During quarantine, many people had a lot of free time, particularly musicians because concerts and plans were cancelled. Most musicians used this free time to practice their music or make new music. Taylor Swift released her eighth album, Folklore, during the COVID-19 pandemic since she couldn’t go on tour for her previous album. This album was a surprise and it greatly contrasted with her previous album, Lover. Lover is a very cheerful and upbeat pop album. However, Folklore is a very calming, and mellow album, with songs that have a lot of emotion. Many fans are debating whether the genre of the album is alternative rock, indie, or chamber pop. Another difference between Folklore and the other past albums is that it does not tell one of Taylor’s stories. We don’t know who the stories are about in Folklore.

Taylor broke several records upon releasing her album, such as breaking a Guinness World Record for the biggest opening day for an album by a female artist on Spotify. She sold over 2 million copies of her album in a week and 3 of her songs appeared in the Billboard top 10. 

The top track from the album, cardigan, is the only song on the album with a music video so far and it depicts Taylor taking journeys to a forest, a sea, and a small house. The video was filmed during the quarantine, so everyone had to take extra steps to be safe, such as mandating everyone to wear masks and socially distance themselves. Due to social distancing rules, it would be difficult to get close up shots of Taylor, so the production team decided to have the camera operated by a robotic arm so that no one would put themselves in danger.

Overall, I think this album was a good way for Taylor to experiment with a new genre of music. Personally, I think some of her songs were a way for Taylor to go back to her country roots. My favorite song would have to be The Last Great American Dynasty, a song about a girl who lives in the “Holiday House”, which represents Taylor’s house in Rhode Island.