was inspired by her parents' cancer diagnoses.

"Death by a Thousand Cuts" was inspired by the romantic comedy film '' Someone Great'', and explores the protagonist's attempts to overcome the painful remnants of a failed relationship. "Death by a Thousand Cuts", which Swift wrote for ''Lover'', was not inspired by her personal life; it was "incredible news" to her as she realized she could continue writing songs about heartbreak, even if she was in a healthy relationship. In the closing track, "Daylight", Swift contemplates that love to her now is "golden" rather than "burning red" as she once believed; a reference to the title track of her 2012 studio album ''Red''. The track concludes with Swift speaking; "I want to be defined by the things that I love—not the things I hate, not the things I'm afraid of, the things that haunt me in the middle of the night". The song represents Swift's mature understanding of love, her personal life, and her public image.

A few songs reflect Swift's perception of contemporary American politics. Since her 2006 debut as a country-music artist, Swift's record company had warned her against becoming involved in politics, but after witnessing the political events affecting the rights of certain people, she became disillusioned with the American political climate and decided to abandon her apolitical stance. Swift wrote "Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince" after the 2018 midterm elections; its lyrics use high school as a metaphor for American politics because she thought the social events of a traditional American high school, like the political landscape, can alienate some people. Another track, " The Man", was inspired by the double standards women experience the music industry and in wider society. "You Need to Calm Down" has lyrics advocating for LGBT rights; it was inspired by a conversation in which a friend asked Swift what she would do if she had a gay son; other inspirations were cyberbullies, cancel culture, and the way the mass media "pits omenagainst each other". Explaining how the track aligns with the album's concept, Swift said it addresses the discrimination some people encounter because of who they love.

Production and musical styles

Swift started recording ''Lover'' in November 2018, soon after she completed the Reputation Stadium Tour. She wanted to incorporate eclectic styles to accompany the diverse lyrical themes, which was made possible by her new contract with Republic Records granting her more artistic freedom than before. Swift recorded much of ''Lover'' with Jack Antonoff, who had produced ''1989'' and ''Reputation''; other producers are Joel Little, Frank Dukes, and Louis Bell, all of whom were first-time collaborators of Swift. The producers of respective tracks are credited as their co-writers alongside Swift, except for songs Swift wholly wrote; "Lover", "Cornelia Street", and "Daylight". Hip-hop producer Sounwave is credited as co-writer and co-producer of "London Boy", singer Brendon Urie is credited as co-writer of "Me!", and musician St. Vincent, who is credited as Annie Clark, is co-writer of "Cruel Summer".

While recording, Swift revisited musical styles with which she had earlier experimented. While she associated ''Reputation'' musical style, devoid of acoustic instruments, with imagery of "nighttime cityscape ... old warehouse buildings that had been deserted and factory spaces", she conceptualized ''Lover'' as "a barn wood floor and some ripped curtains flowing in the breeze, and fields of flowers"; the songs on ''Lover'' use many acoustic instruments. Swift recorded her vocals as though she were performing live, stating much of the album is nearly whole takes. In publications' reviews, music critics categorized ''Lover'' as primarily a pop album with a 1980s-influenced sound combining pop rock and electropop. Compared to the dark, hip hop tones of its predecessor, ''Lover'' musical styles are brighter, more lighthearted, and atmospheric. The tracks are of varying tempo, and are built on straightforward song structures with piano melodies, rock arrangements, and standard chord progressions; a few experiment with styles and song structures that were new to Swift.

Antonoff co-produced 11 tracks, all of which were recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City; "Paper Rings", "London Boy", and "Daylight" were additionally recorded at Metropolis Studios in London; the first two tracks, and "Cruel Summer" and "I Think He Knows", were additionally recorded at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Antonoff's production is characterized by 1980s drums, atmospheric synthesizers, and reverbed beats, exploring eclectic styles across genres including synth-pop, punk, folk pop, and quiet storm. Because of Antonoff's 1980s-style production, some critics commented ''Lover'' expands on the 1980s synth-pop sound of ''1989''. ''Billboard'' journalist Jason Lipshutz commented ''Lover'' is not an expansion on ''1989'' sound but a more-ambitious record that is larger in scope. Swift conceptualized tracks like "Lover" and "Paper Rings" as songs that might have been played in a 1970s wedding reception; as such, these tracks use retro instruments to bring forth the timeless feel she desired. For "Lover", Swift and Antonoff used instruments that, according to Swift, were invented before the 1970s; it is a waltzing-tempo track combining indie folk and alternative country with acoustic guitar, percussion, and pizzicato strings. "Paper Rings" is a gleeful new wave-influenced pop punk track with influences from rockabilly and 1980s pop.

