Folklore (Taylor Swift album)

In April 2020, Taylor Swift was set to embark on Lover Fest, a concert tour in support of her seventh studio album Lover (2019), which was cancelled following the COVID-19 pandemic. The Wall Street Journal opined that the surprise announcement "caught fans and the music business off-guard". Billboard stated that it "blindsided the pop music world", arriving as "exciting news" during lockdown. Folklore was released eleven months after Lover—the fastest turnaround for a Swift studio album at the time, beating the one year and nine-month gap between Reputation (2017) and Lover. In another post, Swift announced that the music video for the track "Cardigan" would be released at the same time as the album. During the YouTube premiere countdown to the "Cardigan" music video, Swift hinted that the album lyrics contained many of her signature Easter eggs: "One thing I did purposely on this album was put the Easter eggs in the lyrics, more than just the videos. I created character arcs and recurring themes that map out who is singing about who... For example, there's a collection of three songs I refer to as the Teenage Love Triangle. These three songs explore a love triangle from all three people's perspectives at different times in their lives". described "Cardigan" as a song that explores "lost romance and why young love is often fixed so permanently in our memories," and identified the self-written track, "My Tears Ricochet", as the first song she wrote for the album. == Conception ==

Swift did not expect to create an album in early 2020. Swift quarantined herself, during which she watched numerous films and shows, such as Rear Window (1954), L.A. Confidential (1997), ''Pan's Labyrinth (2006), Jane Eyre (2011), Marriage Story'' (2019), and read more books than she ever did, books that "dealt with times past, a world that doesn't exist anymore", such as Rebecca (1938) by Daphne du Maurier. The fictions inspired Swift to venture beyond her usual autobiographical style of songwriting and experiment with different narrative standpoints. Swift "poured all of [her] whims, dreams, fears, and musings" into the songs, and reached out to her "musical heroes" to collaborate with. She initially planned to release Folklore in early 2021, but it "ended up being done" sooner, and released in July 2020 without giving it second thoughts. She approached the album's creation without subjecting herself to any rules, and explained that she "used to put all these parameters on [herself], like, "How will this song sound in a stadium? How will this song sound on radio?" If you take away all the parameters, what do you make? And I guess the answer is Folklore." == Writing and recording ==

Swift's songwriting drifted towards escapism and romanticism for Folklore. Due to COVID-19 concerns, Swift, Antonoff, and Dessner quarantined remotely, separate from each other, creating Folklore by continually exchanging digital files of instrumentals and vocals. The album ensued from a DIY process, mixed and engineered by personnel scattered across the US. She asked Aaron Dessner about his songwriting technique, because it is her "favorite thing to ask people who I'm a fan of", and he replied his band members live in different parts of the world, and that he would make instrumental tracks and send them to the lead singer, Matt Berninger, who would write the lyrics—this ignited Swift's idea to create music in quarantine. Swift wrote "Mirrorball" following the cancellation of Lover Fest, as an ode to fans who find solace in her music and concerts. She wrote "August" about a fictitious mistress, and "This Is Me Trying" based on multiple narratives, such as dealing with addiction, and her own mental health in 2016 and 2017 when she felt she was "worth absolutely nothing." Dessner "thought it would take a while for song ideas to come" and "had no expectations as far as what we could accomplish remotely", but was surprised that "a few hours after sharing music, my phone lit up with a voice memo from Taylor of a fully written song—the momentum never really stopped." Swift and Dessner "were pretty much in touch daily for three or four months by text and phone calls." Upon hearing the composition of "Peace", Swift felt an "immediate sense of serenity" that roused the feeling of being peaceful, but felt it would be "too on-the-nose" to sing about finding peace; she instead wrote about complex "conflicted" feelings contrasting the track's calming sound, Swift added that he also penned the chorus of "Betty", and the piano line and first verse in "Exile". The last two songs written were "The 1" and "Hoax", the first and last songs on the album respectively; Swift wrote both in a span of a few hours. In a November 2020 Rolling Stone interview with Paul McCartney, Swift stated she began using words in the album's lyrics that she always wanted to use, not worrying about whether it would suit radio. She used "bigger, flowerier, prettier" words such as "epiphany", "elegies", and "divorcée", just because they "sound beautiful". Swift disclosed that she maintains lists of such words, and recalled using one such, "kaleidoscope", in "Welcome to New York" (2014). While filming the "Cardigan" music video, Swift wore an earpiece and lip-synced to the song to prevent it from leaking. Dessner stated that Swift's label, Republic Records, was unaware of the album until hours before its launch. == Composition ==

