Taylor herself mentioned this was one of her most personal and intimate albums, so while it may be more cryptic, I think it's perfectly poetic. I believe she was a little less on the nose with this album, possibly as some of it spoke to her failing relationship with Joe, and as we all know, she was very private while in this relationship, and Joe would have been unhappy (and rumor has it, was unhappy in the end, with some of the songs pointing to their private life). Anyway, I do love this album - and it's always difficult for me to consider they don't deserve awards (they're all like my children, I love them all no matter what!). ;)
Isn’t it crazy how journalists are afraid to critique and dissect Taylor’s piece of work, which is supposed to be the essence of their job as she herself submits it to the public. However, they feel free to speculate on her sexuality, which isn’t supposed to be a part of the public narrative anyway?
That’s because there journalists called music critics, and then there are ‘journalists’ who frankly write about anything to get the attention of the audience.
@24kgoldplatedvermeilI'm a LM besides being a swiftie and that's true... But I feel like Katy Perry would be the perfect example for this, music critics are more than comfortable to tear her work apart every single time They are even worse with her than they are with Gaga, although they are also quite harsh with her sometimes
that was a terrible point… he said that while showing the official grammy poster that contained three 5 star reviews of midnights (?) she’s clearly showcasing the recognized quality of the album.
Nope, not silenced at all. It's a nonsensical argument to try and pretend that his own subjective opinions of the albums in question is subjective fact.
She advertised midnights as thoughts that "kept her awake at night" so I expecting the album to be darker & deeper than it was. Some tracks accomplished that like anti-hero, should've could've would've, You're losing me and the Great War . But some of these songs felt surface level like Paris, Question, and Snow on the Beach. Idk they just didn't feel like things that someone would "lose sleep over" they felt like regular pop songs. I don't think it captured what it was meant to and some of the songs felt like they were vault tracks that fit into the sound of the album, so she just threw them in there. To be honest, folklore and evermore had deeper themes than midnights did.
An even bigger problem for it there is that the only song you mentioned as accomplishing the theme of the album, that is even being considered for album of the year was anti hero, the rest weren't a part of the standard album and that's the one being nominated
The fact that WCS isn't part of the standard edition of the album makes me so mad because if there's one song in the entire record that captures de feeling of "being kept awake at night by momenta in the past" it is definitely this one
What about labyrinth? You’re On your own kid ? Maroon? And to be fair Question is pretty deep too! Don’t let the lighthearted melody deceive you in to thinking it isn’t..
@@Rebecca-bz6phI think the problem with some of the songs you mentioned is yes, I guess for example in Labyrinth having that feeling of oh I’m falling in love is something that keeps you awake at night…. I just wish it was more descriptive and more personal. The thing I can’t stand with some of the songs on Midnights is how vague they are. Taylor’s biggest strength is story telling, and sadly I didn’t feel she utilised it enough for the concept of Midnights which was about “13 sleepless nights throughout her life”. The song Labyrinth could be about anyone cause of how severely vague it is. I just think some of the songs on Midnights are very surface level and not clear, and fans wanted more storytelling and personal lyrics due to how she framed the album when it was announced. Personally I think a lot was going on BTS with Taylor and Joe which she didn’t feel ready to share yet. I think the Eras tour had been planned secretly for a while and she needed a big pop album to go back on the road with. And that gives you Midnights. Something about the album feels off… I have always felt like Taylor put up a wall and didn’t want to share too much which is fine. But I think in conclusion this led to many fans being disappointed cause of the way it was marketed.
Cruel Summer being her largest hit this year exemplifies how Midnights doesn’t really stand on its own without The Eras Tour. Any album released when Midnights was and paired with a tour of this size would be successful. It should not be forgotten that Lover, Folklore, & 1989 TV are all the charting in the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 right now as high as Midnights. It feels like these other albums are already overshadowing the current era only a year past release.
Respectfully, I disagree! Midnights very much stands on it own. It is the most streamed album in 1 day in Spotify history and it had 10 songs in the top 10 of Billboard 100. It quite literally is one of her most successful albums and the most successful album in the past year.
@@slugger1236 success doesnt equal long term impact. it was the most streamed album on its 1ST DAY and had ten songs DEBUT in the top ten yet Cruel Summer (a 5 year old song) is currently outpeaking all the midnights singles which had remixes, radio push and music videos. She has many older albums doing just as well as Midnights on the Billboard 200 currently. And anyways, having these stats aren't the only metric...Kacey Musgraves won in 2019 with album that peaked at number 4 cause the music was THAT good. And artists like SZA/Olivia both had a #1 album & single with these records...not to mention SOS actually spent more weeks at number 1 then Midnights...oop
You are saying that midnights is getting all of the success because of eras tour but you are using cruel summer as an example of a song that stands on its own which is hilarious to me because it is also got so successful because of the tour only. It went viral on tik tok after she performed it on the tour, before that it was only a fan favorite lol. Although I do not think that midnights deserves aoty but it does very much stands on its own in terms of success. It is also very consistent. Yes eras tour has boosted it but eras tour has boosted her entire discography, not just midnights because bear in mind, it's called the 'eras' tour and not 'midnights' tour
It should win a pop vocal album if anything but not the album of the year! I'd even take anti-hero getting its own award because it's such a vulnerable and clever song. As a longtime diehard swiftie myself, I think the winning album of the year would be bad for her because it'd undermine her success as being in her name only and not her quality of craft. I also want her to be challenged to branch out more.
i really think midnights’s quality was hampered by taylor being forced to obfuscate what the album was really about. the fact that she had to hide that a lot of it was about her relationship with joe falling apart meant that she couldn’t really dive into meaningful confessional songwriting without giving it away.
I feel that way, too. Just thinking back to the release of Midnights, everyone was dissecting the songs in relation to her known past relationships and Taylor lore, but some stuff didn’t really make sense until we learned about her split with Joe. I love the album and Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve is a masterpiece IMO. It’s been in heavy rotation for me, but I don’t think it’s her best album and that’s fine-I know she struggles with that drive for perfection but she’s literally at the top of her game with her tour and level of respect among her peers and fans. I think AOTY should go to either Lana or Sza. I love Olivia, too, and Guts has some fantastic songs, but I still think Lana and Sza are a notch above.
Completely agree. One of my biggest issues with Midnights is Taylor’s biggest strength is storytelling, diaristic/confessional writing. When the album was announced I was so hyped cause of the way it was marketed (13 sleepless nights throughout my life). I really felt like Taylor could knock it out of the park and have a field day with the concept of the album. And then when I listened to the album, something felt off. It felt like Taylor was severely holding back from being honest on the record. Hence why so many lyrics/songs feel very vague and surface level. Take Labyrinth for example, having a song be about that feeling of not being able to sleep cause you have fallen in love with someone is a great concept. But the song lacks severely (I acc don’t mind the song), but Taylor can do better than that IMO. It’s so vague and surface level it could be about literally anyone. It doesn’t reveal anything about her personally which goes against the whole theme of the album which is about different nights throughout her life. Same can be said for others songs like Snow On the Beach etc. I do also question whether Taylor can make a good pop record nowadays. Another issue I have with midnights is it’s such a bloated album when you include the 3AM tracks etc and if you put some of the better extra songs on the main body it would maybe be a much better album. IDK something is off with midnights and it annoys me cause I can’t point my finger on what exactly.
100%. This album as a concept would be executed better now that their relationship is publicly over and she can really dig into those emotions through songwriting.
