evermore (Taylor Swift album)
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''Evermore'' (stylized in all lowercase) is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
. It was a surprise album released on December 11, 2020, via
Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...
, less than five months after ''
Folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
'', her eighth studio album. ''Evermore'' was a spontaneous product of Swift's extended collaboration with her ''Folklore'' collaborator Aaron Dessner, mainly recorded at his Long Pond Studio in the
Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...
. Swift described ''Evermore'' as an offshoot of "the folklorian woods"—an escapist, cottagecore-inspired direction she first ideated with ''Folklore'' during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
; she regards them as sister albums. ''Evermore'' blends
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
,
indie folk Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation. The genre has its ...
and chamber pop styles, carried by
fingerpicked Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of playing the guitar or bass guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking (plucking individual notes with a single plectr ...
guitars, somber pianos, lavish strings, and sparse percussion.
Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
storytelling and
mythopoeia Mythopoeia ( grc, , , myth-making), or mythopoesis, is a narrative genre in modern literature and film where an artificial or fictionalized mythology is created by the writer of prose, poetry, or other literary forms. This meaning of the word fo ...
dominate its lyrical technique. The subject matter has been described as an anthology of tales about love, marriage, infidelity, and grief, exploring the complexities of human emotion. American bands
Bon Iver Bon Iver ( ) is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, ''For Emma, Forever Ago,'' independently in July 2007. The majority of the album was recorded while Vernon ...
, Haim, and the National are featured. Earning widespread acclaim from critics, ''Evermore'' was praised for its character studies, experimental production, and Swift's nuanced vocals. Reviews regarded the album a sequel or a counterpart to ''Folklore'', and various publications listed it in their 2020 year-end rankings. ''Evermore'' was nominated for
Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...
at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, a second consecutive nomination for Swift in the category after winning it with ''Folklore'' the previous year. Dessner and Long Pond have achieved mainstream notability since ''Evermore'' release. The album reached number one in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Greece, New Zealand, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Republic Records reported over a million copies of ''Evermore'' sold in its first week globally. It was Swift's eighth consecutive ''Billboard'' 200 number-one debut, spending four weeks atop the chart, and achieved various chart feats in Australia, the UK and the US; in the latter, the tracks "
Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...
", "
No Body, No Crime "No Body, No Crime" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, featuring guest vocals from American rock band Haim. It was released to US country radio by Republic and MCA Nashville ...
", and "
Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...
" impacted
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...
,
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
, and
alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...
radio stations, respectively. "Willow" became Swift's seventh ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number-one song and her second in 2020 after " Cardigan", making her the first ever act to simultaneously debut atop both ''Billboard'' 200 and Hot 100 charts two times. ''Evermore'' was 2021's best-selling alternative music album and Americana album in the US and the UK, respectively.


Background and conception

During the COVID-19 lockdowns, on July 23, 2020, American singer-songwriter
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
announced her eighth studio album and first surprise album, ''
Folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
'', and released it the next day. Produced by herself, first-time collaborator Aaron Dessner, long-time collaborator Jack Antonoff, and boyfriend Joe Alwyn, the album was a critical and commercial success, becoming the best-selling album of 2020 and winning
Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...
at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. On November 25, 2020, a concert documentary titled '' Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions'', shot at Dessner's Long Pond Studio in
Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...
, was released to
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
. It detailed the making of ''Folklore'' with performances of its songs. After releasing ''Folklore'', Swift continued to work remotely with Dessner, who would send her instrumental tracks, to which she would write the lyrics. She stated the rave reception of ''Folklore'' further encouraged her to experiment further with its musical style. Soon after, Swift's sessions with Dessner resulted in a project that was a natural extension of ''Folklore'', which eventually assumed its individual identity as ''Evermore''. Dessner dubbed ''Evermore'' a "weird
avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...
" effecting from ''Folklore''. In comparison to its predecessor, the development of ''Evermore'' was a more experimental process, during which the duo did not subject themselves to any limitations. In an
Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...
interview to
Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...
, Swift stated ''Evermore'' gave her a feeling of "quiet conclusion and sort of this weird serenity" after putting out ''Folklore'', and correlated it with the themes of those albums, saying one of ''Folklore'' main tropes was "
conflict resolution Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict and retribution. Committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information abou ...
"—"trying to figure out how to get through something with someone", whereas ''Evermore'' deals with "endings of all sorts, sizes and shapes", and the pain and various phases of those closures. On December 10, 2020, three days prior to her 31st birthday, Swift posted nine photos on Instagram, which together formed an image depicting the singer's back, with her hair in a braid and facing a forest. In another post across her social media, she announced her ninth studio album, titled ''Evermore'', releasing at midnight. She revealed the track-list, and a music video for its opening track, "
Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...
", which would premiere on YouTube alongside the album release. Referring to lockdown regulations in light of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, Swift wrote: "You've all been so caring, supportive and thoughtful on my birthdays and so this time I thought I would give you something! I also know this holiday season will be a lonely one for most of us and if there are any of you out there who turn to music to cope with missing loved ones the way I do, this is for you". Prior to the "Willow" music video premiere, Swift said she likens ''Evermore'' to fall and winter, in contrast to its predecessor's spring and summer.