Music and production Folklore is sonically mellow and slow-paced, different from the radio- and arena-friendly pop sound of Swift's previous albums. Its minimal, balladic production is built on instruments typically associated with folk and classical music: The album additionally incorporates electronic elements that result in an electroacoustic soundscape; the synths and programmed beats that had characterized Swift's pop albums are dialed down to a subliminal texture in Folklore. Although critics generally viewed Folklore'' as a new sonic direction in Swift's discography, Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield opined that the album's sound resembled that of her 2012 song "Safe & Sound", Folklore has been likened to a variety of styles associated with various genres of music including folk, pop, indie, alternative, electronic, and rock, largely chamber pop, electro-folk, folk rock, and indie rock. Other reviewers, to a lesser extent, associated the album's sound with alternative pop, chamber folk, indietronica, and soft rock. Meanwhile, some critics, such as Exclaim!'s Kaelen Bell and The New Yorker's Amanda Petrusich, disagreed, arguing that Folklore was fundamentally pop music. The album also incorporates elements of country, and is primarily distinguished by themes of wistfulness, escapism, nostalgia, and empathy. and vivid storytelling The emotional and narrative range of Folklore is widened by expanding the focus from Swift's personal stories to imagined characters and personifications. Many songs on the album exude a cinematic quality in their lyrics, and reference objects and phenomena in nature, such as a solar eclipse, Saturn, auroras, purple-pink skies, cliff-side pools, salt air, weeds, and Wisteria. Songs "The 1", the opening track, is a soft rock tune driven by a bouncy arrangement of piano, minimal percussion, and electronic accents. ballad driven by moody, stripped-down instrumentals consisting of drums and tender piano; Swift sings from the perspective of a fictional character named Betty, The satirical song tells the story of Rebekah Harkness, the founder of Harkness Ballet, when she resided in Swift's Rhode Island mansion. It details how Harkness married into an upper-class family, was hated by the town, and blamed for the death of her then-husband and heir to Standard Oil, William Harkness (referred to in the song as Bill), and the fall of his family's name, and draws parallels with Swift's life. "Exile" is a gospel-influenced, duet with Bon Iver, fusing Swift's soft vocals with Vernon's growling baritone, serving as an unspoken, argumentative conversation between two former lovers. and harmonies. that reflects on the tensions following the end of a marital relationship, It encompasses a music box, backing choir, reverbed ad-libs in the bridge, and reaches a tumultuous climax over shuddering drums. "Mirrorball" is a folk-tinged dream pop song, driven by pedal steel and twanging guitars. The R&B-inclining "Peace" features jazzy vocals with a complex vocal melody The deluxe bonus track, "The Lakes", is a string-laden midtempo song that introspects on Swift's semi-retirement in England's Lake District; the location is also mentioned in "Invisible String". Imagining a red rose growing out of tundra "with no one around to tweet it", Swift fantasizes about a social-media-free utopia, referencing William Wordsworth, an English poet known for his Romantic writings. == Art direction ==