@@sophiahames6821 I think I can help you here, cause sometimes my subconscious keeps bothering my consciousness with something I am about to understand, but still not doing it -- and only recently I finally did for Midnights. She fooled us. Her five years relationship with Joe was over. *_Five_* , not six. They were full blown broken apart when she released the album in October 2022. That thing when we saw them popping up in secretive restaurants ( I mean, without a paparazzo making it public in the way in OR the way out, which is strange, and then someone leaking pictures from them inside) and then reports claiming they had actual gallons of wine through the night, that was her trying to win him back, reconciliate, a turkey leg crave relapse 3 am, if you will. And it did not work, so she decided to actually release "Hits Different" as a bonus and then "You're losing me", trying some new hand bags we didn't like and all that jazz. So because the album was made *_while inside the process of breaking up_* , the first songs all parallel the current (ending) ship with previous ones -- the songs are about both relationships at the same time (it's actually genius, thinking of it now 😮😅): 💜Lavender: Speak Now Era, Taylor Lautner, a shorter tan skinned love interest; she used the koy fish guitar back then, but Pisces is Joe's sin and all; only two stable relationships she truly knew* ♥️Maroon: I think she's finally seeing resemblances between her relationship with Jake and her relationship with Harry; that's why the song seems to reference both; trying to escape the age gap pattern in the arms of a younger man, she felt right into the trap of another artsy psychologically avoidant type of guy; 💛Anti hero: maybe I'm the problem🤍 Snow OTB: actually about Harry: she associated him with beach, in her mind, at first, because we all didn't know yet but they first MET at LA; then after the first big break (and a long six months), what we saw, the Central Park date with, seagulls, a random niece and fox sweaters, was actually a time of Harry use relapse, it was weird but... 🩵YOYOK: let's reflect some more, shall we 💙 *_M I D N I G H T R A I N_* : I think she did it, but I can't prove it, she's admitting to be Dorothea 😮 💜 Question: _"Is it over now"_ , Reputation's version 🖤VS: Reputation (Reputation's version) 🩷 Bejeweled: Prince Jack, really? Not being subtle about this being a Jake song, but it's elevated to abother level when you think this is her doing what she *_"wanted"_* to do with _"Red"_ , this how empowered the young-woman_coming-of-age™ in her wanted to feel -- but didn't cause she remembered it all too well; 🩶Labyrinth: FINALLY DIRECTLY ADRESSING THE SIT 🙄 🔮Karma: she decides she doesn't need to have an actual boyfriend super right now in order to these lyrics to be true; she realizes she is the moment, she is everything, she is Barbie, and the Universe just reaponds to that; 🍃 Sweet Nothings: she did an effing double interview with the legendary Sir Paul himself, let's not all forget about that, will we? She recicled this song she wrote with Turkey to occupy position #12 because she realized that's what she wants a relationahip to be💁🏻 🕰️MegaMind: having just concluded what she does and doesn't want, compares herself to a Beattle and come to terms with the Universe, she draws the final conclusion she is the ultimate arbitrer of her life, and that's ok, that's empowering, that's important. We came full circle with a cohesive 13 songs album. *(apparently even Taylor herself discards Calcium Hydroxide, cuz if she was feeling like in a long term while the ship was on, looking in hindsight she was being envied all the way, which she considers emotional betrayal, so it doesn't count. That's what "High Infidelity" is about, I guess, like... "You were bf, dude, I trusted you, and you were seeing me as an enemy the whole time, no wonder I felt so insecure and attention seeking the whole time, you know what, you deserve to be Loki-ed)
100% agree. Honestly even Folklore and Evermore. Yes i believe some of what she said that she was storytelling and some songs like Betty, August and Cardigan are made up situations HOWEVER the rest of the albums are very telling into where her relationship with Joe was going and coincides with a lot of the thoughts on Midnights. I don’t see her ever saying that though for image and maybe to shed the stereotype she used to have that all she sings about is boys and her relationships (which is fine)
As an artistic point of you, it definitely will challenge her to not win AOTY - like red did, to get to 1989! I hope she takes some time after the last re-recording to reflect and gather new inspiration and perhaps step into a new territorial of genre! ☺
Midnights is kind of an odd turn for me. While folklore and evermore serves as an evolution into a more intimate arc for her, Midnights suddenly sort of regressed into a more commercial-friendly lack of substance, kinda feels like shes trying to give Lover another try. It feels too safe for her and she certainly has the skills and capability to do better than this, it's just weaker than her previous albums. I think now that she is now the tastemaker and no longer the underdog, she faces the insecurity of relevancy, or more specifically, the pressure of remaining at the top, hence why she would return to pop in such a lackluster way. Again, this is just my theory and my train of thoughts,, so give me some of yall insights!!
Honestly, I was sold as new Taylor Swift listener (I do not identify as a Swifty) when I listened to Folklore amd Evermore and I was so excited about the next album and I gotta say I ended up disappointed. I really could not get the hype about Midnights.
This is a really insightful opinion, I agree with it. I wasn’t necessarily disappointed initially about Midnights, but that is probably just because those songs are all bops. Now that I think about my experience with these albums, yeah… it couldn’t have been more different. Something is missing that I felt like was incredibly close in the folkmore era.
I don’t understand why it is so hard for people to grasp that GUTS is more deserving of the accolade than Midnights. By simply going to Metacritic and reading the critic’s reviews of the albums, GUTS is being hailed as an instant classic and an evolution from her previous body of work. Whereas the 2nd highest review for Midnights from Variety reads “Midnights doesn’t venture as far into other fields as some of her more openly ambitious albums have” and “The new album benefits from its relative modesty, length-wise and streamlining-wise.” Midnights is a good album, but GUTS has done more to push the envelope and try new things, I believe it refines and builds upon concepts and sounds found on SOUR, in the same way that Fearless built upon Debut. I’m not coming at this from a perspective of a hater, I’ve grown up with Taylor and I have been a fan of her much longer than I’ve been a fan of Olivia. If there were a Grammy for artist of the year, or tour of the year (an argument for tour of all-time could even be made), Taylor would deserve to win, but in terms of albums, Midnights is the least deserving in the category. Also, not to ramble for too long, but I believe it would be more beneficial in the long run for Taylor to not win, as I feel like the decision will not age as well, and her winning will likely cause a backlash.
this deserves the best comment award! It's refreshing to see swifties here on using their critical thinking and unbiased opinions. As a swiftie myself, I stopped following swifties on twitter. It was giving me a headache with all the hate speech they give to other female artists, especially Olivia.
be for real, AOTY isn’t just about some reviews on metacritic. guts doesn’t come close to midnights’ dominance and impact. SOS is the only album that deserves AOTY other than midnights.
@@milkgalactic Midnights only achieved that dominance and impact because it’s Taylor Swift. She could hold a microphone up to her ass and fart, and it would go platinum.
Was Midnights good? Yes, absolutely. I love it, actually. But here’s the thing: Was it the best album when albums like SOS, Ocean BLVD, and Guts exist? No. If she wins, it will be because of Taylormania and tbh, I’ll be upset. ESP since Fearless, 1989, and folklore were cultural resets and beyond deserved with or without Taylormania. Give her SOTY for Anti-Hero, that would be extremely deserved.
If you think GUTS or SOS are better than Midnights you need your ears checked. I could see SOS but Guts was such a disappointment and its complete collapse from every major music market shows that.
Yeah I agree. SOS had good singles but it has a bunch of filler songs. As a coherent album where every song could be a single?? Eh idk. Same with guts. And actually I would argue it is a more cohesive album than sos. And going to midnights I personally love it. Cohesive. Not over bloated with filler songs. It’s my 2nd favorite taylor swift album. Reputation being the first. The mood, the sounds the lyrics all fit perfectly. The writing is much deeper than 1989 I would say. So I actually do think midnights deserves that album of the year
If you compare Midnights to Fearless, 1989, and Folklore it’s just so evident that it doesn’t deserve AOTY status along with them. ESPECIALLY when Red doesn’t have it😭. Also the category is STACKED this year! GUTS, Ocean BLVD, or SOS for the win!!!
I am so scared that if she wins AOTY she is going to phone it in (in terms of production and editing her work) because she wont need to try so hard. I need for TS11 to be a challenge for her creativity after coming off so many career defining moments.
I completely agree I’m also nervous cause Taylor thrives on these kind of accolades so I don’t want her to put out musics(that’s is still good) that chases more commercial success that can get her just as much praise as something like a folklore or fearless or 1989.
@@sarahxyzmartin1636folklore wasn’t about commercial success at all. taylor’s already so commercially successful that people are going to get sick of it. it’s like she said, as a woman in the music industry she constantly has to reinvent herself to stay relevant. the pop star thing has been her mainstream reputation since like 2014, i feel like it may be a better career move to tone down the capitaylism and focus on the art because it will make her more timeless in the long run. but she doesn’t have to- she’s set for life. she could disappear if she wanted. but this career for her has always been about, obviously the music, but she doesn’t make that kind of music anymore that she dreamed of in childhood. being Taylor Swift is also about the fans, the crowd cheering. Long Live. she doesn’t want to see her castles crumbling, she wants to stay the queen of pop and make everyone love her. it would make waves if she did another genre switch up, and there are so many areas she hasn’t explored. but she could totally just play it safe. i don’t know if she’d be artistically satisfied with that, but maybe her satisfaction with her public image and fame would matter more? idk. i have no idea what’s going on in her head but i can only clown for a rock album until TS11
I’m hoping we get some new collaborators for TS11. I’m okay with more Aaron Dessner but I think Jack needs to take a backseat. Don’t get me wrong, I love his songs but some variety and innovation is needed. Still holding out for that soft rock album she teased Midnights to be.
I have a theory that Taylor is trying to repeat the frequency of her Grammy wins under Big Machine with the new label. So Folklore is her Fearless while Midnights is her 1989. Yet her 1989 AOTY victory came after having to prove her loss under Red. Midnights comes after Evermore - which is just an extended period of the creative flow she explored in Folklore. Taylor may want a victory for Midnights, but she really didn't put forth anything that she needed to prove in that album. That being said, TS11 will go hard.