Writing and recording

Like its predecessor, ''Evermore'' is also a product of remote collaboration and virtual communication, and was recorded in total secrecy. Dessner produced or co-produced all of the tracks except "Gold Rush", which Swift and Antonoff produced. All of the tracks, except "Cowboy like Me", were recorded at Long Pond Studio, when ''Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions'' was shot. After the release of ''Folklore'', Swift wrote two songs, "Closure" and " Dorothea", for
Big Red Machine The Big Red Machine is a nickname for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team that dominated the National League from 1970 to 1979 and is widely recognized as being among the best in baseball history. The team won six National League West Division titl ...
, which is a
supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...
by Dessner and Justin Vernon, the frontman of American
indie folk Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation. The genre has its ...
band
Bon Iver Bon Iver ( ) is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, ''For Emma, Forever Ago,'' independently in July 2007. The majority of the album was recorded while Vernon ...
; the songs ended up on ''Evermore'' instead. To celebrate ''Folklore'', Dessner casually composed an instrumental track "Westerly", named after the location of Swift's Rhode Island home. An hour later, Swift wrote "Willow" to the track and sent it back to him. She wrote the title track "Evermore" with Alwyn (alias William Bowery) and sent it to Vernon, who added a
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
. Dessner realized they were creating a counterpart to ''Folklore'' only after the duo wrote more than seven songs. He composed "Tolerate It" on a piano in time signature and sent it to Swift, conjuring a scene in her mind upon hearing the track; she sent it back with finished lyrics. Dessner stated he "cried when efirst heard" its lyrics. Swift traveled to Long Pond Studio to film ''Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions''. Once filming was complete, Swift stayed at Long Pond overnight, to record with Dessner and Antonoff. The next morning, she approached Dessner in his kitchen with " 'Tis the Damn Season", which she wrote during the night. Dessner cited the song as one of his favorite works ever, and that it could have just remained as an instrumental, but instead, Swift's "incredible storytelling ability and musical ability took it and made something much great". "
No Body, No Crime "No Body, No Crime" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, featuring guest vocals from American rock band Haim. It was released to US country radio by Republic and MCA Nashville ...
" was inspired by Swift's "obsession with true
crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
s/documentaries". She wrote the song on a rubber-bridge guitar and mailed Dessner a voice memo, after which he started producing it. Swift had specific ideas on how she wanted the song, including a guest feature from American
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...
band Haim, who recorded their vocals at Ariel Rechtshaid's Los Angeles home and forwarded it to Swift. The song's harmonica and guitar
riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...
s were played by Josh Kaufman, who also played the harmonica on " Betty" from ''Folklore;'' JT Bates played the drums, and also did the same on "Dorothea". Aaron Dessner and his twin brother, Bryce Dessner, sent Swift some of the instrumentals they made for their band, American
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
band the National. One of those was what would become "
Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...
". Swift and Alwyn wrote its lyrics, and recorded it with her vocals. After listening to the demo, the Dessner brothers felt that the song was very related to the National, and envisioned Matt Berninger (the band's lead vocalist) singing it, and Bryan Devendorf (the drummer) drumming it. Aaron Dessner informed Berninger, who was "excited" for the idea. The band assembled, Devendorf played the drums, while his brother Scott Devendorf played the bass and pocket piano; Bryce Dessner helped produce the song. "
Marjorie Marjorie is a female given name derived from Margaret, which means pearl. It can also be spelled as Margery or Marjory. Marjorie is a medieval variant of Margery, influenced by the name of the herb marjoram. It came into English from the Old Fre ...
" was an instrumental precursor to "Peace", the fifteenth track on ''Folklore''. The latter's
drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...
is present in the former's
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
. The backing rhythm of "Marjorie" was composed with an Allovers
Hi-hat A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock, pop, jazz, and blues. Hi-hats consist o ...
Generator, a software developed by producer Ryan Olson, which had been used in many Big Red Machine songs. The instrument takes any sound and splits them into samples, and regenerates them in randomized musical patterns. Dessner went through the patterns, picked his favorite parts, looped them, developed them into an instrumental, and sent it to Swift, who wrote "Marjorie" to it, a song about her maternal grandmother and opera singer, Marjorie Finlay. She also sent a folder of Finlay's opera records to Dessner, who sampled some of it on the song. "Right Where You Left Me" and "Happiness" were written days before ''Evermore'' was finished. Dessner had been working on the composition of "Happiness" since 2019, thinking it would be a Big Red Machine song; Swift, however, admired its instrumentals and ended up finishing its lyrics, which was also the case with "Right Where You Left Me". The last few weeks of recording ''Evermore'' overlapped with the recording of ''
Fearless (Taylor's Version) ''Fearless (Taylor's Version)'' is the first re-recorded album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, released on April 9, 2021, through Republic Records. It is a re-recording of Swift's second studio album, ''Fearless'' (2008), and the f ...
''—Swift's first re-recorded album; she recorded "Happiness" and " You Belong with Me (Taylor's Version)" on the same day. Vernon was more involved in ''Evermore'' than ''Folklore''. He played the drums on "Cowboy like Me" and "Closure", guitar and banjo on "Ivy", and contributed backing vocals in "Marjorie". For "Closure", he processed Swift's vocals through his Messina vocal modifier, which distorted her soft timbre into a robotic growl. "Cowboy like Me" was recorded at Scarlet Pimpernel Studios, located in the UK, owned by
Marcus Mumford Marcus Oliver Johnstone Mumford (born 31 January 1987) is a British singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer of the band folk band Mumford & Sons. He also plays a number of instruments with the group ...
, the lead singer of English
folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...
band Mumford & Sons; Mumford provided backing vocals on the song. In "Ivy", Dessner added sleigh bells to invoke winter-oriented emotions, coinciding with the song's wintry imagery. He intentionally added "a wintry nostalgia" to most of the music in ''Evermore'', leaning towards the idea Swift told him. Dessner said mixing the album's 17 songs was a "
Herculean Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...
task" and that the sound engineer Jon Low thought it would not be finished on time.


Music and lyrics

The standard edition of ''Evermore'' is one hour long, consisting of 15 tracks, while the deluxe adds two bonus songs. Haim, the National and Bon Iver provide guest vocals on "No Body, No Crime", "Coney Island", and "Evermore", respectively. Critics have dubbed ''Evermore'' a sequel and a companion record to ''Folklore''.


Composition

''Evermore'' is an
indie folk Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation. The genre has its ...
, folk-pop,
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
, and
chamber rock Chamber pop (or Chamber rock; also called baroque pop and sometimes conflated with orchestral pop or symphonic pop) is a music genre that combines rock music with the intricate use of strings, horns, piano, and vocal harmonies, and other compon ...
, record with
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
influences. It has its predecessor's minimal and
lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...
styles, but looser and more experimental in nature. The album is characterized by its acoustic core and wintry mood, consisting of sparse arrangements, slow-burning melodies, burbling,
fingerpicked Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of playing the guitar or bass guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking (plucking individual notes with a single plectr ...
acoustic guitars, swaying electric guitars, soft, smooth, and somber pianos, warm and woozy synthesizers,
mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
, twangy banjos, throbbing drum machines, lush strings, electronic thrums, subtle layers of
Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...
s, flute, French horn, and cellos. Swift's mellifluous vocals are backed by gauzy harmonies and "misty atmospherics". ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' wrote that ''Evermore'' deepens Swift's goth-folk vision. ''
Hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...
'' described the album's sonic palette as "watery" and "hypnotic". ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
'' said that there is no sense of
tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...
or urgency in its songs, departing from the stadium-suited tempos of Swift's earlier works. ''
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
'' noted ''Evermore'' focus on "sonic details and nuances rather than big hooks." According to critic Tom Hull, while Swift remains attentive to "production details", ''Evermore'' follows ''Folklore'' in abandoning "pop glitz" in favor of "straightforward songcraft" due in part to the pandemic shifting Swift's focus from arenas to homely settings. ''
Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...
'' described it as "a soft, meditative, consciously quiet" album of "restorative old-school singer-songwriter music". In ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'' opinion, ''Evermore'' has a more spacious ambience with lots of break, unlike the "
maximalist In the arts, maximalism, a reaction against minimalism, is an aesthetic of excess. The philosophy can be summarized as "more is more", contrasting with the minimalist motto "less is more". Literature The term ''maximalism'' is sometimes associat ...
-minimalism" of ''Folklore'', which had "layers upon layers of restrained instrumental lines".


