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Taylor Swift wins at MTV VMAs, surprise announces 'Midnights,' her forthcoming 12th album

"I thought it might be a fun moment to tell you that my brand-new album comes out October 21."

For Taylor Swift, celebrating her win for Video of the Year (alongside victories for Best Direction and Best Longform Video) at Sunday night's MTV Video Music Awards also included teasing the 11 p.m. CT announcement of "Midnights," her 12th album, expected to be released on October 21.

The event was a record-setter for the 32-year-old performer. With her win, she became the first and only artist not only ever to win a third Video of the Year trophy (Beyoncé, Eminem, and Rihanna have won twice). Her victory for "All Too Well (10 minute version)" followed previous victories for "Bad Blood" (2015) and "You Need To Calm Down" (2019). Regarding the latter, her recent win makes her the first artist ever to win a Video of the Year for a video she directed herself.

Regarding "Midnights," the artist stated via social media that the album will tell the stories of "13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life."

More in-depth, she added the following statement:

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"We lie awake in love and in fear, in turmoil and in tears. We stare at walls and drink until they speak back. We twist in our self-made cages and pray that we aren't – right this minute – about to make some fateful life-altering mistake. This is a collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams. The floors we pace and the demons we face. For all of us who have tossed and turned and decided to keep the lanterns lit and go searching – hoping that just maybe, when the clock strikes twelve … we'll meet ourselves."

Swift's 12th album follows re-recorded "Taylor's Version" takes on her 2008 album "Fearless," and 2012's "Red," both released in 2021. The recently-named Nashville Songwriter Association International (NSAI) Co-Songwriter of the Decade (alongside Ashley Gorley) had been re-recording part of her catalog of material released while she was signed to Big Machine Records from 2006-2018

Aaron Dessner, from left, Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff pose in the press room at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Sunday, March 14, 2021. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Aaron Dessner, from left, Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff pose in the press room at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Sunday, March 14, 2021. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Famously, Swift decided to do this after a publicized dispute with talent manager Scooter Braun and her former label, Big Machine, regarding the former's acquisition of her masters when Big Machine was sold to the manager in 2019. Swift had long been trying to buy control of her masters. However, Big Machine would only allow her to do so if she exchanged one new album for each older one under another contract. Swift refused. In October 2020, Braun sold Swift's masters, videos, and artwork to Shamrock Holdings for a reported $300 million. In retaliation, one month later, Swift began re-recording her back catalog.

In regards to her announcement, Swift thanked her fans for their support:

"I wouldn't be able to re-record my album ['Red (Taylor's Version)'] if it weren't for you. You emboldened me to do that."

"Midnights" is expected to consist of entirely new material, her first since 2020's -- also "surprising" -- "Folklore" and "Evermore" releases. Unfortunately, no word has been released regarding whether Swift's frequent production collaborators, Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, were called upon for studio duties.

For more information on all things Taylor Swift, visit https://www.taylorswift.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Taylor Swift wins at MTV VMAs, surprise announces 'Midnights,' her forthcoming 12th album