On October 21st, 2022, Talor Swift’s Midnights became Spotify’s record holder for the most-streamed album in a single day.

Although it may seem like a Spotify streaming record is broken every few months, Swift’s “Midnights” had a  historic release day for the ages. Breaking the previous record held by Puerto Rican Rapper Bad Bunny’s album Un Verano Sin Ti, Midnights achieved the landmark 185,000,000 streams on its opening day.

Hype for release:

This record-breaking number is no surprise, as Swifties throughout the world patiently awaited the imminent release of this album for months, participating in live leaks of the album on Tiktok. Swift released series of videos as a series spanning from the premier “episode” on September 21st and ending on October 7th with an episode with the caption “Our LAST EPISODE! The season finale of Midnights Mayhem with Me, with QUITE the twist of an ending”

“She had collaborations with every major company: TikTok, Spotify, Tumblr, and Amazon Prime Video. Not to mention, a dozen variants of her album on vinyl, exclusive signed art cards only available at midnight on certain days, and the classic new era merch. ”

This album release stayed true to the classic Taylor Swift release drop formula, interacting with fans, exclusive drops, and allowing fans to be part of the release with the interactive TikTok series.

Additional record:

In addition to her record for most-streamed record in a single day, Swift managed to acquire the title of most-streamed artist in a single day. This historic album release is a landmark achievement in the music industry. The opening-day success level that Swift was able to gain may not be able to be replicated for the foreseeable future, or until another megastar drops an album.

Antihero:

The release of  Midnights did not come without controversy. In the music video for Antihero, the third song off the album, Swift portrays her innermost fears playing out in real-time. Amongst these Taylor expresses her fears about her body. In a widely-controversial scene, Swift steps onto a scale with the instrument reading “Fat”.

Swift received criticism for this scene as many fans viewed the portrayal as Swift being fatphobic. After this, Swift edited the Apple Music version of the video to no longer contain the scene. The Youtube version, however, still contains the scene.

This Instagram reel, released on October 3rd,  discusses  Swift’s thoughts on the track. She states that Antihero is “really honest” and discusses her innermost thoughts and feelings about the current state of her life.

What comes next:

As Taylor Swift tends to take a significant break between albums there is likely to be a long-term break in her recording schedule. She is, however, going to be embarking on a U.K tour for her recent release of Midnights.

As well, she will most likely begin touring in North America again shortly as she has not performed in the continent since the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted her concert plans for the three-year period of 2019-2022.

Published by HOLR Magazine