Themes

''Evermore'' is an intimate album heavily rooted in elaborate first-person storytelling from third-person perspectives, character studies, and narrative
mythmaking Mythopoeia ( grc, , , myth-making), or mythopoesis, is a narrative genre in modern literature and film where an artificial or fictionalized mythology is created by the writer of prose fiction, prose, poetry, or other literary forms. This meaning ...
. It ventures deeper inside the
imaginary world A fictional universe, or fictional world, is a self-consistent setting with events, and often other elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes may ...
Swift built with ''Folklore'', blending facts and fiction. Both albums share a common escapist concept, but in contrast to ''Folklore''s more introspective and romantic nature, ''Evermore'' is bolder, uninhibited, playful, and impressionistic, delving extensively into Swift's ideas of adult love and pain. The songs generally ruminate themes of forbidden love, romantic neglect, forgiveness, marriage, and infidelity, revolving around a set of unique characters, such as embattled couples, scorned friends, and complicated women. ''Evermore'' also analyses conflicted emotions and possibilities, aside " noirish twists" in plots. Like its sister album, ''Evermore'' lyrically incorporates nature, landscapes and objects in the sky, such as crescent moon, sunrise,
comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
s, amber skies, precipice,
willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...
,
clover Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...
and
ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...
. Swift's trademark turns of phrase and
wordplay Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phone ...
are also abundant. '' Variety'' observed that "warmth amid iciness" is a "recurring lyrical motif". '' American Songwriter'' opined that ''Evermore'' has Swift mostly writing "the 'unhappily ever after' anthology of marriages gone bad". ''Slate'' also called it an anthology, emphasizing "her leap away from autobiography into songs that are either pure fictions or else lyrically symbolic in ways that don't act as romans à clef". ''Stereogum'' labeled the album "observational fiction". '' Pitchfork'' noted that Swift remains a versatile, expressive vocalist, and a "wordy" lyricist to "magnify sad, small moments."
Music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...
professor Alyssa Barna said Swift adopts a static, colorless timbre for both vocals and instrumentation in the album. ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'' remarked the "exceedingly complex human emotions" she unravels in ''Evermore'' with "precision and devastation".


Songs

''Evermore'' opens with "Willow", a
chamber folk Folk baroque or baroque guitar, is a distinctive and influential guitar fingerstyle developed in Britain in the 1960s, which combined elements of American folk, blues, jazz and ragtime with British folk music to produce a new and elaborate form of ...
love song propelled by picked guitars,
glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...
, orchestrations, programmed drums, and a "breathless chorus". " Champagne Problems" is a mournful ballad with spacious,
oompah Oom-pah, Oompah or Umpapa is an onomatopoeic term describing the rhythmical sound of a deep brass instrument in combination with the response of other instruments or registers in a band, a form of background ostinato. The oom-pah sound is us ...
piano chords entwining with a guitar
arpeggio A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves. An arpeggio () is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played ...
and choir vocals. It depicts a struggling girlfriend whose mental issues disrupt her romantic relationship, leading her to turn down her lover's proposal. "Gold Rush" is a nimble chamber pop song with drums, horns, violins, swiveling shifts in tempo, and a "dreamy" chorus. Its frenzy verses are
couplet A couplet is a pair of successive lines of metre in poetry. A couplet usually consists of two successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (or closed) couplet, each of the ...
s delivered in a pulsating rhythm over persistent beats, with a
red herring A red herring is a figurative expression referring to a logical fallacy in which a clue or piece of information is or is intended to be misleading, or distracting from the actual question. Red herring may also refer to: Animals * Red herring (fis ...
in its
intro Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...
and outro made of "layered vocals". Expressing jealousy and insecurity towards an attractive subject, "Gold Rush" limns the narrator's infatuation for the subject using a
daydream Daydreaming is the stream of consciousness that detaches from current, external tasks when attention drifts to a more personal and internal direction. This phenomenon is common in people's daily life shown by a large-scale study in which partici ...
, and depicts her distaste at her own incapacitation in the face of beauty, comparing it to
gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...
es. The fourth track, "Tis the Damn Season", is a
Christmas song Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...
. It sees a female narrator arrive for her holidays at hometown Tupelo, where she encounters her former lover and ends up in bed with him despite knowing the rekindled flame will not lead anywhere. It is built around an electric guitar riff, and the narrator is revealed to be a character named Dorothea, later in the album. "Tolerate It" recounts a young woman in an age-gap relationship, and depicts her internal agony and resentment towards her aloof, unappreciative partner. It is a slow-building ballad guided by a "muffled" piano and tense synth-beats. Its plot was inspired by ''
Rebecca Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...
'', the 1939 novel by English author Daphne du Maurier. "No Body, No Crime" opens with police sirens. It is a "twangy", cinematic, country,
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...
, and
country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal s ...
song, featuring Haim's
harmonies In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However, ...
. It tells a "
macabre In works of art, the adjective macabre ( or ; ) means "having the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere". The macabre works to emphasize the details and symbols of death. The term also refers to works particularly gruesome in natu ...
revenge tale" of a woman named Este murdered by her husband in favor of his
mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...
. The narrator is a friend of Este and takes revenge by murdering the unfaithful man. "Happiness", the melancholic seventh track, is an
ambient Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to: Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds * Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere * ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby * ...
ballad driven by "hazy" synthesizers,
hi-hat A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock, pop, jazz, and blues. Hi-hats consist o ...
s, violin, bass,
organs In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a fu ...
, piano and
drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...
. The song channels a stream of consciousness, in which the narrator empathizes with the subject after their divorce, contemplates the split, and apologizes for "losing track of the facts", and affirms happiness will be found again. It contains references to '' The Great Gatsby''. "Dorothea" is an Americana song from the perspective of the male subject in "'Tis the Damn Season", who stays in Tupelo while his high-school lover, Dorothea, moves to Los Angeles for a Hollywood career. He narrate his stories of her, such as a skipped prom and feelings of separation, and yearns for Dorothea's return to the simple rural life, over a honky-tonk piano,
tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...
and guitars. It has been compared to " Betty" due to their similar perspectives. The ninth track, "Coney Island", is an alternative rock,
waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...
and indie-folk duet with Matt Berninger of the National. The song depicts suburban
nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a learned formation of a Greek language, Greek compound, consisting of (''nóstos''), meaning "homecoming", ...
and recollects a couple's memories in
Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...
; Swift's melodious vocals contrast Berninger's mumbled
baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
. "Ivy" is a
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...
song with "elastic vocals" and a "jaunty chorus", documenting a married woman's infidelity, over a ticking arrangement of banjo, picked guitar, trumpet, and Vernon's gentle harmonies. It conveys her temptation for her secret lover and the realistic consequences that may hinder their affair, using a metaphor of ivy
vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...
s growing over a stone house to represent her deep-rooted attachment. Swift sings about two "
gold-digging Gold digger is a term for a person, typically a woman, who engages in a type of transactional relationship for money rather than love. If it turns into marriage, it is a type of marriage of convenience. Etymology and usage The term "gold ...
"
con artists A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have de ...
in the eleventh track, "Cowboy like Me", who unexpectedly fall in love with each other while frequenting resorts and deceiving rich people. It is an alternative, country,
folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...
, and
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
tune, with hushed guitars, harmonica riff, mandolin, piano, lap steel, and Mumford's backing vocals. " Long Story Short" is a pop-infused
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
song with a rousing post-chorus hook, explosive guitars, strings, crisp beats of live drums and drum machine. Swift retreads '' Reputation'' (2017) in the song, summarizing her life's worse moments and emotional healing. "Marjorie" details Swift's grief over her grandmother Finlay, who died when Swift was 13 years old. Its lyrics consist of Finlay's advices to her granddaughter, as well as Swift's memories and regrets. Its gentle production samples Finlay's
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261  Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
vocals over "buzzing" synths, pizzicato strings, drone, pulse, cello, and a "pulsing keyboard arrangement". "Closure", the fourteenth track, is Swift's kiss-off to the song's unnamed subject, a reply to their "self-serving" request, insincere kindness, and pretentious amity. It is an electroacoustic, industrial folk song characterized by an unusual
time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
, and a "skittering" production of
brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...
, piano, to-and-fro strings, electronic creaks, "clattering percussion", and synth drums. The album ends with the title track—a piano ballad that progresses into a dramatic
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
after a tempo shift, where Swift is joined midway by Vernon's signature
falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...
in a call and response. Swift navigates depression, desolation and negative notions in her verses, in contrast to Vernon's optimistic and supportive verses that attempt to help her, resulting in a realization that pain is temporary. The deluxe edition of ''Evermore'' includes two bonus tracks: "Right Where You Left Me" is a country and folk-pop song, portraying the fate of a love "frozen in time", over twangy guitars. In contrast, "It's Time to Go" is about the narrator's knowledge of when to exit a relationship, such as a friendship, featuring tales of divorce and losing a dream career to an unfit individual; the song contains references to Swift's dispute over her masters.