Folklore album art, packaging, and lyric videos were created through a DIY approach. On the backside cover, she stands turned away from the camera, wearing a slouchy flannel-lined denim jacket slumped around her arms, and a white lace frock, with two loose braided buns low over her nape, similar to American Girl doll Kirsten Larson. The album title is written in an italicized roman font reminiscent of "a Chronicles of Narnia scrawl". The photos were shot at Swift's friend's house in Lewisboro, New York. "So, I called my friend who has some woods behind her house and was like, 'Can I take some pictures in your forest?' She said yes," Swift said. "I ordered all these night gowns online and brought them and did my own hair and makeup and just was like, 'I guess I'll braid it, I don't know.'" In December 2020, Jimmy Kimmel interviewed Swift about the presence of the word "Woodvale" on the cover of "Hide and Seek" edition of Folklore, which some suspected to be the title of a new album after Evermore; Swift denied it and said she did not reveal Folklore title to anyone until just before its release and used "Woodvale" as a code name, which was included in an artwork for reference, but was accidentally printed in the final products. Aesthetic and fashion Reflecting its lyrical motifs of escapism, Folklore sees Swift embracing a rustic, aesthetic for the project, moving away from the "technicolor carnival" of its predecessor, Lover. The music video for "Cardigan" expands on the cottagecore motif, and starts with her sitting at a vintage piano in a cozy cabin in the woods. The video features a moss-covered forest and a waterfall-producing piano. On her website, Swift sold replicas of the "folklore cardigan" she wore in the video—a cream colored cable knit, with silver embroidered stars on the sleeves' chunky elbows, and navy blue piping and buttons. Irish Independent wrote that she became a "rural tunesmith communing with the birds and the trees", dressed up in a bulky "Clancy Brothers-style" Aran sweater. RTÉ thanked Swift for putting cardigans "back on the map once more". Noting that her album eras have been defined by their own color scheme, fashion, and cultural motifs, Teen Vogue described Folklore as simple, neutral-toned wear, with the cardigan helping in understanding the sentimental role clothing plays. Cottagecore faced a resurgence on the internet after Swift used the aesthetic, with a sales surge of hand-knitted Aran sweaters in Ireland and the US. Comparing it with her past albums, The Guardian characterized 1989 as sleek and suave, Reputation as gothic and dangerous, and Lover as jovial and pastel-hued, whereas Folklore is the monochrome tale of a songwriter returning to folksy roots. Vogue found Swift opting for a pastoral palette and drew parallels to the music video of her 2012 single "Safe & Sound". == Release and promotion ==

Folklore was a surprise album. It marked the first time Swift abandoned her traditional album rollout, opting to release suddenly due to intuition; she stated, "If you make something you love, you should just put it out into the world." She unveiled the album via her social media on July 23, 2020, 16 hours prior to its release to digital music platforms at midnight. Swift informed Republic Records about the new album only a few hours before its release, The standard edition "In the Trees" CDs of Folklore were released to retail on August 7, 2020, while "Meet Me Behind the Mall" CDs were made exclusive to Target. In the United Kingdom, CDs were made available on August 4, 2020, by EMI Records. The formerly physically exclusive Folklore deluxe, featuring the bonus track "The Lakes", was released to digital platforms on August 18, 2020. Starting on August 20, 2020, a limited number of autographed Folklore CDs were delivered to various indie record shops in the US and Scotland to support small businesses in the pandemic. Swift mailed her Folklore cardigans to celebrity friends and well-wishers. Four six-song compilations of Folklore tracks were released to streaming, based on the thematic cohesion between them; The Escapism Chapter, The Sleepless Nights Chapter, The Saltbox House Chapter, and The Yeah I Showed Up at Your Party Chapter were released in August–September 2020. Swift's ninth studio album, Evermore, is a sequel to Folklore. She dubbed them "sister albums". Singles "Cardigan" serves as the lead single of Folklore. It was accompanied by a music video posted to YouTube, directed by Swift and produced by Jil Hardin. Both were released on July 24, 2020, alongside the album. The song debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming Swift's sixth chart-topper and second number-one debut. Billboard noted a unique radio rollout for Folklore, where a few of its tracks were simultaneously promoted to multiple radio formats. While "Cardigan" impacted pop and adult contemporary, "Exile" was sent to adult alternative radio on August 3, 2020, which had initially peaked at number six on the Hot 100, after arriving at number six on the Hot Country Songs chart. "The 1" was released as a promotional single in Germany on October 9, 2020; "The 1" had previously reached number four on the Hot 100. Film and live album A concert documentary, titled Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, was released on November 25, 2020, to Disney+. It was directed and produced by Swift, seeing her perform all the tracks of Folklore in an intimate setting at Long Pond Studio, and sharing the stories behind the songs, with Antonoff and Dessner. == Critical reception ==

