In case you have been living under a rock that repels all pop-music related information since the summer, you are probably aware that Taylor Swift is about to drop a new album. Announced at the tail end of August, Reputation, Swift's sixth full-length, is set to arrive on November 10 - a mere two weeks away.
To get you ...ready for it (see what we did there?) here is a comprehensive guide to everything we know about the album so far:
It's clocking in at 15 tracks
Reputation is coming in hot with 15 lean, mean pieces of pop, a few hairs longer than her last full-length, 1989. It will contain all three of the singles she's released thus far - "Look What You Made Me Do," "...Ready For It?" and "Gorgeous." "...Ready For It?" will serve as the record's opening track.
Some familiar faces are in the production booth
Swift is reuniting with her reliable crew of beat-makers for Reputation. Behind the boards we have Max Martin, responsible for almost every Top 40 song in the past decade, and Jack Antonoff, one of 2017's busiest producers who is fresh from work with everyone from Lorde to St. Vincent. Both of them have been working with Taylor since 2013.
She is not here to make friends
In case you hadn't heard from listening to "Look What You Made Me Do" or watching its video or paying attention to the snake imagery that accompanied the album's announcement, the old Taylor Swift "is dead now." Gasp! She's mean now!
How mean Swift really is is a debate that has been raging for years, but this is the first time in her storied career that she's trying on the shoes of a bully... intentionally. The lyrics to "LWYMMD" contain barely concealed jabs at Kanye West (sample lyric: "I don't like your tilted stage"), a tenet of the album that keeps being explored.
She's rapping now (?!)
The flow of second single "...Ready For It?" can only be described as rapping, which is certainly bold new territory for the former darling of the Country Music Awards. Because when you rhyme 'phantom' with 'ransom' with no melody to your voice over a beat that is loosely (loosely) inspired by trap, there's really nothing else we can call it but rap.
There will be blood, er, snakes
Swift has been gifting fans with secret listening sessions to Reputation over the past few weeks, and apparently it has been coming with some reptilian merch. Attendees of these exclusive previews have gone home with bling befitting the first promotional material that heralded the album's arrival. Because she's snaky now, remember?
There is an app that lets you watch Taylor Swift at all times
Most all blockbuster album releases come with an app these days, but the one for Reputation is truly something special. It lets you peep on Taylor and see what she's up to, which as the below ad tells us, includes "bumping into Andy Samberg" and "eating one of those kale rice bowl thingies."
Bona fide magazines are available on a limited basis
Partnering again with retail-giant Target, Taylor has revealed that a limited number of albums with come two honest-to-God magazine accompaniments, riffing on the print aesthetic of Reputation's album cover.
Selena Gomez loves it
Among the lucky guests who attended the aforementioned pre-listening parties was Selena Gomez, who told Zane Lowe in a new Beats 1 interview that Reputation is in fact good. "“Would you expect anything less?" she told the DJ, “It's so inspiring. It's really cool to surround yourself with people who are inspiring and changing the way they dictate what they love, whether it's acting or music, and she's one of those people who will continue to do that.”
Sorry guys, no streaming services yet
Taylor has always had a complicated relationship with streaming services, no less so now. Reputation will be withheld from streaming services for its first week of release, which means that unless you buy it on iTunes, you're not hearing this record until November 17, at the earliest.
Reputation is out on November 10 via Big Machine Records.
This new Taylor has us thinking... has she become the Cersei Lannister of pop music? Read that hot take here.