Art direction

The visual aesthetic of ''Evermore'' takes upon a
wintry Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures de ...
theme, a
yuletide Yule, actually Yuletide ("Yule time") is a festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples, later undergoing Christianised reformulation resulting in the now better-known Christmastide. The earliest references to Yule are by way of indig ...
version of the cottagecore, woodland aesthetic of ''Folklore''. ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' stated that ''Folklore'' is a muted, autumnal palette of sounds and feelings, whereas ''Evermore'' is its winter companion with lingering sadness and regret. While ''Folklore'' adapts a grayscale
monochrome A monochrome or monochromatic image, object or palette is composed of one color (or values of one color). Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale (typically digital) or black-and-white (typically analog). In physics, monochrom ...
, ''Evermore'' employs colors. ''
The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'' opined that ''Evermore'' embraces "1960s-era Laurel Canyon".


Cover artwork

The cover artwork of ''Evermore'' shows Swift in a barren field, facing away from the camera, looking over the bare trees in the distance. She is seen standing at the edge of a forested area, while on the cover of ''Folklore'', she was seen inside a forest. Her hair is styled in a
French braid A French braid, also called a French plait, is a type of braided hairstyle. The three-strand gathered plait includes three sections of hair that are braided together from the crown of the head to the nape of the neck. Description In the simples ...
and she wears a single-breasted, brown and orange checked flannel coat, taken from a collection by English designer Stella McCartney. ''
Stylist Stylist can refer to: Occupations * Automotive stylist or car stylist, a person involved in designing the appearance and ergonomics of automobiles * Food stylist, a person who makes food look attractive in photographs * Hair stylist, a person w ...
'' called the hairstyle "messy-yet-
chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology ''Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English dictiona ...
". Adam Reed, UK editorial ambassador for French beauty company
L'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French personal care company headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine with a registered office in Paris. It is the world's largest cosmetics company and has developed activities in the field concentrating on hair color, sk ...
, admired Swift's braid and described it as "simple, supernatural and timeless". According to '' Consequence'', the cover artwork is "gorgeous in its simplicity", and has Swift facing a field, insinuating "she's inviting the listener to see the field through her eyes." Following ''Evermore'' release, replicas of the flannel coat Swift wore on the cover artwork quickly sold out on
Farfetch Farfetch is a British-Portuguese online luxury fashion retail platform that sells products from over 700 boutiques and brands from around the world. The company was founded in 2007 by the Portuguese entrepreneur José Neves with its headquarters ...
. The album cover was the third most-searched album cover of 2021 on the internet, after
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
's '' Donda'' (2021) and Olivia Rodrigo's '' Sour'' (2021).


Release and promotion

''Evermore'' was released on December 11, 2020, two days before Swift's 31st birthday, to
digital music Digital audio is a representation of sound recorded in, or converted into, digital form. In digital audio, the sound wave of the audio signal is typically encoded as numerical samples in a continuous sequence. For example, in CD audio, samp ...
and
streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
platforms only. It is a "sister album" to ''Folklore'', which was launched less five months prior; both of them are surprise albums announced 16 hours prior to their midnight releases. ''Evermore'' marked the second time Swift abandoned her long, traditional album rollout. The CDs were released on December 18, 2020. The bonus tracks of ''Evermore'' deluxe edition, "Right Where You Left Me" and "It's Time to Go", which were formerly physical-exclusive, were released to streaming services on January 7, 2021.
Cassette tape The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...
s and vinyl LPs of ''Evermore'' were released on February 21, and May 28, 2021, respectively. ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' reported that the delayed release of the album's physical formats is owed to its surprise release and the time-consuming manufacturing process of physical albums, specifically the vinyl copies. Limited number of autographed CDs were sold at select independent record stores. On December 14, 2020, Swift appeared on ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...
'' to promote the album. On a December 2020 episode of Howard Stern's
Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...
radio show, English singer-songwriter
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
revealed that Swift originally decided to postpone the release of ''Evermore'' by one week to respect the original December 11 release date of his eighteenth studio album, ''
McCartney III ''McCartney III'' ("III" being stylised on the front cover as the three pips of a die) is the 18th solo album by English musician Paul McCartney, released on 18 December 2020 by Capitol Records. It serves as a continuation to his solo albums ''Mc ...
;'' upon learning this, McCartney decided to release his album on December 18 instead so that Swift could move forward with her ''Evermore'' rollout as initially planned. Three six-song compilations consisting of tracks from both ''Evermore'' and ''Folklore'', titled ''The Dropped Your Hand While Dancing Chapter'', ''The Forever Is The Sweetest Con Chapter'', and ''The Ladies Lunching Chapter'' (all stylized in all lowercase), were released to streaming platforms on January 21, January 27, and February 4, 2021, respectively.


Singles

"Willow" was released as the lead single of ''Evermore'', alongside the album itself, on December 11, 2020. The song was accompanied with a music video directed by Swift. The single debuted at number-one in Australia, Canada and the United States. In the US, it scored her her seventh number-one song, second number-one in 2020 (after " Cardigan"), and the third number-one debut of her career. "Willow" topped
Hot Alternative Songs The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...
, Adult Top 40 and Digital Song Sales charts as well. According to ''Billboard'', three of the album's tracks were sent to different
radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...
s—a plan that was adapted for ''Folklore'' as well. "Willow" impacted US
adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
and
pop radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...
stations on December 14 and 15, 2020, respectively; "
No Body, No Crime "No Body, No Crime" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, featuring guest vocals from American rock band Haim. It was released to US country radio by Republic and MCA Nashville ...
" was sent to US
country radio Country radio refers to radio stations that play country music. Most country radio stations are commercial radio stations. Most country radio stations usually play only music which has been officially released to country radio by record labels. The ...
on January 11, 2021. "
Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...
" was promoted to US adult album alternative radio on January 18, 2021.