Many songs produced with Antonoff have a radio-friendly pop production. "Cruel Summer" is a 1980s-influenced, synth-pop song with pulsating synthesizers and distorted vocals, and "London Boy" is a bubblegum pop song with layered synthesizers and repeated beats. The upbeat, electropop and R&B track "I Think He Knows" features influences of funk with Swift's falsetto vocals over guitars, a deep bass, and a marching beat. Despite its lyrics about a painful heartbreak, "Death by a Thousand Cuts" has an upbeat production with a recurring guitar line, quivering synthesizers, and faint church bells with vocal harmonies in the background. The ballads "The Archer", "Cornelia Street", and "Daylight" are characterized by dense, atmospheric synthesizers; the first of which combines dream pop and synth-pop with steady kick drum beats throughout. "Soon You'll Get Better" and "False God", which were produced with Antonoff, feature subtler production compared to the dominant uptempo sound. "Soon You'll Get Better" is a country ballad featuring slide guitars and the Dixie Chicks contributing background harmonies, banjo, and fiddle. "False God" combines elements of jazz, trap, neo-soul, and 1980s R&B; Swift sings over hiccuping vocal samples and a lone saxophone line.

Little co-produced four tracks on ''Lover''; these were recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York, Golden Age Studios in Los Angeles, and Golden Age West in Auckland, New Zealand. Swift had first met Little at a Broods concert in Los Angeles; they got acquainted at the New Zealand show of her Reputation Stadium Tour. Shortly after, Swift invited Little to New York to record songs with her; "Me!" is one of the first songs they created together. "Me!", which features Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco, contains pop hooks, and the horns and marching band drums in the refrain evoke a 1960s big band sound. "Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince" is at atmospheric, gloomy, synth-pop track with shouting cheerleaders' voice in the background. The synth-pop tunes "The Man" and "You Need to Calm Down" feature pulsating synthesizers; "The Man" is built on a pulsating drum beat and "You Need to Calm Down" features cascading vocal echoes in the refrain.

The three tracks Swift produced with Bell and Dukes, which were recorded at Electric Feel Studios in Los Angeles, have an experimental quality. The opening track "I Forgot That You Existed" is a lighthearted post-tropical house tune that is built on piano and finger snaps. The power ballad "Afterglow" has a slow-building melody consisting of slow bass and Swift's falsetto vocals. Some critics considered the penultimate track "It's Nice to Have a Friend" as the album's most original and experimental song. The song includes a sample of "Summer in the South" from the Toronto-based Regent Park School of Music's album ''Parkscapes''; it has a sparse production with steelpans, harps, and tubular bells; and is punctuated by a trumpet solo and church bells near the middle. Swift said she wrote the track with only verses, and was more focused on the "vibe and feeling", contrasting her usual songwriting with a clear refrain and structure. Recording wrapped on February 24, 2019; a sample of Cautious Clay's song "Cold War" used for "London Boy" was approved in June that year.

Release and promotion

Title and artwork

Swift initially considered choosing "Daylight" as the album's title track but scrapped the idea because she thought it is too sentimental. She picked ''Lover'' as the title because she felt it better represents the overall theme and is "more elastic as a concept"; songs such as "You Need to Calm Down", which is about LGBT rights, could align with this concept. Colombian photographer and collage artist Valheria Rocha, who worked with Swift on the album's art direction, photographed and edited the album's cover art. The cover depicts Swift with sapphire hair tips and a pink, glittery heart shape on her right eye in front of colorful, pink clouds. Some media commented the artwork evokes the atmosphere of summer and music festivals.

Swift used the bright, pastel colors of the cover art in her social media posts and clothing during promotion of ''Lover'', departing from the dark, black-and-white art and aesthetic of ''Reputation''. In an article for ''Entertainment Weekly'', Emma Madden said ''Lover'' cover art looks like "a fan-made aesthetic post on Tumblr", and called it part of the emerging trend of "kitschy album artwork". By using cover art that deliberately looks like a fan-made product rather than art commissioned from professional graphic designers, ''Lover'' brought "a level of iconicness and relatability" to Swift's audience because, according to Rocha, they could create their own versions of the cover art.

