Taylor Swift announces surprise 9th studio album 'Evermore' to be released at midnight

Taylor Swift revealed exclusively on "Good Morning America" this morning that she is releasing her second surprise album of 2020, "Evermore," tonight at midnight ET.

The surprise came with a message straight from Swift to her fans.

"Good morning, America. It's Taylor. I'm so excited to announce that at midnight tonight eastern I'll be releasing my brand-new album called 'Evermore,' the sister album to 'Folklore,'" she told "GMA" viewers. "I couldn't stop writing and I am absolutely elated to be able to share it with you tonight."

The music video for "Willow," the lead single from "Evermore," also drops simultaneously tonight at midnight. Swift directed the clip.

This will be Swift's second surprise album in less than five months, with "Folklore" having been released July 24. This is her ninth studio album and also arrives just two weeks after she dropped the concert film "Folklore: The long pond studio sessions" on Disney+.

Swift's album "Lover" was released in Aug. 2019, so this is also her third album in a little over a year.

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Swift created "Evermore" with "Folklore" collaborators Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, adding that they also "welcomed some new (and longtime) friends to our musical kitchen table this time around."

"Evermore" features Bon Iver -- aka Justin Vernon, who sang "Exile" with Swift on "Folklore" -- on the titular track. There are also songs with The National, Dessner's band, and Haim, the band consisting of sisters Alana, Danielle and Este Haim.

"There was something different with 'Folklore.' In making it, I felt less like I was departing and more like I was returning. I loved the escapism I found in these imaginary/not imaginary tales," she said. "I loved the ways you welcomed the dreamscapes and tragedies and epic tales of love lost and found into your lives. So I just kept writing them."

The 10-time Grammy winner -- who is nominated for six more at the 2021 Grammys, including the coveted album of the year award -- also said the timing of this album was important to her.

"Ever since I was 13, I've been excited about turning 31 because it's my lucky number backwards, which is why I wanted to surprise you with this now," Swift, whose birthday is Dec. 13, noted. "You've all been so caring, supportive and thoughtful on my birthdays and so this time I thought I would give you something! I also know this holiday season will be a lonely one for most of us and if there are any of you out there who turn to music to cope with missing loved ones the way I do, this is for you."

There will be 15 tracks on the standard edition of "Evermore," with the deluxe physical version containing two bonus tracks -- “Right Where You Left Me” and “It’s Time to Go." Digital downloads of the album will include an exclusive digital booklet with 16 brand-new photos, too.

I’ve never done this before. In the past I’ve always treated albums as one-off eras and moved onto planning the next one after an album was released. There was something different with 'Folklore.' In making it, I felt less like I was departing and more like I was returning," Swift explained of how "Evermore" came to be. "To put it plainly, we just couldn’t stop writing songs. To try and put it more poetically, it feels like we were standing on the edge of the folklorian woods and had a choice: to turn and go back or to travel further into the forest of this music. We chose to wander deeper in."

Here is the full track listing for the standard version of "Evermore":

1. "Willow"
2. "Champagne Problems"
3. "Gold Rush"
4. "'Tis the Damn Season"
5. "Tolerate It"
6. "No Body, No Crime" (feat. Haim)
7. "Happiness"
8. "Dorothea"
9. "Coney Island" (feat. The National)
10. "Ivy"
11. "Cowboy Like Me"
12. "Long Story Short"
13. "Marjorie"
14. "Closure"
15. "Evermore" (feat. Bon Iver)

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