Critical reception

''Evermore'' was met with widespread critical acclaim upon release, with emphasis on its kinship with ''Folklore'' and Swift's expansion of her musical boundaries. On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a normalized score out of 100 to ratings from publications, the album received a
weighted mean The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
score of 85 based on 29 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Describing Swift as an unrivaled songwriter, Brodie Lancaster of ''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
'' found ''Evermore'' traveling deeper into the singer's fictitious narratives, and praised the depth and variety of its characters. ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' critic Hannah Mylrea opined that Swift pushes her indie reinvention further in ''Evermore'', terming it a "freewheeling younger sibling" while ''Folklore'' is the " introspective, romantic older sister"; Mylrea thought ''Evermore'' is looser and more experimental, expanding on its predecessor's sonic palette. In congruence, ''American Songwriter'' designated ''Folklore'' as the "archetypal older sister—a careful, yet hopeless romantic" whereas ''Evermore'' is the "bold, scrappy younger one", with the latter being a
yuletide Yule, actually Yuletide ("Yule time") is a festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples, later undergoing Christianised reformulation resulting in the now better-known Christmastide. The earliest references to Yule are by way of indig ...
evolution of the former's sound. Maura Johnston, writing for ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'', asserted that Swift "levels up" on ''Evermore'' by taking musical risks, and dubbed the sister albums a career-high for the singer. ''Spin'' critic Bobby Olivier thought the "career-redefining" album finds Swift at her prime, joining "the pantheon of songwriters who consistently deliver despite unimaginable expectations". He regarded ''Evermore'' a stronger work than ''Folklore''. Annie Zaleski of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' also chose ''Evermore'' over ''Folklore'', and noted that the former continues the latter's " universe-building" with stronger writing and greater sonic cohesion. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''
Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis ( el, Αλέξης Πετρίδης; born 13 September 1971) is a British journalist, head rock and pop critic for the UK newspaper ''The Guardian'', as well as a regular contributor to the magazine '' GQ''. In addition to his mus ...
said ''Evermore'' furthers Swift's departure to alternative rock from mainstream pop, comparing it to her country-to-pop shift in ''
Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
'' (2012); he added that it proves her ability to switch genres easily. Calling it heartfelt and ruminative,
Neil McCormick Neil McCormick (born 31 March 1961) is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster. He has been Chief Music Critic for ''The Daily Telegraph'' since 1996, and presented a music interview show for Vintage TV in the UK, Neil McCormick's Nee ...
of ''The Daily Telegraph'' lauded the album's emotional songcraft and unhurried tempo, noting its songs are not for stadiums. Patrick Ryan of ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' gave plaudits to its mystical instrumentation and escapist lyrics, stressing that ''Evermore'' is not a vestige of ''Folklore'', but rather a sister reinforcing Swift's strengths. In her ''Rolling Stone'' review, Claire Shaffer saw Swift embracing new genres and ambitious storytelling, and welcomed her new artistic direction. ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' writer Helen Brown deemed its songs haunting and contemplative, and complimented its "tasteful" compositions. Jason Lipshutz of ''Billboard'' stated that the album is more progressive and audacious than ''Folklore'', although posing as a sequel at first. He explained that ''Evermore'' explores the complications of adult love more extensively than its predecessor, and flaunts Swift's boldest and richest songwriting. '' Variety'' critic Chris Willman praised the album's subliminal production and Swift's agile vocals, and underlined its
impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
storytelling style that clicks only after multiple listens. ''Stereogum''s Tom Breihan named ''Evermore'' a "full-on winter album" populated by "subtle growers" shrouded in a sedative atmosphere. Jon Pareles of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' commended its diligent sound and poised lyrics, and noted more character studies in it than ''Folklore''. In less favorable reviews, Kitty Empire of ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' praised the album's emotion and themes, but felt Swift is "still a little muted on ''Evermore'' as she was on ''Folklore'' by pastel music that smears Vaseline on her otherwise keen lens." Chris Richards of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' found the album overlong, felt some lyrics were sub-par for Swift's prowess, and rejected the notion of categorizing her 2020 works as indie. Mikael Wood of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' felt that the album is ''Folklore''s leftovers, and "simply repeats its trick", but named "Tolerate It", "Gold Rush", "Champagne Problems", "No Body, No Crime" and "Dorothea" as highlights.


Year-end lists

By the time Swift unveiled the album, many publications had already issued their year-end rankings of best albums of 2020. ''Evermore'' ranked on lists published after December 11, including number-one placements from NJ.com, ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'', and '' Variety'', which it shared with ''Folklore''. ''Evermore'' finished at number 20 on Metacritic's aggregated list of 2020 year-end rankings.


Commercial performance

Available only via
digital music Digital audio is a representation of sound recorded in, or converted into, digital form. In digital audio, the sound wave of the audio signal is typically encoded as numerical samples in a continuous sequence. For example, in CD audio, samp ...
and streaming platforms, Republic Records reported over a million copies of ''Evermore'' sold in its first-week worldwide, marking Swift's eighth consecutive studio album to achieve it. All of the album's 15 tracks entered the top 75 of the ''Billboard'' Global 200 chart. Aided by ''Evermore'' and ''Folklore'', Swift was 2020's top streamed artist on Amazon Music across all genres. The
International Federation of the Phonographic Industry The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 19 ...
(IFPI) named her the best-selling solo artist and female artist of 2020, and second overall.


United States

''Evermore'' debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, topping it for four weeks. It opened with 329,000 units, consisting of 220.49 million on-demand streams and 154,000 digital albums, and earned the biggest sales week for an album since her own ''Folklore''. It is Swift's second number-one album in 2020 and eighth consecutive number-one debut, making her the third woman with eight number-ones, behind
Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...
(11) and
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
(9). Alongside ''Folklore'' at number three, Swift became the first woman in the chart's history to simultaneously have two albums in the top-three. The gap between the number-one debuts of ''Folklore'' and ''Evermore'' was 140 days, breaking the
Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
for the shortest gap between two chart-topping albums by a woman on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album debuted atop the
Alternative Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...
chart as well, dethroning ''Folklore'' from number one; ''Evermore'' topped the chart for 15 weeks. All of the album's 15 tracks entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 simultaneously. ''Evermore'' became Swift's third album to chart all of its standard tracks together, after ''
Lover Lover or lovers may refer to a person having a sexual or romantic relationship with someone outside marriage. In this context see: * Sexual partner * Mistress (lover) * Extramarital sex * Premarital sex Lover or Lovers may also refer to: Geogr ...
'' (2019) and ''Folklore''. Swift became the woman with the most Hot 100 hits with 128, regaining the record from
Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...
. With the number-one debut of "Willow", she also became first act to simultaneously place an album and a single atop both ''Billboard'' 200 and Hot 100 charts at two occasions, following ''Folklore'' and "Cardigan". All tracks appeared on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart as well, except "
No Body, No Crime "No Body, No Crime" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, featuring guest vocals from American rock band Haim. It was released to US country radio by Republic and MCA Nashville ...
" which debuted at number two on the
Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...
. Due to eight tracks from ''Folklore'' remaining on the chart alongside the 14 from ''Evermore'', Swift occupied 22 of the chart's 50 positions—the second most simultaneous entries in the chart's history, behind
Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer ...
(23). On the
Hot Alternative Songs The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...
, Swift claimed 16 spots, besting Machine Gun Kelly's record. Despite its availability for the last two weeks of 2020 only, ''Evermore'' became one of the top 10 best-selling albums of 2020. It placed eighth on ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' best-sellers list, and tenth on
MRC Data Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...
's best selling albums of 2020 with 283,000 sales; its sister record, ''Folklore,'' was the top seller of 2020. In April 2021, ''Evermore'' surpassed a million units in the US. In June, it scored its fourth week atop the ''Billboard'' 200 with 202,000 units, following its vinyl release. 192,000 of that sum were pure sales, surpassing her own ''
Fearless (Taylor's Version) ''Fearless (Taylor's Version)'' is the first re-recorded album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, released on April 9, 2021, through Republic Records. It is a re-recording of Swift's second studio album, ''Fearless'' (2008), and the f ...
'' for the largest sales week of 2021. It marked the 53rd chart-topping week of Swift's career, extending her record as the female act with the most weeks at number one in ''Billboard'' 200 history and the third-most overall, behind
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
and
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
. The album sold 102,000 vinyl copies the same week, breaking the former record by Jack White's ''
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'' (40,000) for the biggest sales week for vinyl LPs since
MRC Data Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...
's inauguration in 1991. ''Evermore'' became the best-selling CD and vinyl album of 2021. In July 2021, it became the best-selling album of the year, with 374,000 copies sold; ''Evermore'' was the seventh most consumed album with 818,000 total units. ''Evermore'' topped the 2021 ''Billboard'' Year-End Top Album Sales and Top Alternative Albums charts. It further placed fourth on the year-end ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Swift ranked as the number-one ''Billboard'' 200 Artist, ''Billboard'' 200 Female Artist, Top Album Sales Artist, Top Alternative Artist, and Top Alternative Albums Artist. Selling 529,000 pure copies, ''Evermore'' was sixth on the best-selling albums list of 2021, alongside three other Swift albums—'' Red (Taylor's Version)'', ''Fearless (Taylor's Version)'', and ''Folklore''—in the top 10.