Folklore was met with widespread acclaim from music critics, who praised its emotional weight and introspective songwriting, calling it Swift's most subdued and sophisticated body of work yet. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 88, based on 27 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Katie Moulton from Consequence appreciated Swift's maturity, particularly the employment of third-person perspectives that had been uncommon in her previous works. Complimenting the album's writing, The Daily Telegraph Neil McCormick, and The Sydney Morning Herald's Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen, Laura Snapes of The Guardian considered it to be the most cohesive and the most experimental among Swift's releases. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine was positive towards the album but felt its musical styles are not "precisely new tricks" for Swift. In his "Consumer Guide" column, Robert Christgau was most moved by the youth-themed "Seven" and "Betty" than the more adult songs, which he summarized as "melodically fetching, lyrically deft pop songs that are fine as far as they go". He singled out "The Last Great American Dynasty" as the only intolerable song for how it reminds him of "Taylor Swift the showbiz plutocrat". In a mixed review, The New York Times critic Jon Caramanica praised Swift's songwriting but felt the album is burdened by "desolate" and "overcomposed" indie rock. Year-end lists A multitude of publications listed Folklore in their lists of best albums of 2020, including number-one placements from Billboard, NJ.com, South China Morning Post, Uproxx, USA Today, Us Weekly, Variety, and Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. Folklore placed third on Metacritic's ranking of the most mentioned albums in 2020 year-end lists. == Commercial performance ==

United States In the US, Folklore topped the Billboard 200 chart for eight weeks, becoming the longest-charting album at number one of 2020. With Folklore, Swift became the first woman with seven number-one debuts, the first woman since Barbra Streisand to have 6 albums each spend multiple weeks at number one, the first solo or female artist (and second after the Beatles) to have 5 albums each top the chart for at least six weeks, and the first musician in the 21st century to have six albums each spend at least four weeks at number one. In December 2020, Evermore charted at number one and Folklore at number three on the Billboard 200, making Swift the first woman to chart two albums in the top three the same week. Folklore was the US best-selling album of 2020 and eighth-best-selling of 2021; Swift became the first act to have a best-selling album of a calendar year five times, following Fearless (2009), 1989 (2014), Reputation (2017), and Lover (2019). By January 2024, it had sold 2.289 million copies in the US. Billboard attributed the album's success to its timing, pandemic-suited songs, and Swift's ability to connect with listeners. Folklore also debuted at number one on the Alternative Albums chart, becoming Swift's first entry and the chart's biggest debut in history. All of its 16 tracks debuted simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100, registering the record for the most simultaneous Hot 100 debuts for a female musician; three songs charted in the top 10 and five in the top 20. Swift became the first act to debut atop both the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 the same week, with the number-one debut of "Cardigan". She also became the first act to debut two songs in the top four and three songs in the top six, with "The 1" at number four and "Exile" at number six. Apple Music, and Amazon Music. Republic Records reported that the album sold over 1.3 million units worldwide on its first day and 2 million units in its first week. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry recognized Folklore as the best-selling female album of 2020, with 2 million pure copies sold. In the English-speaking world, Folklore established several chart records. In the UK, it made Swift the first woman to have five number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart in the 21st century, and was her first album to spend multiple weeks at number one (three weeks). On the UK Singles Chart, "Cardigan", "Exile", and "The 1" opened at numbers six, eight, and 10, making Swift the first woman in UK history to concurrently debut three songs in the top 10. In Ireland, Folklore helped Swift become the first solo female act with five number ones on the Irish Albums Chart of the 21st century, and it spent four weeks at number one. In Australia, it was Swift's sixth number one on the ARIA Albums Chart, giving her more chart toppers during 2010–2020 than any other artist. All of its 16 tracks entered the top 50 of the ARIA Singles Chart, setting the all-time record for the most debuts. With "Cardigan" at number one and "Exile", "The 1", "The Last Great American Dynasty", and "My Tears Ricochet" in the top 10, Swift became the act with the most Australian top-ten hits of 2020. Folklore topped the chart for four consecutive weeks, becoming the only 2020 album to top the chart for more than two weeks, and the country's best-selling album by a woman in 2020. Folklore was the best-selling foreign album of 2020 in Japan. == Awards ==