If you’re going that route then evermore would be speak now and midnight is red. So it would like if midnight loses we’ll get another life altering album like 1989 did
@@katelynnrice4983yes! there's also a pattern so far to taylor's aotys - Fearless won, 2 albums didn't, 1989 did, two albums didn't, folklore won - if ts11 wins aoty that'll be such a funny coincidence.
Listening to you is like being in a university class with my favorite professor. I don't know how you squeeze so MUCH content into 35 minutes. The way you use the language itself is also so tasty. I agree wholeheartedly with your analysis today. Yes, it would probably be the best thing for Taylor to lose Grammy of the year this time. She often does her best work after being rejected. I wish to see her come up with something genuinely new, and a blow to her ego might just be the ticket. I Love her! And pray for her protection. And wonder where she will go from here. Thanks so much for your great master classes on all things TAYLOR
I disagree and yet loved listening to this opinion. It's crazy how we've reached a point where we find it impossible to appreciate someone's opinion if it doesn't agree 100 percent with yours. People no longer know how to think critically or are open to debate and it's sad...
As much as I love Anti-Hero, I feel like Dear Reader does what Anti-Hero was trying to do but in a far more authentic, impactful, reflective way. Too bad it wasn’t a bop but it is definitely the song from Midnights that I crave and return to on an emotional level.
Without seeing the video yet I agree that Midnights doesn’t deserve AOTY. It’s an amazing album but it didn’t leave much of an impact as other albums did. Whenever I say this it always gets hate but people need to realize Taylor doesn’t deserve every award!!
I completely agree with you. It was a fun and new album, yes. We all streamed Anti-hero many times for sure, but like Zach said, it wasn’t a career-defining moment for her… and I’m a HUGE swifte😂😍
It's really wild how no one even watched the video and is just commenting out of the blue. You state multiple times how you like this album a lot, it's just not aoty material. Like, this is clear throughout the whole video. It's not hating on the album at all. It's not even saying "it's not going to win". I'm genuinely curious about how this "aged like milk" apparently???? Like what element exactly aged badly???
they can't read/are delusional/are obsessed w me etc etc we have to cheer because it only helps me in the long run engagement wise .... let them act the fool !
The Recording Academy screwed up big time. Midnights does not move the needle in any direction the same way Fearless, 1989, & Folklore did. This is ridiculous.
zachary i just have to say i enjoy your videos so much. you’re very eloquent and i can see how much work you put into them. love how objective you are towards taylor while taking into account everything you know from being a fan. congratulations on your amazing work.
Midnights feels to me like an appeal to the fans foremost even conceptually with it being about a series of sleepless nights throughout her life in that it gives some extra background detail and commentary on various events that inspired other songs. Midnights is intrinsically connected then to the Eras Tour because both serve to bring back the image of ‘better’ moments in her career. It cannot stand on its own as well as her other AOYT wins because I feel Midnights relies so heavily on her other albums. I still absolutely love Midnights, but as a piece of ‘art’ it’s likely in the lower half of her albums imo
I think it’s intrinsically connected to the taylor’s version project too because of the the vaults. I often wondered why she would need one album for “songs from nights throughout her life” if the vault tracks exist but I guess it supports this nostalgia and lore driven era. Smart to tie midnights in I guess but you’re totally right, it wasn’t made to stand on its own and it clearly doesn’t
The way people are hating on you rn in the comment section for this take is crazy. You're not a bitter hater who just wants to bring Taylor Swift down to make yourself feel better, you're simply offering an opinion as to why you think Midnights did not deserve AOTY, and you did so very respectfully. The people hating on you and calling you a loser seriously lack critical thinking skills.
@@theswiftologist That's very true and a great outlook on it. I can't wait to hear your take on the grammys this year as well! You are a breath of fresh air in this fandom :)
@@theswiftologistI am a huge swiftie since Fearless and I was honestly disappointed when Midnights won because it was truly mid and also now it will only lead to more overexposure for her
Coming from Folklore and Evermore, Midnights was quite a letdown for me even though it's a nice album and now i get why, thinking about it, the lyrical quality is not as good. Excellent as always Zach and Ocean Blvd for the win! 😂🎀
FINALLY!!! omg i have been dragged over the coals by my swifty fruends for sharing a simlair take to you on why midnights doesnt deserve the win. Honestly i couldnt of said it better myself!!!!! (side note: no boygenuis video is a tragedy)
Midnights is my favorite album by her but all these criticisms as to why the album isn't her best are all valid. For the people that are being beyond cruel at someone providing their opinions as to why it's not as deserving of the award need to understand that there is a difference between not deserving of the award vs. actually not winning the award. As happy as I am that Taylor won AOTY with Midnights, I do think she mainly won because of Taylormania
I love this album. But what happened here is she was writing a break up album before the breakup was over. And she's at a place in her life where she doesn't want to be confessional publicly and so is holding back and that's why it's more vague. I think two songs that really stand out as an explanation for this album are Dear Reader (where she confesses to being an unreliable narrator) and then Losing Me which was added as a bit of an epilogue after her relationship was announced to be over and using those two songs yiu can understand the album better. Otherwise yes, i see what you're saying about it being a bit too familiar and not being a breakthrough or statement work.
you're actually so real for this. is rare to find swifties who can love Taylor and be critical at the same time. i've been saying this and getting a lot of hate for it. its highly possible that Midnights is gonna win AOTY, without deserving it.
What makes Midnights fall short as album of the year worthy for me is that when you compare it to something like 1989 and how iconic and revolutionary to the music industry that album was, Midnights comes nowhere near to such excellence. That's rough because I can't help comparing Midnights to her previous outstanding albums and I wonder if that's something the grammys also take into consideration. Guts, however, absolutely deserves. I'll be happy if Midnights wins of course but I also believe there are more deserving contenders.
I think Midnights is really about loneliness. Like in lavender haze how she's deluding herself to fall back in love with this person who's not very much invested in her. And i think loneliness is the thread that runs through all thses songs. YOYOK is the best example song for that. Any song you take i could see the element of being lonely in it. That's just my thoughts, would welcome any ayy sayers or nayy sayers 😅
i agree. and her refusal to discuss the album could be an extention of this idea of loneliness and introspection. i feel that the vagueness is intentional on the album - like maybe she felt she didnt need to tell us everything - like im sure other artists are not as candid with their audience as taylor is - it could be that she is trying that on for size. we dont need to know which song refers to which night in her life, as long as i can sit out late at night and vibe to this album while having an existential crisis, or simply vibing to the loopy production. i feel us being able to decode taylor's songs and their source material in the past albums and no tbeing able to do it rn is what is causing this "disconnect". but i dont think this is necessarily a bad thing, given that this is the case with most other artists. i think while a case can be made in terms of other contenders being better (i havent heard the records all the way through so idk) as a lone, singular body of work, i cant say midnights doesnt deserve it but neither can i say it definitely does.
also- to the lana part- maybe taylor was trying to do something like her and give us vague ranblings? and i mean this respectfully - like is it unfair to see her work in context of what she has always done - given us confessional insights and dock marks if she doesnt stay the course? cause the songs on midnights are a lot like my own unhinged, middle of the night weird thoughts, which are unstructured and many times inconclusive. cause i then see this as more of an experiment gone wrong with taylor trying on a different voice and i agree that great doesnt always mean excellent, and midnights isnt excellent. for me its a very mood based album - i have to be in a specific frame of mind to listen to it, as opposed to most of her other works
I agree. Midnights isn't even in my top 5 Taylor Swift albums, which doesn't mean it's bad. It just means that she can do so much more better than this artistically. Also, I'm one of those people who don't understand Lana's music, I'm sure she's brilliant. I wish I'm one of those people who loves her music. Could say the same about guts not my thing. I don't really enjoy pop punk. SOS is truly the album of the year in my opinion. It's great both lyrically and sonically. I would love for SOS to win. I also think Taylor winning album of the year for Midnights would do more harm than good to her. Even in the music world every other artist would feel discouraged and grow resentment towards Taylor because it's truly not fair when you award Taylor just for putting out music like every other award shows!
I adored midnights, even more than folklore and evermore. Not saying I’m a music scholar but some enjoyment of art is specific to the person. Beauty is in the eye (ear) of the beholder.