Other markets

In Canada, ''Evermore'' appeared at the top spot of ''Billboard'' Canadian Albums chart as Swift's eighth Canadian number-one album, and her second in 2020. The album spent three weeks atop the chart. All of the tracks debuted inside the top 50 region of the
Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...
simultaneously, except "Closure" (number 57); "Willow" became her seventh Canadian number-one hit, with "Champagne Problems" at number six, "No Body, No Crime" at 11, "'Tis the Damn Season" at 13, "Gold Rush" at 14, and "Tolerate It" at 18. In 2021, ''Evermore'' was the country's seventh best-selling album. In Australia, Swift achieved a "Chart Double" by occupying the top spots of both albums and singles charts simultaneously. ''Evermore'' entered at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart, garnering her seventh chart-topper. Collecting her second number-one album of the year 19 weeks after ''Folklore'', Swift broke the record for the shortest gap between two successive number-ones, surpassing the 25 weeks between
Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...
's '' Sweetener'' (2018) and '' Thank U, Next'' (2019). "Willow" debuted atop the
ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
, accompanied by 11 fellow tracks. It marked her seventh Australian number-one song. ''Evermore'' spent four consecutive weeks at number-one in Australia, tying with ''Folklore'' as her second longest-running chart-topper, behind ''1989'' (11 weeks). In the United Kingdom, ''Evermore'' topped the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
for two weeks. It made Swift the fastest female artist to accumulate six number-one albums in the country (i2012–2020), surpassing
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
(1997–2008), and the first female artist to score six chart-toppers in the 21st-century. The album is her second number-one album in 2020 after ''Folklore'', establishing her as the first act to score multiple chart-topping albums in a calendar year, since
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
in 2016. ''Evermore'' also topped the UK's Vinyl Albums chart, and the Americana Albums chart. On the
Official Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, "Willow" landed at number three and gave Swift her eleventh top-five hit, while tracks "Champagne Problems" and "No Body, No Crime" arrived at numbers 15 and 19, respectively, increasing her UK top-20 hits total to 21. ''Evermore'' was the best-selling Americana album of 2021 in the UK. In New Zealand, the album launched atop the Top 40 Albums chart, while its tracks "Willow", "Champagne Problems", "No Body, No Crime" and "Gold Rush" charted at numbers three, 24, 29 and 34 on the Top40 Singles chart, respectively. In Malaysia, "Willow" and "Champagne Problems" debuted at numbers two and 15, respectively, whereas on the Singaporean Top 30 Singles chart, the tracks entered at the first and 16th spots; "Gold Rush" and "No Body, No Crime" also charted in Singapore. In many European territories, ''Evermore'' attained in its peak multiple weeks after its release. It debuted at number one in Croatia in January 2021, and reached the top spot in Flanders in its sixth week on the
Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization ...
200 Albums, after debuting at number two. It marked Swift's fifth consecutive number-one album in the Belgian region. The album peaked at number two on the
Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). The charts were previously compiled on behalf of IRMA by Chart-Track, and have been compiled by the ...
in its third week. It opened at number three in its debut week, marking Swift's sixth consecutive top-three album in Ireland; it was the most downloaded and streamed album of the week. Simultaneously, "Willow" also placed at number three on
Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...
, alongside tracks "Champagne Problems" and "No Body, No Crime" at sixth and eleventh spots, respectively, rising Swift's sum of top 50 hits to 38. On the
Scottish Albums Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...
, ''Evermore'' opened at number five, but peaked at number three after 25 weeks. On Germany's Offizielle Top 100, the album opened at number 24, rose to number six the next week, and ascended to number five in June 2021, whereas it topped the
Greek Albums Chart International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Greece, or simply IFPI Greece, is the Greek branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and is the official charts provider and recording sales certification bo ...
in August 2021.