Folklore and its songs received five Grammy Award nominations at the 63rd ceremony, winning the Album of the Year. Swift became the first woman in history to win Album of the Year thrice, and the fourth artist overall, tied with Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, and Paul Simon. The album was also a candidate for Best Pop Vocal Album, while "Cardigan" was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance and Song of the Year, making Swift the most nominated female artist ever in the latter category with five nods. "Exile" contended for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. At the 2020 American Music Awards, Swift scored four nominations: Artist of the Year, Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist, Favorite Music Video for "Cardigan" and Favorite Pop/Rock Album for Folklore, and won the first three, extending her record as the most awarded artist in the show's history with 32 American Music Awards. It also marked the third consecutive year Swift was crowned the Artist of the Year, and sixth overall—the first and only artist to achieve it. == Legacy ==

(2023) Folklore release ignited widespread interest in the term "folklore" on the internet. In response to this mainstream attention, the American Folklore Society launched a website titled "What is Folklore?" and engaged in an online campaign to educate the public about folklore studies. Folklorists were recruited to promote the academic field to the general public via social media. Metacritic's traffic skyrocketed by roughly half a million views upon Folklore release. The site's founder, Marc Doyle, stated, "There's nothing quite like Taylor Swift", whose albums supply "a great deal of traffic and user participation" to the site whenever they are released. The album has been contextualized as a lockdown project by commentators and earned a reputation as the archetypal quarantine album. The Guardian opined that Folklore was a respite from chaotic events. and its impact on the year's cultural landscape "can't be measured". Vogue listed the album amongst the best moments of lockdown culture. The Week called it "the first great pandemic art" for setting "a high bar" for future pandemic-inspired projects. Financial Times called it "the first great lockdown album", while Hot Press termed it "the first great album of the lockdown era". Judging from its acclaim and commercial success, critic Tom Hull concluded that Swift "caught the spirit of the times" with Folklore. Billboard named Folklore and Evermore as the best examples of innovative albums from artists who amended their creative process during the pandemic, and in a list titled "The 25 Musical Moments That Defined the First Quarter of the 2020s", called the album a "commercial smash" that stands as "one of the quintessential quarantine full-lengths". In 2023, The New York Times named Folklore as one of the "17 pop culture moments that define the COVID era". Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 170 in their 2023 revision of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" and number five in their 2025 list "The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far". The making of and rave reception to Folklore encouraged Swift to release Evermore. Swift herself has credited Folklore for ushering in a new mindset of songwriting in her repertoire, which in turn influenced her subsequent releases. and Swift was the top searched act. She was also the world's highest-paid solo musician of 2020, and the highest paid in the US, solely due to her incomes from the 2020 albums. In 2023, Swift embarked on the Eras Tour, which included an act dedicated to Folklore. Folklore influenced other artists' works. Those who cited Folklore as an influence for their music include Hayley Williams for her 2021 album Flowers for Vases / Descansos, Mia Dimšić for her Eurovision 2022 song "Guilty Pleasure", Rina Sawayama for her 2022 Hold the Girl, and Maya Hawke for her 2022 album Moss. Christina Perri and Sabrina Carpenter credited Folklore with encouraging them to be emotionally honest in their songs without worrying about external expectations, and Zahara credited Folklore for encouraging her to compose music again following months of isolation. The success of Folklore prompted artists such as Hawke, Gracie Abrams, Ed Sheeran, King Princess, and Girl in Red to collaborate with Dessner and record songs at his Long Pond Studio. American comics writer Sina Grace was inspired by the aesthetic and themes of Folklore to create the story, characters, and art style of the upcoming DC Comics graphic novel Superman: The Harvests of Youth. Folklore is also the subject of multiple academic papers, mostly literary. == Track listing ==