While I see where you are coming from when saying the lack of the "confessional" element on "Midnights" feels like a result of Taylor having to offer less thematically and being deep into her "hyper-productivity era", to me all of this seems… Rather intentional? I reckon "Midnights", defined by its name, its tagline, production and basically every other part of it, is SUPPOSED to echo sleepless introspective nights WITHOUT arriving at a clear answer to one's ramblings, which is why Taylor's narrator is being obscure with their story, yet evocative with their feelings (conveyed through the style and the aesthetic of the project, as well). I would even go as far as to say that it makes sense why Lana Del Rey is the singular feature on the standard edition, since she could be deemed the first artist who comes to mind when you think of an image of a "mysterious woman contemplating on everything regarding her life and still, when sharing that, merely hinting at it instead of attempting to be easily understood". Furthermore, I feel like Taylor being more obvious with her diaristic storytelling would be her "playing safe", because WE KNOW she can deliver a song with a transparent structure and an outlined "moral", if you will - she has done that numerous times! WE KNOW her characters can show certainty in their righteousness or their mistakes, but… Can her characters, for instance, be confused? Fervently or dreamily ranting, so to speak? Constantly reminiscing about their experiences, yet not fully comprehending them, hence "presenting the truth" rather than "giving an insight", as you have put it in your review? On "Midnights", Taylor Swift proves - yes, they CAN, at least that is how I view it, and it seems to be working and successful, given the ONGOING public reiteration and discussion of the material on this record and, albeit partly manipulated, commercial success. It might have at first appeared to me, compared to other Taylor's releases, as, perhaps, a rather unrisky and less complicated Swift & Antonoff collaboration, conveniently alluding to Bleachers, too… However, I am now inclined to consider it more of a development to Taylor's artistry and legacy than a regression from her prior work (this is presumably EXTREMELY FAR-FETCHED, but, if I recall all of the following correctly, even in literature modernism with its obscure forms and content, which initially perplexed the readers and was perceived as relatively simplistic, took the lead AFTER romanticism, which to me could be, though VERY roughly, likened to the progression from "folklore"/"evermore" to "Midnights"). I am not sure if I root for Taylor's record to snatch this year's AOTY grammy exclusively, taking into account the excellence and the impact of the other contenders, although I haven't listened to all of them properly yet… I will probably be as happy for Lana to get her LONG-DESERVED accolade, if she gets to win… Nevertheless, I am confident that "Midnights" has EARNED its nomination and it fits your criteria for it, since, summing up all of the above and more, it is an artistic achievement and it has greatly influenced the public and the culture. Reflecting on everything I have just written, I have been WAITING for a more detailed comment from you on your opinion and possible doubts about all of this, and I have once again eaten up the delicious food you have served, Zack, as I shall - so THANK YOU for your dedicated and devoted "boots-on-the-ground" journalism, genuinely!
@senseshchepin thank you for this comment! I think Zach is very well spoken and makes great points, but maybe because he has been such a TS fan for so long and is so familiar with her work he had expectations that were just not met with midnights. And that is completely fine. I like his criticism. However, as someone who was never super familiar with TS until last year (of course i knew some of her songs, but didn't REALLY listen to full albums until the re-recordings) I find Midnights quite different than all of her previous albums, and different in a good way. More mature, more mysterious, yes... sometimes confusing, but so what? Do we really need to dissect and understand every single lyric in order to enjoy a song? Why is it ok for Lana, but not for Taylor? As a new fan, my take is that Taylor likes to experiment and she tries to consistently give us something different. Midnights is precisely that attempt to jump into something very different from her Folklore/Evermore and back into Pop, but not the pop she has done before: very curated, planned, a cohesive story to tell, etc. Midnights, as you mentioned above, could be interpreted as an attempt at literature modernism, and I'm ok with it being vague, rambling or even confusing at times. Granted, the "15 seconds later they were clapping too" is interesting. Is it the AOTY? At the end of the day, it is an album I truly enjoyed and listened to it the most in comparison to the other nominees. I think it is deserving of a nomination for sure. Personally, Im rooting for Lana because I also really loved TUOB and the fact that the women does not have a grammy is a CRIME. Also really enjoyed GUTS and would not be upset if it wins. Cant say I have listened to SOS enough to have a fully formed opinion.
I will say, I think Midnights is the Grammy’s safe choice for album of the year. I feel like if she wins, it will just contribute to the Taylormania that’s started since the Eras Tour, or even before then. Taylor Swift has won album of the year before, and for much better albums. When it comes to the last two years, there have been other albums that, in my opinion, are much better and more deserving for album of the year.
I don’t think it’s safe choice actually. Because she would have been the only person ever to have 4 AOTYs. I think that’s kind of risky move for the Grammies.
@@katherinepierce7948She’s been the only person to do achieve a lot of things recently, and hasn’t gotten much pushback (in comparison to the praise). I’d be interested if her undeservingly winning AOTY would start to shift the public eye in that way.
@@katherinepierce7948 I 100% agree. I’m seeing everywhere, from swifties and general music critics, that midnights does not deserve to win. It really feels like that’s the consensus. So if the academy chooses midnights, it will a) put the Grammys under fire for being biased, and b) catapult Taylor to the already fast-approaching destination of overexposure. If she wins it will truly not be a safe choice for the Grammys OR Taylor.
Honestly you put into words what i was feeling this entire time and couldn't exactly explain it 😂 midnights is so insanely vague!!! I kept looking at the tracklist and thinking "damn... what the hell are these songs even about??" I guess from the 13 original tracks the clearest one is probably vigilante shit 😂 and that says a lot!
I think she didn't have much to say with this album. Midnights feels like a collection of ok pop songs. Nothing more, nothing less. If it wins AOTY, it's obvious they're awarding her success rather than the quality of the work she put out, and I think the Grammys will lose a lot of credibility.
I hate how you have to prove that you're a huge fan of Taylor Swift in order to prevent people from attacking you. Even people who doesn't like her work can critic her.
Wait I wish we could have an open dialogue about this because I think if you’re to rethink your approach to the album, I think your takeaway would be much deeper. For me, this album is the product of Taylor going through her diaries at the end of the Lover era for the Deluxe content. I think Dear Reader is the perfect summary of how she got to Midnights. I think that tied with the re-record process, it was the perfect time to revisit her past with the lens of current day Taylor. To me, that’s the thesis of the album where she is looking back and wanting to rewrite her past but knowing it would come with implications. I think this is also seen with songs like YOYOK and Maroon. I will agree that I think Taylor’s desire to keep this album 100% Jack means we didn’t get the perfect bow of Dear Reader, but I think the intention of the 3AM version was to appease the listeners who were expecting Folklore/Evermore without it completely muddling the record with an non cohesive album. As for this more so being a hard launch to the Eras Tour, I think that was an unintentional byproduct of how big of an artist got from 2020-2023. I think we were meant to get more from this project but Taylor and her team pivoted. Taylor has learned that they leave a lot on the table when moving on too fast (see Cruel Summer). However sacrificing art for money and a stronger name isn’t out of the question either. I respect your opinion, but again, I think your view on the project isn’t what the intent of the project was supposed to be.
Love the video. Swifties have this narrative that she is often snubbed or undermined by critics, but I actually think it's the opposite. There have been some incredible records released over the years by great artists (Lana for example) who are legitimately ignored and underrepresented in the awards race and media publications. Take 'Lover' for example - it got a 7.1 on Pitchfork which is actually quite high. If this album was released by someone else, I believe it would have ranked lower. And 'Midnights' is a step back in her artistic journey ESPECIALLY after Folklore and Evermore, but reviewers and critics get mercilessly attacked and threatened for stating it. Journalists should not have to feel afraid to share their honest opinions and shouldn't have to resort to giving middle ground, lukewarm critiques that always include some sort of discussion about her impact and success. It's boring to not have honest discussions about the music and as you said, not helpful to Taylor's artistic career.
TBH as a swiftie for many years, Midnights is definitely not Taylor's best album. I wouldn't put it in my top 5. Lana, Olivia, Miley really deserve AOTY.
You're absolutely right. I think midnights relies FAR too much about past TS lore and makes it so it's hard for us to connect to it as a standalone album. It's just as described, a bunch of snippets that start to give you insight, but don't follow through because we're missing the bigger picture of the complete albums they're related to. It's still great. I love it. It's just not quite there for me. Unreal Unearth got there for me more and it wasn't even nominated.
and that’s why you’re the swiftologist! ❤ amazing analysis, sending you protection from the crazies! personally I want Guts to win; as a former Olivia hater Guts has completely changed my mind on her and her music. the songwriting is sooooo personable to Olivia and what she’s feeling, unlike Midnights 😅 happy grammy month thank you over and over again for feeding us!!!
I love Taylor. She is the artist I listen to most often. I love Midnights. With that being said, I hope it doesn't get AOTY. I want it to fuel her into another 1989 moment. Side note: I have listened to 1989 TV vault tracks way more than Midnights. I feel like there's more substance there and I'm obsessed.
I think Hozier deserves a grammy for Unreal Unearth, its such a beautiful album with such a consistent theme (a journey through hell), the writing and the vocals are stunning and its just.... So good. There's lots of literary references, it had a very clear start and end point, eat your young and butchered tongue have the heard hitting messages... So much to love about this album
It's sad that these smaller artists never get in the big categories. I think Lana should win with Ocean Blvd, but the Hozier album is spectatular and definitely deserved a nomination. The new Mitski album is also great and WAY better than Midnights
I disagree but I respect your opinion. No way is Guts IMO a better album than Midnights. It’s a good album with a couple of amazing songs. SOS is an amazing production but lyrically no way near Midnights quality. And Oceans I can see why people enjoy it (definitely not for me) but it doesn’t have a widespread appeal. It’s too niche.
your videos always amaze me. everything just flows and makes sense, every sentence, every conclusion. thank you for your work and effort, it’s rare these days especially when it comes to swiftie-opinions.