Awards and impact

Journalists praised Swift's fast-succeeding release of ''Evermore'' after ''Folklore''. ''Variety'' compared it to similar moves by
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
and U2, while ''Rolling Stone'' termed it a "hot streak" reminiscent of
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in 1987 and
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
in 1977. ''
Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
'' called it a "major shock", as Swift is known for her traditional album roll-outs. '' Our Culture Mag'' and '' NJ.com'' welcomed her "artistic dedication", as Swift was also concurrently re-recording her back catalog in 2020. ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' named her "the queen of pandemic productivity". ''The New York Times'' felt the album was as a crucial moment in Swift's career and creativity. ''The Guardian'' and ''Vox'' opined that ''Evermore'' and ''Folklore'' threw emphasis on Swift's work ethic, helped critics recognize her musicianship and view her as a dedicated songstress, moving away from her popstar image in the mid-2010s. ''Billboard'' cited the two albums as the most notable examples for how the pandemic veered music in 2020, and forced artists to amend their creative process. ''
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
'' and ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' named Swift among the most prominent celebrities of the pandemic. Swift was the world's top paid solo musician of 2020, and the highest paid in the US, thanks to her revenues from ''Evermore'' and ''Folklore'', which according to
Junkee Junkee is an Australian popular culture and news website run by new media company Junkee Media. It covers various topics including film, university, food, TV, politics, travel, career, health and Internet culture. Its target demographic is 18- to ...
were "alternative experiments" taken mainstream by Swift's "sheer star power". At the
2021 American Music Awards The 49th Annual American Music Awards were held on November 21, 2021, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, recognizing the most popular artists, singles and albums of 2021. Cardi B hosted the ceremony, following Queen Latifah (1995) as the ...
, ''Evermore'' won the American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Album, as Swift's record-breaking seventh nod and fourth win in the category. Swift was also nominated for
Artist of the Year ''Artist of the Year'' is a television competition shown on the Sky Arts channel (formerly known as Artsworld and Sky Arts 1) which aims to find the best portrait and landscape painter every year. Overview Through several rounds of regional comp ...
and Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist, and won the latter for a record-breaking sixth time. At the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, ''Evermore'' contended for
Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...
as Swift's fifth nomination in the category, following ''
Fearless Fearless or The Fearless may refer to: Psychology * Lack of fear * Courage or bravery Film, television and audio Film * ''Fearless'' (1978 film), an Italian film directed by Stelvio Massi * ''Fearless'' (1993 film), an American drama directed ...
'' (2008), ''
Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
'' (2012), ''
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'' (2014) and ''Folklore''. Croatian singer-songwriter
Mia Dimšić Mia Dimšić (born 7 November 1992) is a Croatian singer and songwriter. She Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, represented Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with the song "Guilty Pleasure (Mia Dimšić song), Guilty Pleasure" ...
named ''Evermore'' as an inspiration for writing " Guilty Pleasure", her entry song representing Croatia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. American singer-songwriter Christina Perri, regarding her 2022 single "Evergone", told '' Consequence'' that ''Evermore'' and ''Folklore'' influenced her to write heartfelt, melancholic songs as opposed to external expectations for upbeat music. After ''Evermore'', artists such as
Gracie Abrams Gracie Madigan Abrams (born September 7, 1999) is an American singer-songwriter. Her debut EP, '' Minor'', was released in July 2020 through Interscope Records. Her second EP, ''This Is What It Feels Like'', was released in November 2021, with s ...
, Ed Sheeran,
King Princess Mikaela Mullaney Straus (born December 19, 1998), known by her stage name King Princess, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician from Brooklyn, New York. She is signed to Mark Ronson's label Zelig Records, an imprint of Columbia Records. ...
and
Girl in Red Marie Ulven Ringheim (born 16 February 1999) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter and record producer, known for her indie pop project Girl in Red (stylized as girl in red). Her early EPs ''Chapter 1'' (2018) and ''Chapter 2'' (2019) were recorded ...
collaborated with Dessner at his Long Pond Studio. Dessner stated, "After Taylor, it was a bit crazy how many people reached out. And getting to meet and write songs with people you wouldn't have had access to... I'm so grateful for it."


Theme park lawsuit

On February 2, 2021, a theme park in Pleasant Grove, Utah, called
Evermore Park Evermore Park is a fantasy adventure theme park in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Opened on September 29, 2018, guests visiting the park interact with trained actors who portray fantasy characters. The only traditional ride is "The Evermore Express", a s ...
, sued Swift and her team for allegedly infringing its "EVERMORE" trademark, seeking to prevent Swift's further use of the word, and demanded "statutory damages of $2 million per counterfeit mark per type of goods or services sold". The park had sent a cease-and-desist letter to Swift on December 29, 2020, to which the singer's team declined to abide, replying "If anything, your client's website traffic has actually increased as a result of the release of Ms. Swift's recent album which, in turn could only serve to enhance your client's mark". The park claimed that the title of Swift's album confuses consumers, negatively affects the park's searchability. According to their court documents, the park's visitors enquired the staff about whether the album was a collaboration between Swift and the park, and that on the day ''Evermore'' was announced, the traffic on the park's official website surged by 330 percent in comparison to the previous day, affecting the park's "Google footprint". It also mentioned the park's
merchandise Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative way that entices customers to purchase more i ...
and original music on streaming platforms under the "EVERMORE" trademark, claiming Swift's album has made them "harder to find". Swift's team denied the accusations, referring to the suit as "baseless". Their letter filed in court stated "it is inconceivable that there is any likelihood of confusion between your client's theme park and related products and Ms. Swift's music and related products", and claimed that the park's merchandise—"small dragon eggs, guild patches, and a small dragon mount"—are not similar to the products on Swift's webstore. Speaking to ''Billboard'', Swift's spokesperson called the suit "frivolous" and disputed its "true intent", highlighting a Utah Business report, according to which, the park's founder and CEO Ken Bretschneider "has had at least five lawsuits filed against him and the Evermore group by major construction companies, claiming they are owed between $28,000 and $400,000 in construction, mechanic and landscaping fees. Smaller subcontractors who did work on the park have also filed more than 20 construction liens on the Evermore property". On February 24, 2021, TAS Rights Management (Swift's
copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...
s company) countersued the park for allegedly infringing Swift's songs " Love Story", " You Belong with Me" and " Bad Blood" by regularly using them in their performances without a
license A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
. TAS claimed that the park "blatantly ignored the numerous notices from BMI and opted instead to continue to benefit from the free and unauthorized public performance of
he songs He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
despite actual knowledge of the liability and substantial penalties imposed by the Copyright Act to protect artists", and pointed out that Bretschneider reached out to BMI "seeking a retroactive license that would cover all performances from 2018 through 2021" after anticipating a lawsuit from Swift's side. In March 2021, Swift's spokesperson stated that both parties have resolved to "drop and dismiss their respective suits without monetary settlement".


Track listing

All songs written by
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
and Aaron Dessner, and/or produced by the latter, except where noted.


Notes

* signifies an additional producer. * signifies a vocal producer. * signifies a remixer. * All track titles are stylized in all lowercase.


Credits and personnel

Adapted from
Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * Tidal (album), ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * ...
, ''Pitchfork'', and album liner notes.


