Taylor Swift's Tenth Album Causes Spotify Outages

In the United States, France and the United Kingdom, for example, fans of the star had to wait patiently to discover this new opus on the streaming platform.

Many angry "Swifties" posted screenshots displaying the error message: "Something went wrong. Try again." A technical problem that was often solved within the hour.

Highly anticipated, the album was then a dazzling success on the platform. "Taylor Swift broke the record for most streamed album in a single day," Spotify announced Friday afternoon on Twitter.

"How can I be so lucky to have you all doing something so amazing?" the singer tweeted in response.

Fans have discovered 13 songs entirely centered around the fateful hour when the clock strikes twelve. "Midnights" is "the story of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life," Taylor Swift shared on Twitter, and all of the tracks "form a complete picture of the intensity of this crazy, mystical hour."

With this new disc, the 32-year-old singer-songwriter abandons the indie-folk vein of her two previous albums written during the pandemic, "evermore" and "folklore" - rewarded with the title of best album of the year at the Grammys Awards 2021.

Far from the acoustic charm of these works of confinement, the melodies of "Midnights" are more electro-pop, with the use of synths, rhythms inspired by dubstep and effects capable of giving an androgynous side to the voice. of the singer, who after having started in the country became a major pop star.

The tone of the album, where pop diva Lana Del Rey lends her suave voice for a duet on "Snow on The Beach", remains deliberately stripped down. Taylor Swift shares her nocturnal ruminations, her reflections on the inexorably advancing age and on the implications of love, without ever being unleashed on the twelve strokes of midnight.

This new opus is generally hailed by the Anglo-Saxon press. The British daily The Guardian thus underlines the "calm, serene and mature" side of a disc "filled with fantastic songs".

However, some critics regret the absence of a leading and catchy title. "It's hard to pinpoint a crushing hit on Swift's hushed third album," laments The Independent newspaper.

True to form, Taylor Swift has also reserved some surprises for her fans. "Midnights" exists online in an extended version, titled "3 am Edition", with seven additional tracks.