When you were talking about maroon to me it came across as that’s exactly how she felt with Joe like: “we were just partying in our room how’d we end up in an argument yet again” like frustration almost and honestly I felt like that was a lot of songs on midnights like “we were so happy why is this happening” type thing… idk
I was honestly unsure of how I would feel about this video, but you have made excellent points that make a lot of sense. I’m very interested to see how the Grammys turn out.
SOS is the perfect and the safest choice for the academy to give an award to the album that received commercial success and critical acclaim and kind of became career-defining for SZA and shape the rnb as we speak it would also make Grammys good press since they deliberately don't want to award any black women in the category and literally snubbed Beyonce with three of the most interesting and intricate bodies of work in her catalogue... and don't get me started with SZA nominations in 2017, it's embarrassing at this point
And they SCREWED IT. How are they gonna hide the fact that they're biased with who they award when they gave AOTY to midnight's? They're just proving again and again who are the important ones
The truths and opinions are completely different. And the truth is, Midnights won Album of the year. Thats the only truth from now on. So knock it off 😎
Having consumed all content from the swiftologist/evolution of a snake, I’ve grown to love how consistently wrong Zach’s takes are. Always wrong but I do enjoy the passion behind the arguments. 😂 💜
midnights was advertised as a return to the confessional diaristic songwriting but it was probably her most vague yet. I hope the next record is much more like her speak now/red/fearless songwriting because of what has happened in her life since midnights.
1:33 how do you say she’s having her campaign around the commercial success instead of the quality while showing a poster that contains great reviews from critics (?) That’s literally the opposite of what you said
I agree that midnights probably shouldn’t win or won’t win, but I think it’s just because midnights isn’t a sonic or career evolution like her previous wins. Completely disagree on the Anti-Hero point. I don’t think you can argue that a song that sat at the top of the charts and streaming for a year was all chart manipulation. LWYMMD and ME! were heavily manipulated and couldn’t chart for more than a month let alone a year.
I didn't say it was all chart manipulation. I actually directly said "I would never contest it was a massive hit." But the chart manipulations had a hand in that.
@@theswiftologistshe had a massive fan base so Anti-Hero has a lot of streamings but impact wise it isn't as widespread like Blank Space or Shake it off?
I had this exact feeling all 2023. It makes no sense that the songs/this album have had so much success when it’s objectively not her best album. Reputation comes to mind immediately. Her biggest year ever - if she had released reputation it would have the same success (yet it’s actually deserved) but when that album actually came out it didn’t do as well as she wanted. But it sucks we don’t get to see how long Anti-hero’s or Midnights’ real reach
I’m going to be honest I personally think Olivia and Lana deserves it but I feel like people should analyze midnights down to the very last part because it’s honestly one of the best albums in the last couple years.
didnt even realize people would vouch for midnights to be album of the year, it is very luke-warm.... you're on your own kid is one of the better ones on the album, but it is also not a new sound.
the thing is Midnights is a great album but it just doesnt deserve to be placed in the same ranks as Fearless, 1989 and Folklore. they are far superior than midnights. it was a great album, just not Taylor's best.
that is why it's MIDnights (ba dum tss). all kidding aside, midnights deserves AOTY but I think the other candidates is much more deserving. Just consider it as a revenge for evermore.
i'm LIVING for grammy month. I totally agree, but I also hope she doesn't win for her own sake. I don't think people would be very happy. it'd also be quite interesting to see how Taylor would react if GUTS one.
to make a case for you're on your own kid: in my opinion, it is both diaristic and confessional. the verses are about young unrequited love, following a dream then becoming disillusioned by what you find, and learning to live with the pain of growing up-- especially in the case of feeling like you had to grow up too fast. yoyok is deeply personally resonant with me as someone who moved away from home at 18 and has had a pretty tumultuous young adulthood. "i hosted parties and starved my body like i'd be saved by a perfect kiss" is extremely diaristic (literally the 1989 era in a nutshell), yet also has the power to connect with people across so many experiences. i could imagine that line resonating with so many people: a middle schooler who wants to be accepted by the popular kids, a broke young person working their ass off but still trying to have fun, someone who has been through substance use struggles, a young parent making sacrifices to try to give their kid the childhood they didn't have, probably anyone who has had an eating disorder, the list goes on
This is such a stacked category this year. I’m gong to be clapping and cheering for whoever Wins, but I’m predicting that Olivia is going to take it home. I can already hear the toxic, delusional Tiktok “swifties” flaming Olivia for this. Olivia would win and Taylor would clap and cheer and yet, people would somehow pick apart the moment and find away to criticize Olivia. We all got crowns you need to calm down. Very brave for making this video, Zack! wonderful video as always, I appreciate you! ❤️❤️
Finally someone said it. Since its release I’ve always thought that midnights it’s one of Taylor’s weakest albums in her career but now that we are not allowed to say anything barely negative about of her anymore, Twitter kinda gaslighted me into thinking that maybe I was in the wrong. Your arguments are so well structured, I’m happy that I’m not the only one who thinks that. I feel that giving her the AOTY for midnights will only translate that she doesn’t have to try anymore, but maybe I’m exaggerating. I still like a lot of its songs and one day I will definitely feel nostalgia for this album, but if you compare it to her previous nominated albums, boy the difference is HUGE.
I personally think that Midnight Rain is a stand out from Midnights (the cruel summer love story etc.) and accomplishes the original 13 sleepless nights concept that Taylor gave us despite it still being vague (because she's made it clear that it was her reminiscing over what could've been in the outro and the chorus creates a clear reason for the break up) and will definitely be remembered/timeless despite it not being a single--but seeing that this song's the "pinnacle" of the album really does show that it does not deserve album of the year
Can someone send this video to whoever the hell picks the Grammy winners? Just in case they're still waffling on whether to award Taylor for 2023 mania alone...
To me, Midnights was the bookend to her career to date in the sense that it was the review of her life/career/personal life since Debut. It definitely was a hard launch for the Eras Tour, which is smart, but my hope is that TS11 and beyond will be a completely new chapter - one with less Jack to start. He's great, but I'd like to see more challenging works and new producers, etc., from her moving forward for awhile. Maybe pop punk, maybe more on the folklore/evermore side, maybe more country, who knows. Less Jack, more new to her to explore.
Less Jack, less Dessner, less Max Martin too. I would love for her to work with producers from her favorite artists like Kendrick Lamar (DJ Dahi to bring a new energy to her music), Miguel, or her peers who are also fans like Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Paramore, St. Vincent, and 9 Inch Nails main producer) or Zach Bryan for a truly stripped-back acoustic and tonal sound to shift into a new age of country.
@aaliyahfoster2705 omg her and Zach Bryan together would be a dreeeaaamm. Just stripped back, smart lyrics with a heavy hand on layered specificity. Oof. Yes.
Taylor is clearly more interested in lore building than making interesting songs, which has a place in pop music overall but it's not a sign of unquestionable artistic merit. Midnights definitely suffers from all of the fan service in the lyrics and is as good as it is in spite of itself. I think she was trying to apply the lyrical abstraction of the folkmore era to her autobiographical songwriting style, and she needs more practice at it. And the fact that WCS, Hits Different, and YLM were left off the main record shows that she wasn't invested in making an emotionally consistent album.
WOW WOW!! Love this daring move. This is why you stand out from most Swifties: you are capable of analyzing your favorite artist! Totally agree with you about Midnights, nothing to add. I like the album but strangely I do not listen much to it, except for one song : Would've, Could've, Should've. Lyrically speaking to me it's the true master piece of this album. And your analysis made me connect the dots and truly understand why.
@@rozhanvakili4685 Nope I haven't. People on Twitter now X have always seemed so mean compared to most of the other platforms. But the attitude is simply why less and less journalists make analysis of Taylor's work. They son't want to be bullied simply doing their job. It's sad. She's my favorite artist, but I truly feel ashamed to be associated with these fanatics at time.