Musicians

*
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
– lead vocals, songwriting, production (2, 3, 6, 15) * Aaron Dessner –  production (1, 2, 4–17), songwriting (1, 4, 7–14, 16, 17), drum machine programming (1, 4–5, 7, 9–17), percussion (1, 10–12), keyboards (1, 5, 7, 11–12, 16–17), synthesizers (1–2, 4, 6–7, 9–12, 14–17), piano (1–2, 4–8, 11, 13–15, 17), electric guitar (1, 4, 6–12, 16–17), bass guitar (1, 4–10, 12, 14, 16–17), acoustic guitar (1–2, 4, 6–13, 16–17),
synth bass A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...
(2, 10–13, 17), mandolin (6), field recording (6), tambourine (8), high string guitar (9–10), drum kit (10), rubber bridge guitar (10), drone (13), banjo (16) * Bryce Dessner – production (9), songwriting (9), orchestration (1, 4–5, 7, 9–17), piano (9, 14), pulse (9), electric guitar (12) * James McAlister – synthesizers (1, 5, 10, 12, 14), drum machine programming (1, 5, 10, 12), percussion (5), keyboards (5, 10), Vermona pulse (13), drum kit (14, 16) * Bryan Devendorf – percussion (1, 10, 13), drum machine programming (1, 5, 9–10, 13, 17), drum kit (9, 12) * Yuki Numata Resnick – violin (1, 4–5, 7, 9–17) * Clarice Jensen – cello (1, 4, 5, 9–13, 15, 17) * Jason Treuting – 
glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...
(1), percussion (5, 9, 13), drum kit (9), crotales (12, 15), metal percussion (12), chord stick (13–14, 17) * Alex Sopp – flute (1, 15) * CJ Camerieri – French horn (1) * Thomas Bartlett – keyboard (1, 4, 7, 8, 16–17), synthesizers (1, 4, 7, 8, 10, 17), piano (8, 16–17) *
William Bowery Joseph Matthew Alwyn (born 21 February 1991) is an English actor. He made his feature film debut as the titular character in Ang Lee's 2016 war drama, '' Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk,'' and has since played supporting roles in films such as ...
– songwriting (2, 9, 15), piano (15) * Logan Coale – upright bass (2, 10–11, 14–15) * Jack Antonoff – production (3), songwriting (3, 10), drums (3), percussion (3), bass (3), electric guitar (3), acoustic guitar (3), slide guitar (3), piano (3),
Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...
(3), backing vocals (3) * Mikey Freedom Hart – 
DX7 The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units. In the early 19 ...
(3), electric guitar (3),
nylon guitar The classical guitar (also known as the nylon-string guitar or Spanish guitar) is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor ...
(3),
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(3),
celeste Celeste may refer to: Geography * Mount Celeste, unofficial name of a mountain on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada * Celeste, Texas, a rural city in North Texas ** Celeste High School, public high school located in the city of Celeste, ...
(3) * Sean Hutchinson – drums (3) * Michael Riddleberger – drums (3) * Evan Smith – horns (3) * Patrik Berger –  OP-1 (3) * Bobby Hawk – violin (3) * Nick Lloyd – 
Hammond B3 Organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs ...
(4, 16) *
Josh Kaufman Josh Kaufman (born November 9, 1976) is an American soul singer and singer-songwriter. A native of the Tampa Bay area in Florida, Kaufman is based out of and resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is best known for winning the season 6 of NBC's '' ...
–  harmonium (4, 16), lap steel (4, 6, 11), electric guitar (6, 8, 16), acoustic guitar (8), organ (6), harmonica (6, 11, 16), mandolin (11) * Benjamin Lanz – trombone (4, 10), horn arrangement (4),
modular synthesizer Modular synthesizers are synthesizers composed of separate modules for different functions. The modules can be connected together by the user to create a patch. The outputs from the modules may include audio signals, analog control voltages, o ...
(8, 10) * Danielle Haim – vocals (6) * Este Haim – vocals (6) * JT Bates – drum kit (6–8, 10, 17), percussion (8, 16–17) * Ryan Olson – Allovers Hi-Hat Generator (7, 13, 17) * Matt Berninger – vocals (9) * Scott Devendorf – bass guitar (9), pocket piano (9) * Justin Vernon – backing vocals (10, 13), triangle (10), drum kit (10–11, 14), banjo (10), electric guitar (10–11, 17), Prophet X (13), Messina (14), synthesizers (15), field recording (15), vocals (15), bass guitar (17), acoustic guitar (17) * Kyle Resnick – trumpet (10, 12, 14, 17) *
Marcus Mumford Marcus Oliver Johnstone Mumford (born 31 January 1987) is a British singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer of the band folk band Mumford & Sons. He also plays a number of instruments with the group ...
– backing vocals (11) * Marjorie Finlay – backing vocals (13) * Trever Hagen – trumpet (14), no-input mixer (14) *
BJ Burton BJ Burton is an American record producer, songwriter, engineer, and mixer. He is known for his work with Bon Iver, Francis and the Lights, Low, Charli XCX, and The Japanese House, and has also worked with the likes of Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, ...
– additional production (14) * James McAlister –  additional production (14) * Gabriel Cabezas – cello (14–15) * Dave Nelson – trombone (14, 17) * Stuart Bogie – 
alto clarinet The alto clarinet is a woodwind instrument of the clarinet family. It is a transposing instrument pitched in the key of E, though instruments in F have been made. In size it lies between the soprano clarinet and the bass clarinet. It bears a grea ...
(15), contrabass clarinet (15), flute (15) * Jonathan Low – drum machine programming (16) Additional instrument recording * Kyle Resnick – violin (1, 4–5, 7, 9–17) * Bobby Hawk – violin (3) * Aaron Dessner – vermona pulse (13) * Robin Baynton – piano (Bowery on 15)


Technical

* Taylor Swift – executive producer * Jonathan Low –  recording (1–2, 4–17), vocal recording (1–5; Swift on 6, 9; 10–14; Swift on 15; 17), mixing (all tracks) * Aaron Dessner – recording (1–2, 4–17) * Greg Calbi –  mastering * Steve Fallone – mastering * Laura Sisk – recording (3), vocal recording (8) * John Rooney – assistant
engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
(3) * Jon Sher – assistant engineering (3) * Ariel Rechtshaid – vocal recording (Danielle and Este Haim on 6) * Matt DiMona – vocal recording (Danielle and Este Haim on 6) * Robin Baynton – vocal recording (7; Swift on 9; Mumford on 11; 16) * Sean O'Brien – vocal recording (Berninger on 9) * Justin Vernon – vocal recording (Bon Iver on 15)


Design

* Beth Garrabrant – photography


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications and sales


Release history


See also

* List of ''Billboard'' 200 number-one albums of 2020 * List of ''Billboard'' 200 number-one albums of 2021 *
List of UK Albums Chart number ones of the 2020s The UK Albums Chart is a weekly record chart based on album sales from Friday to Thursday in the United Kingdom. The Official Charts Company (OCC) defines an "album" as being a type of music release that feature more than four tracks and last long ...
*
List of UK Album Downloads Chart number ones of the 2020s This is the list of the number-one albums of the UK Album Downloads Chart during the 2020s. Number-one albums By artist Four artists have spent three or more weeks at the top of the UK Official Download Chart so far during the 2020s. The t ...
*
List of number-one albums of 2020 (Australia) The ARIA Albums Chart ranks the best-performing albums and extended plays (EPs) in Australia. Its data, published by the Australian Recording Industry Association, is based collectively on the weekly physical and digital sales of albums and EPs ...
*
List of number-one albums of 2021 (Australia) The ARIA Charts, ARIA Albums Chart ranks the best-performing albums and extended plays (EPs) in Australia. Its data, published by the Australian Recording Industry Association, is based collectively on the weekly Compact disc, physical and Digi ...
*
List of number-one albums of 2020 (Canada) These are the Canadian number-one albums of 2020. The chart is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published in Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' magazine as Top Canadian Albums. Number-one albums See also *List of Canadian Hot 100 number-one ...
*
List of number-one albums of 2021 (Canada) These are the Canadian number-one albums of 2021. The chart is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published in ''Billboard'' magazine as Top Canadian Albums. Number-one albums See also *List of Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles of 2021 *Lis ...
*
List of number-one albums from the 2020s (New Zealand) This is the Recorded Music NZ list of number-one albums in New Zealand during the 2020s decade. In New Zealand, Recorded Music NZ compiles the top 40 albums chart each Friday, and dates the chart for the following Monday. Over-the-counter sales o ...
*
List of number-one albums of 2021 (Belgium) The Belgian Albums Chart, divided into the two main regions Flanders and Wallonia, ranks the best-performing albums in Belgium, as compiled by Ultratop. __NOTOC__ Flanders Wallonia See also *List of Ultratop 50 number-one singles of 2021 ...


Footnotes


References


External links

* * {{Authority control 2020 albums ARIA Award-winning albums Albums produced by Jack Antonoff Albums produced by Aaron Dessner Albums produced by Taylor Swift Albums impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic Alternative rock albums by American artists Chamber pop albums Folk-pop albums Folk albums by American artists Republic Records albums Surprise albums Taylor Swift albums Albums produced by Bryce Dessner