Out of the woods, Taylor Swift’s ‘Midnights’ heralds the return of a pop-music mastermind in the form of new albums from ‘Saturday Night Live’ alum Fred Armisen, ‘Girls’ star Ariastin Key and ‘New Girl’ star Lucy Hale. And the latest issue of Billboard is announcing that Swift’s comeback single “The Man” is certified diamond in the United States, selling over 800,000 copies in its first week of release, according to Nielsen Music.
It seems like it’s been so long since we’ve had a taste of Swift’s sweetly jangly voice and penchant for sweetly jangly tunes, but it’s been six years since her last album, Reputation. Swift, who was at the top of the world for nearly two decades after the debut of her first album, took a more than three-year hiatus between albums before releasing her fifth effort, a collection of songs that helped her win three Grammys.
But she’s back. And not just for a brief time. After a period of reflection and soul-searching, Swift says the first half of 2017 will be devoted to “figuring out how my life got off the rails, what happened to my girlhood and trying to put that behind me.”
She’ll be releasing a collection of new music that seems to have more of a pop influence, and less of a country-rock direction, than Reputation. On her new album, you’ll hear more of her signature melodies, including a new single called “Look What You Made Me Do.” Swift says fans have been asking her if the single is a country song, and she told Billboard it’s not.
The new collection hits shelves on January 27 via Republic Records.
Loud and clear
The new record will be produced by Max Martin, who produced Reputation’s songs with Swift. The album also features country star Eric Church, as well as members of the ‘N Sync, Boyz II Men and fun. Swift says she’s also in the studio working with them.
“I think I’m having a