This video really has made me come to appreciate you and your channel. I do love Taylor swift and her music but I am starting to stop that crazed ‘she is perfect’ idea that you can get trapped in as a swiftie. I will probably forever love her and her music but I’m becoming able to also critique and accept that she is not perfect. I love midnights, I don’t know if it is simply because it is pop and I needed some fun at that time but I do really enjoy it still. I will say that I do gravitate more to the deluxe songs, especially the ones with Aaron’s input more than all the Jack songs. I do see how all the songs can seem unfinished in the songwriting, how they don’t always go as far as they intend and instead just stop. But it also makes me think how that’s how you can be in the middle of the night, you can’t think perfectly and do have trouble fully navigating a point. But I can also see how some people see that as a ‘lazy’ way of doing music by just adding an idea to explain the lack of let’s say effort. Overall I do enjoy midnights and it’s a good album and there are songs like ‘high infidelity’ and ‘would’ve could’ve should’ve’ that will forever be special to me. But it is not the best of her work, which I really acknowledge when I simply play the album and don’t stop and think while it’s playing which I do with evermore and folklore. Ok that’s my ten cents, thank you for reading my Ted talk 😂
P.s. I forgot but I definitely agree about how she didn’t really explain anything. I always love when we get to hear her process and what the work means to her. But here we didn’t get anything, not any interviews where she really says what the album was like. Instead it tends to pivot to the re-recording and or tour.
Use SWIFTOLOGIST to get 55% off your first month at Scentbird! sbird.co/4aA14Dc
*chefs kiss* When I envision using chat gbt, your speeches and breakdowns are how I imagine I would (could😂) sound.
This man need more comments
Taylor herself mentioned this was one of her most personal and intimate albums, so while it may be more cryptic, I think it's perfectly poetic. I believe she was a little less on the nose with this album, possibly as some of it spoke to her failing relationship with Joe, and as we all know, she was very private while in this relationship, and Joe would have been unhappy (and rumor has it, was unhappy in the end, with some of the songs pointing to their private life). Anyway, I do love this album - and it's always difficult for me to consider they don't deserve awards (they're all like my children, I love them all no matter what!). ;)
😂😂😂😂😂 mf she won
@@SWAQISCOZYrt
Isn’t it crazy how journalists are afraid to critique and dissect Taylor’s piece of work, which is supposed to be the essence of their job as she herself submits it to the public. However, they feel free to speculate on her sexuality, which isn’t supposed to be a part of the public narrative anyway?
I'm a (very) mild gaylor and I agree, keep sexuality speculations out of journalism.
amen girlie
That’s because there journalists called music critics, and then there are ‘journalists’ who frankly write about anything to get the attention of the audience.
@@GhostOfEvermoredon’t get carried away. she’s an incredible artist but to say no one is in her league?? that’s…delusional 😭
@24kgoldplatedvermeilI'm a LM besides being a swiftie and that's true... But I feel like Katy Perry would be the perfect example for this, music critics are more than comfortable to tear her work apart every single time
They are even worse with her than they are with Gaga, although they are also quite harsh with her sometimes
"Get people to award her for being successful rather than for the work being excellent". Point was made, and everybody was silenced.
that was a terrible point… he said that while showing the official grammy poster that contained three 5 star reviews of midnights (?)
she’s clearly showcasing the recognized quality of the album.
And That's On Periodt.
thats just bullshit shut up lmao
Nope, not silenced at all. It's a nonsensical argument to try and pretend that his own subjective opinions of the albums in question is subjective fact.
LOL, nothing was silenced. It has made a fortune for her and her label. Who is this guy?
She advertised midnights as thoughts that "kept her awake at night" so I expecting the album to be darker & deeper than it was. Some tracks accomplished that like anti-hero, should've could've would've, You're losing me and the Great War . But some of these songs felt surface level like Paris, Question, and Snow on the Beach. Idk they just didn't feel like things that someone would "lose sleep over" they felt like regular pop songs. I don't think it captured what it was meant to and some of the songs felt like they were vault tracks that fit into the sound of the album, so she just threw them in there. To be honest, folklore and evermore had deeper themes than midnights did.
An even bigger problem for it there is that the only song you mentioned as accomplishing the theme of the album, that is even being considered for album of the year was anti hero, the rest weren't a part of the standard album and that's the one being nominated
The fact that WCS isn't part of the standard edition of the album makes me so mad because if there's one song in the entire record that captures de feeling of "being kept awake at night by momenta in the past" it is definitely this one
At least spell the name of the song right
What about labyrinth? You’re
On your own kid ? Maroon?
And to be fair Question is pretty deep too! Don’t let the lighthearted melody deceive you in to thinking it isn’t..
@@Rebecca-bz6phI think the problem with some of the songs you mentioned is yes, I guess for example in Labyrinth having that feeling of oh I’m falling in love is something that keeps you awake at night…. I just wish it was more descriptive and more personal. The thing I can’t stand with some of the songs on Midnights is how vague they are. Taylor’s biggest strength is story telling, and sadly I didn’t feel she utilised it enough for the concept of Midnights which was about “13 sleepless nights throughout her life”. The song Labyrinth could be about anyone cause of how severely vague it is. I just think some of the songs on Midnights are very surface level and not clear, and fans wanted more storytelling and personal lyrics due to how she framed the album when it was announced.
Personally I think a lot was going on BTS with Taylor and Joe which she didn’t feel ready to share yet. I think the Eras tour had been planned secretly for a while and she needed a big pop album to go back on the road with. And that gives you Midnights. Something about the album feels off… I have always felt like Taylor put up a wall and didn’t want to share too much which is fine. But I think in conclusion this led to many fans being disappointed cause of the way it was marketed.
Cruel Summer being her largest hit this year exemplifies how Midnights doesn’t really stand on its own without The Eras Tour. Any album released when Midnights was and paired with a tour of this size would be successful. It should not be forgotten that Lover, Folklore, & 1989 TV are all the charting in the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 right now as high as Midnights. It feels like these other albums are already overshadowing the current era only a year past release.
so true I didn't think of that!
Respectfully, I disagree! Midnights very much stands on it own. It is the most streamed album in 1 day in Spotify history and it had 10 songs in the top 10 of Billboard 100. It quite literally is one of her most successful albums and the most successful album in the past year.
@@slugger1236 success doesnt equal long term impact. it was the most streamed album on its 1ST DAY and had ten songs DEBUT in the top ten yet Cruel Summer (a 5 year old song) is currently outpeaking all the midnights singles which had remixes, radio push and music videos. She has many older albums doing just as well as Midnights on the Billboard 200 currently. And anyways, having these stats aren't the only metric...Kacey Musgraves won in 2019 with album that peaked at number 4 cause the music was THAT good. And artists like SZA/Olivia both had a #1 album & single with these records...not to mention SOS actually spent more weeks at number 1 then Midnights...oop
@@north406 Personally, I don't believe any other album in Cotension has had the same level of impact globally that Midnights had.
You are saying that midnights is getting all of the success because of eras tour but you are using cruel summer as an example of a song that stands on its own which is hilarious to me because it is also got so successful because of the tour only. It went viral on tik tok after she performed it on the tour, before that it was only a fan favorite lol. Although I do not think that midnights deserves aoty but it does very much stands on its own in terms of success. It is also very consistent. Yes eras tour has boosted it but eras tour has boosted her entire discography, not just midnights because bear in mind, it's called the 'eras' tour and not 'midnights' tour
do we give you enough credit? your narration and argumentation is EXCELLENT!
thank you 🥰
It should win a pop vocal album if anything but not the album of the year! I'd even take anti-hero getting its own award because it's such a vulnerable and clever song. As a longtime diehard swiftie myself, I think the winning album of the year would be bad for her because it'd undermine her success as being in her name only and not her quality of craft. I also want her to be challenged to branch out more.
Exactly my thoughts
i really think midnights’s quality was hampered by taylor being forced to obfuscate what the album was really about. the fact that she had to hide that a lot of it was about her relationship with joe falling apart meant that she couldn’t really dive into meaningful confessional songwriting without giving it away.
I feel that way, too. Just thinking back to the release of Midnights, everyone was dissecting the songs in relation to her known past relationships and Taylor lore, but some stuff didn’t really make sense until we learned about her split with Joe. I love the album and Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve is a masterpiece IMO. It’s been in heavy rotation for me, but I don’t think it’s her best album and that’s fine-I know she struggles with that drive for perfection but she’s literally at the top of her game with her tour and level of respect among her peers and fans.
I think AOTY should go to either Lana or Sza. I love Olivia, too, and Guts has some fantastic songs, but I still think Lana and Sza are a notch above.
Completely agree. One of my biggest issues with Midnights is Taylor’s biggest strength is storytelling, diaristic/confessional writing. When the album was announced I was so hyped cause of the way it was marketed (13 sleepless nights throughout my life). I really felt like Taylor could knock it out of the park and have a field day with the concept of the album. And then when I listened to the album, something felt off. It felt like Taylor was severely holding back from being honest on the record. Hence why so many lyrics/songs feel very vague and surface level.
Take Labyrinth for example, having a song be about that feeling of not being able to sleep cause you have fallen in love with someone is a great concept. But the song lacks severely (I acc don’t mind the song), but Taylor can do better than that IMO. It’s so vague and surface level it could be about literally anyone. It doesn’t reveal anything about her personally which goes against the whole theme of the album which is about different nights throughout her life. Same can be said for others songs like Snow On the Beach etc.