Musicians • Taylor Swift – lead vocals, songwriting, production (5, 6, 8–10, 14, 17) • Aaron Dessner –  production (1–4, 7, 11–16), songwriting (1–3, 7, 11–13, 15, 16), piano (1–4, 7, 11–16), acoustic guitar (1, 7, 11, 12, 16), electric guitar (1–4, 11–14, 16), drum programming (1–4, 7, 11, 12), Mellotron (1, 2, 11, 13, 15), OP-1 (1, 4, 16), synth bass (1, 16), percussion (2–4, 7, 11, 12, 14), bass (2, 3, 7, 11, 12, 14, 15), synthesizer (2–4, 7, 11–13, 15), slide guitar (3), keyboards (3), high string guitar (14), field recording (15), drone (15) • Bryce Dessner – orchestration (1–4, 7, 11–13) • Thomas Bartlett – synthesizer (1), OP-1 (1) • Jason Treuting – percussion (1) • Yuki Numata Resnick – viola (1, 2, 7, 11, 12), violin (1, 2, 7, 11, 12) • Benjamin Lanz – modular synth (2) • Dave Nelson – trombone (2, 13) • James McAlister – drum programming (2, 11), beat programming (12), synthesizers (12), hand percussion (12), drums (12) • Clarice Jensen – cello (2, 7, 11–13) • Rob Moose – orchestration (3, 16), violin (3, 4, 16), viola (3, 4, 16) • JT Bates – drums (3, 7, 13) • Justin Vernon – lead vocals (4), songwriting (4), pulse (15) • Joe Alwyn –  production (4, 5, 8–10, 14), songwriting (4, 14) • Jack Antonoff –  production (5, 6, 8–10, 14, 17), songwriting (6, 8–10, 17), live drums (5, 6, 8–10, 14, 17), percussion (5, 6, 8–10, 14, 17), programming (5, 6, 8–10, 17), electric guitars (5, 6, 8–10, 14, 17), keyboards (5, 6, 8–10, 17), piano (5, 17), bass (5, 8–10, 14), background vocals (5, 6, 9, 10, 17), acoustic guitars (6, 8, 14), B3 (6, 14), organ (9), Mellotron (14) • Evan Smith – saxophones (5, 8–10, 14, 17), keyboards (5, 8–10, 17), programming (5), flute (8, 17), electric guitar (8, 10), accordion (10), background vocals (10), clarinet (14, 17), bass (17) • Bobby Hawk – strings (5, 8, 9, 17) • Bryan Devendorf – drum programming (7) • Jonathan Low – synth bass (8) • Mikey Freedom Hart – pedal steel (10, 14), Mellotron (14), Wurlitzer (14), harpsichord (14), vibraphone (14), electric guitar (14) • Kyle Resnick – trumpet (13) • Josh Kaufman – harmonica (14), electric guitar (14), lap steel (14) Additional instrument recording • Kyle Resnick – viola (1, 2, 7, 11–13), violin (1, 2, 7, 11–13) • Bella Blasko – modular synth (2) • Lorenzo Wolff – strings (5, 9) • Mike Williams – strings (8, 17) • Jon Gautier – strings (8, 17) • Benjamin Lanz – trombone (13) Technical • Taylor Swift – executive producer • Jonathan Low – recording (1–4, 7, 11–16), mixing (1–4, 7, 8, 11, 15–17) • Aaron Dessner – recording (1–4, 7, 11–16), additional recording (2, 11) • Laura Sisk – recording (5, 6, 8–10, 14, 17), vocal recording (1–3; Swift on 4; 13, 15, 16) • Jack Antonoff – recording (5, 6, 8–10, 14, 17) • Bella Blasko – additional recording (2) • Justin Vernon – vocal recording (Bon Iver on 4) • John Rooney – assistant engineering (5, 9, 14) • Jon Sher – assistant engineering (5, 9) • Şerban Ghenea – mixing (5, 6, 9, 10, 12–14) • John Hanes – mix engineering (5, 6, 9, 10, 12–14) • Randy Merrill – mastering Design • Taylor Swift – wardrobe styling, hair and makeup, packaging creative and art direction • Beth Garrabrant – photography • 13 Management – packaging design, project support and coordination • Republic Records – project support and coordination == Charts ==

Weekly charts Year-end charts == Certifications and sales ==