Marketing

Three singles preceded ''Lover''. Swift released the first, "Me!" featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco, on April 26, having commissioned a large butterfly mural in a Nashville neighborhood and a social-media countdown. The second single "You Need to Calm Down" was released on June 14 after Swift encouraged her fans to call for the passing of the Equality Act on her social media feeds; the media viewed this release as Swift's intention for the release to coincide with Pride Month. The title track was released as the third single on August 16. All three singles peaked in the top ten of the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and the first two peaked at number two. "Me!" broke the record for the largest single-week jump when it rose from number 100 to number two after one week. "The Archer" was released as a promotional single on July 23. A fourth single, "The Man", was released on January 27, 2020.

Whereas Swift avoided social media and public appearances during promotion of ''Reputation'', she embarked on an extensive promotional campaign for ''Lover'' on social media, televised events, and press interviews. Media speculation on Swift's follow-up to ''Reputation'' arose when she appeared at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards in March, where she was adorned with butterfly motifs and pastel tones, the aesthetic she later used in her clothing for public appearances. Her social media posts showed her outgoing, comfortable persona, departing from the dark, antagonistic image she adopted for ''Reputation''. Swift conducted interviews with publications including ''Entertainment Weekly'', ''The Guardian'', ''Vogue'', and ''Rolling Stone'', where she openly spoke about her adjusted personal life. A few weeks before the album's release, Swift invited a select group of fans to private ''Secret Sessions'' listening parties in London, Nashville, and Los Angeles; she had hosted similar sessions for ''1989'' and ''Reputation''. She also gave interviews on the US morning television programs ''CBS Sunday Morning'' and ''Good Morning America'', and the talk shows ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' and ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon''.

Swift promoted ''Lover'' with corporate tie-ins and promotional deals, including a merchandise deal with Capital One, airplay deals with SiriusXM and iHeartMedia, a deal with YouTube Music with Swift hosting a live stream on the platform, an Amazon deal featuring images of Swift on packaging and an exclusive concert for Amazon Prime users, and a Target Corporation deal to distribute four deluxe editions of ''Lover'' on CD; the deluxe editions were also available on Swift's website. Each deluxe edition contains a CD with two bonus audio memos, a blank journal, a poster and different bonus content of Swift's old journal entries and photos. She also collaborated with English fashion designer Stella McCarntey on a limited-edition merchandise collection.

''Lover'' was released on both digital and physical formats on August 23, 2019, through Republic Records; it was her first album after ending her 12-year contract with Big Machine Records, her first released on streaming from its first week, and the first whose master recording she owned. Leading up to the release, Swift was involved in a public dispute over the ownership of her Big Machine Records albums' master recordings. In a social media post on June 30, 2019, after Big Machine had been acquired by manager Scooter Braun, Swift accused the label of having neglected her desire to acquire the master recordings and called the deal with Braun, whom she deemed an "incessant, manipulative ully, the "worst-case scenario". After ''Lover'' was released, Swift began implementing her plan to re-record her past albums.

Swift performed on many televised shows, starting with a performance of "Me!" with Brendon Urie at the 2019 ''Billboard'' Music Awards on May 1. She again performed the song with Urie on ''The Voice'', and alone on ''Germany's Next Topmodel'', ''The Graham Norton Show'', and the French version of ''The Voice''. At the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, where she won three awards, Swift opened the show with a medley of "You Need to Calm Down" and "Lover". Swift later performed ''Lover'' songs on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge, ''Saturday Night Live'', NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concert, the Jingle Bell Ball 2019 in London, and iHeartRadio Z100's Jingle Ball in New York City. She also promoted the album on Nippon TV's ''Sukkiri Morning Show'' in Tokyo and at the Singles' Day Countdown Gala by Alibaba Group in Shanghai.

At the 2019 American Music Awards, at which Swift was honored as the Artist of the Decade, she performed a medley of "The Man", "Lover", and her past singles. On May 17, 2020, ABC aired a concert special titled ''Taylor Swift: City of Lover'', which was filmed at her September 2019 one-off concert in Paris. Swift planned to embark on a worldwide concert tour titled Lover Fest, which was due to begin in mid-2020 and included four shows in the U.S., ten shows in Europe, and two shows in Brazil. It was officially cancelled in February 2021 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Media response

''Lover'' received extensive media coverage; the BBC
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