I do also question whether Taylor can make a good pop record nowadays. Another issue I have with midnights is it’s such a bloated album when you include the 3AM tracks etc and if you put some of the better extra songs on the main body it would maybe be a much better album. IDK something is off with midnights and it annoys me cause I can’t point my finger on what exactly.
100%. This album as a concept would be executed better now that their relationship is publicly over and she can really dig into those emotions through songwriting.
@@sophiahames6821 I think I can help you here, cause sometimes my subconscious keeps bothering my consciousness with something I am about to understand, but still not doing it -- and only recently I finally did for Midnights.
She fooled us. Her five years relationship with Joe was over. *_Five_* , not six. They were full blown broken apart when she released the album in October 2022. That thing when we saw them popping up in secretive restaurants ( I mean, without a paparazzo making it public in the way in OR the way out, which is strange, and then someone leaking pictures from them inside) and then reports claiming they had actual gallons of wine through the night, that was her trying to win him back, reconciliate, a turkey leg crave relapse 3 am, if you will.
And it did not work, so she decided to actually release "Hits Different" as a bonus and then "You're losing me", trying some new hand bags we didn't like and all that jazz.
So because the album was made *_while inside the process of breaking up_* , the first songs all parallel the current (ending) ship with previous ones -- the songs are about both relationships at the same time (it's actually genius, thinking of it now 😮😅):
💜Lavender: Speak Now Era, Taylor Lautner, a shorter tan skinned love interest; she used the koy fish guitar back then, but Pisces is Joe's sin and all; only two stable relationships she truly knew*
♥️Maroon: I think she's finally seeing resemblances between her relationship with Jake and her relationship with Harry; that's why the song seems to reference both; trying to escape the age gap pattern in the arms of a younger man, she felt right into the trap of another artsy psychologically avoidant type of guy;
💛Anti hero: maybe I'm the problem🤍 Snow OTB: actually about Harry: she associated him with beach, in her mind, at first, because we all didn't know yet but they first MET at LA; then after the first big break (and a long six months), what we saw, the Central Park date with, seagulls, a random niece and fox sweaters, was actually a time of Harry use relapse, it was weird but...
🩵YOYOK: let's reflect some more, shall we
💙 *_M I D N I G H T R A I N_* : I think she did it, but I can't prove it, she's admitting to be Dorothea 😮
💜 Question: _"Is it over now"_ , Reputation's version
🖤VS: Reputation (Reputation's version)
🩷 Bejeweled: Prince Jack, really? Not being subtle about this being a Jake song, but it's elevated to abother level when you think this is her doing what she *_"wanted"_* to do with _"Red"_ , this how empowered the young-woman_coming-of-age™ in her wanted to feel -- but didn't cause she remembered it all too well;
🩶Labyrinth: FINALLY DIRECTLY ADRESSING THE SIT 🙄
🔮Karma: she decides she doesn't need to have an actual boyfriend super right now in order to these lyrics to be true; she realizes she is the moment, she is everything, she is Barbie, and the Universe just reaponds to that;
🍃 Sweet Nothings: she did an effing double interview with the legendary Sir Paul himself, let's not all forget about that, will we? She recicled this song she wrote with Turkey to occupy position #12 because she realized that's what she wants a relationahip to be💁🏻
🕰️MegaMind: having just concluded what she does and doesn't want, compares herself to a Beattle and come to terms with the Universe, she draws the final conclusion she is the ultimate arbitrer of her life, and that's ok, that's empowering, that's important. We came full circle with a cohesive 13 songs album.
*(apparently even Taylor herself discards Calcium Hydroxide, cuz if she was feeling like in a long term while the ship was on, looking in hindsight she was being envied all the way, which she considers emotional betrayal, so it doesn't count. That's what "High Infidelity" is about, I guess, like... "You were bf, dude, I trusted you, and you were seeing me as an enemy the whole time, no wonder I felt so insecure and attention seeking the whole time, you know what, you deserve to be Loki-ed)
100% agree. Honestly even Folklore and Evermore. Yes i believe some of what she said that she was storytelling and some songs like Betty, August and Cardigan are made up situations HOWEVER the rest of the albums are very telling into where her relationship with Joe was going and coincides with a lot of the thoughts on Midnights. I don’t see her ever saying that though for image and maybe to shed the stereotype she used to have that all she sings about is boys and her relationships (which is fine)
Keep being unbiased. No one is above being critiqued. Hopefully, SZA wins for SOS. She had a huge era and deserves praise.
i feel lana deserves the win but sza is certainly worthy as well!!
I feel like you're the only swiftie content creator who has their own opinions and does not eat up everything that Taylor does.
As an artistic point of you, it definitely will challenge her to not win AOTY - like red did, to get to 1989! I hope she takes some time after the last re-recording to reflect and gather new inspiration and perhaps step into a new territorial of genre! ☺
I agree! Why settle for midnights when she has the skill to make something better
that's exactly what i was thinking!
i will never stop clowning for rock taylor
ROCK TAYLOR WHEN 😭
AND MIDNIGHTS WON ALBUM OF THE YEAR 🤪
Midnights is kind of an odd turn for me. While folklore and evermore serves as an evolution into a more intimate arc for her, Midnights suddenly sort of regressed into a more commercial-friendly lack of substance, kinda feels like shes trying to give Lover another try. It feels too safe for her and she certainly has the skills and capability to do better than this, it's just weaker than her previous albums. I think now that she is now the tastemaker and no longer the underdog, she faces the insecurity of relevancy, or more specifically, the pressure of remaining at the top, hence why she would return to pop in such a lackluster way. Again, this is just my theory and my train of thoughts,, so give me some of yall insights!!
Honestly, I was sold as new Taylor Swift listener (I do not identify as a Swifty) when I listened to Folklore amd Evermore and I was so excited about the next album and I gotta say I ended up disappointed. I really could not get the hype about Midnights.
This is a really insightful opinion, I agree with it. I wasn’t necessarily disappointed initially about Midnights, but that is probably just because those songs are all bops. Now that I think about my experience with these albums, yeah… it couldn’t have been more different. Something is missing that I felt like was incredibly close in the folkmore era.
Yeah it's too try hard and is campaigning to the locals
thank you for saying this!
I don’t understand why it is so hard for people to grasp that GUTS is more deserving of the accolade than Midnights. By simply going to Metacritic and reading the critic’s reviews of the albums, GUTS is being hailed as an instant classic and an evolution from her previous body of work. Whereas the 2nd highest review for Midnights from Variety reads “Midnights doesn’t venture as far into other fields as some of her more openly ambitious albums have” and “The new album benefits from its relative modesty, length-wise and streamlining-wise.” Midnights is a good album, but GUTS has done more to push the envelope and try new things, I believe it refines and builds upon concepts and sounds found on SOUR, in the same way that Fearless built upon Debut. I’m not coming at this from a perspective of a hater, I’ve grown up with Taylor and I have been a fan of her much longer than I’ve been a fan of Olivia. If there were a Grammy for artist of the year, or tour of the year (an argument for tour of all-time could even be made), Taylor would deserve to win, but in terms of albums, Midnights is the least deserving in the category. Also, not to ramble for too long, but I believe it would be more beneficial in the long run for Taylor to not win, as I feel like the decision will not age as well, and her winning will likely cause a backlash.
because they're HATERS
this deserves the best comment award! It's refreshing to see swifties here on using their critical thinking and unbiased opinions. As a swiftie myself, I stopped following swifties on twitter. It was giving me a headache with all the hate speech they give to other female artists, especially Olivia.
be for real, AOTY isn’t just about some reviews on metacritic. guts doesn’t come close to midnights’ dominance and impact. SOS is the only album that deserves AOTY other than midnights.
@@milkgalactic Midnights only achieved that dominance and impact because it’s Taylor Swift. She could hold a microphone up to her ass and fart, and it would go platinum.
From the future: you were right
Was Midnights good? Yes, absolutely. I love it, actually.
But here’s the thing: Was it the best album when albums like SOS, Ocean BLVD, and Guts exist? No. If she wins, it will be because of Taylormania and tbh, I’ll be upset. ESP since Fearless, 1989, and folklore were cultural resets and beyond deserved with or without Taylormania. Give her SOTY for Anti-Hero, that would be extremely deserved.
If you think GUTS or SOS are better than Midnights you need your ears checked. I could see SOS but Guts was such a disappointment and its complete collapse from every major music market shows that.
GUTS over Midnights is wild
Yeah I agree. SOS had good singles but it has a bunch of filler songs. As a coherent album where every song could be a single?? Eh idk. Same with guts. And actually I would argue it is a more cohesive album than sos. And going to midnights I personally love it. Cohesive. Not over bloated with filler songs. It’s my 2nd favorite taylor swift album. Reputation being the first. The mood, the sounds the lyrics all fit perfectly. The writing is much deeper than 1989 I would say. So I actually do think midnights deserves that album of the year
personally i think that what was i made for will win soty, and is deserves it much more than anti hero.
1989 would have deserved any other year but not against TPAB
It’s time for Lana to win. Olivia or Sza too
i agree 100%. like i want that so badly for her
I want Lana to win
olivia or sza deserve it 100%
I want Lana to win sza is good as well.. but was guts that great…..? And I think midnights isn’t undeserving
Lana.
If you compare Midnights to Fearless, 1989, and Folklore it’s just so evident that it doesn’t deserve AOTY status along with them. ESPECIALLY when Red doesn’t have it😭. Also the category is STACKED this year! GUTS, Ocean BLVD, or SOS for the win!!!
Completely agree in every way! TEAMSOS
Red is her worst album
@@moonflower8829Uh oh, that’s such a bold statement to make😂
@@moonflower8829oohhhh we don’t wanna do that….
I personally think that 1989 didn’t deserve AOTY, but Red did, the Grammys are just f ed up
I am so scared that if she wins AOTY she is going to phone it in (in terms of production and editing her work) because she wont need to try so hard. I need for TS11 to be a challenge for her creativity after coming off so many career defining moments.
I completely agree I’m also nervous cause Taylor thrives on these kind of accolades so I don’t want her to put out musics(that’s is still good) that chases more commercial success that can get her just as much praise as something like a folklore or fearless or 1989.
AGREE!
@@sarahxyzmartin1636folklore wasn’t about commercial success at all. taylor’s already so commercially successful that people are going to get sick of it. it’s like she said, as a woman in the music industry she constantly has to reinvent herself to stay relevant. the pop star thing has been her mainstream reputation since like 2014, i feel like it may be a better career move to tone down the capitaylism and focus on the art because it will make her more timeless in the long run. but she doesn’t have to- she’s set for life. she could disappear if she wanted. but this career for her has always been about, obviously the music, but she doesn’t make that kind of music anymore that she dreamed of in childhood. being Taylor Swift is also about the fans, the crowd cheering. Long Live. she doesn’t want to see her castles crumbling, she wants to stay the queen of pop and make everyone love her. it would make waves if she did another genre switch up, and there are so many areas she hasn’t explored. but she could totally just play it safe. i don’t know if she’d be artistically satisfied with that, but maybe her satisfaction with her public image and fame would matter more? idk. i have no idea what’s going on in her head but i can only clown for a rock album until TS11
I’m hoping we get some new collaborators for TS11. I’m okay with more Aaron Dessner but I think Jack needs to take a backseat. Don’t get me wrong, I love his songs but some variety and innovation is needed. Still holding out for that soft rock album she teased Midnights to be.
so we're all hoping for a rock album here? yes PLEASE
guts 0 grammys i'm crying 😭
so undeserved
@@ostrichesarecool2635 so deserved*
@@ostrichesarecool2635well deserved
@@tyerry9803 guts is such a good album and she deserved one for vampire at least and I’m standing on that 🥲
I actually heavily agree with opinion. Simply because, I think other nominees outdid themselves much more with their albums
I have a theory that Taylor is trying to repeat the frequency of her Grammy wins under Big Machine with the new label. So Folklore is her Fearless while Midnights is her 1989. Yet her 1989 AOTY victory came after having to prove her loss under Red. Midnights comes after Evermore - which is just an extended period of the creative flow she explored in Folklore. Taylor may want a victory for Midnights, but she really didn't put forth anything that she needed to prove in that album.
That being said, TS11 will go hard.
If you’re going that route then evermore would be speak now and midnight is red. So it would like if midnight loses we’ll get another life altering album like 1989 did
@@katelynnrice4983yes! there's also a pattern so far to taylor's aotys - Fearless won, 2 albums didn't, 1989 did, two albums didn't, folklore won - if ts11 wins aoty that'll be such a funny coincidence.
coincidence is a wild take when she lobbies so hard for these wins lol @@takemetothelakes13
@@takemetothelakes13!!!!!!
Listening to you is like being in a university class with my favorite professor. I don't know how you squeeze so MUCH content into 35 minutes. The way you use the language itself is also so tasty. I agree wholeheartedly with your analysis today. Yes, it would probably be the best thing for Taylor to lose Grammy of the year this time. She often does her best work after being rejected. I wish to see her come up with something genuinely new, and a blow to her ego might just be the ticket. I Love her!
And pray for her protection. And wonder where she will go from here. Thanks so much for your great master classes on all things TAYLOR
thank you so much!!
I disagree and yet loved listening to this opinion. It's crazy how we've reached a point where we find it impossible to appreciate someone's opinion if it doesn't agree 100 percent with yours. People no longer know how to think critically or are open to debate and it's sad...
My point and purpose is proven every time the insane people do their worst 😅 thank you for watching!
As much as I love Anti-Hero, I feel like Dear Reader does what Anti-Hero was trying to do but in a far more authentic, impactful, reflective way. Too bad it wasn’t a bop but it is definitely the song from Midnights that I crave and return to on an emotional level.
So refreshing to see an honest voice providing some proper reporting for the swifties who use their heads✨
Without seeing the video yet I agree that Midnights doesn’t deserve AOTY. It’s an amazing album but it didn’t leave much of an impact as other albums did. Whenever I say this it always gets hate but people need to realize Taylor doesn’t deserve every award!!
I completely agree, well spoken
Yes! It’s not a personal attack against her or the swifties
Exactly. I relate with Olivia Rodrigo 's GUTS way more! Doesn't mean I dislike Taylor. I love her so much and she's so talented!
Agree let others have a chance
I completely agree with you. It was a fun and new album, yes. We all streamed Anti-hero many times for sure, but like Zach said, it wasn’t a career-defining moment for her… and I’m a HUGE swifte😂😍
It's really wild how no one even watched the video and is just commenting out of the blue. You state multiple times how you like this album a lot, it's just not aoty material. Like, this is clear throughout the whole video. It's not hating on the album at all. It's not even saying "it's not going to win". I'm genuinely curious about how this "aged like milk" apparently???? Like what element exactly aged badly???
they can't read/are delusional/are obsessed w me etc etc we have to cheer because it only helps me in the long run engagement wise .... let them act the fool !
Fr some people just wanna hate for the sake of hating.
The Recording Academy screwed up big time. Midnights does not move the needle in any direction the same way Fearless, 1989, & Folklore did. This is ridiculous.
zachary i just have to say i enjoy your videos so much. you’re very eloquent and i can see how much work you put into them. love how objective you are towards taylor while taking into account everything you know from being a fan. congratulations on your amazing work.
thank you so much!
Midnights feels to me like an appeal to the fans foremost even conceptually with it being about a series of sleepless nights throughout her life in that it gives some extra background detail and commentary on various events that inspired other songs. Midnights is intrinsically connected then to the Eras Tour because both serve to bring back the image of ‘better’ moments in her career. It cannot stand on its own as well as her other AOYT wins because I feel Midnights relies so heavily on her other albums. I still absolutely love Midnights, but as a piece of ‘art’ it’s likely in the lower half of her albums imo
I think if SOS wasn’t on this years grammy then midnights would deserve it
Agreed! I feel like there were elements from past albums that were incorporated into each song
I think it’s intrinsically connected to the taylor’s version project too because of the the vaults. I often wondered why she would need one album for “songs from nights throughout her life” if the vault tracks exist but I guess it supports this nostalgia and lore driven era. Smart to tie midnights in I guess but you’re totally right, it wasn’t made to stand on its own and it clearly doesn’t
Exactly!
Midnights deserves album of my heart but not album of the year
Ocean Blvd has to win ❤
my pick as well!
Please lord, give Lana her award she so thoroughly DESERVES
Personally I want GUTS to win because it shows so much maturity and career growth from SOUR but ocean Blvd deserves it very much as well
@@honestlyali28guts: sour part two
The way people are hating on you rn in the comment section for this take is crazy. You're not a bitter hater who just wants to bring Taylor Swift down to make yourself feel better, you're simply offering an opinion as to why you think Midnights did not deserve AOTY, and you did so very respectfully. The people hating on you and calling you a loser seriously lack critical thinking skills.
It’s really bizarre lol. But they’re just helping my videos on the algorithm with all the engagement so….im gonna let them rock!
@@theswiftologist That's very true and a great outlook on it. I can't wait to hear your take on the grammys this year as well! You are a breath of fresh air in this fandom :)
@@theswiftologistI am a huge swiftie since Fearless and I was honestly disappointed when Midnights won because it was truly mid and also now it will only lead to more overexposure for her
@@theswiftologistjust for a short time girl. So enjoy what you have 🤣
And ppl come here just to say you were wrong. We dont really give a sht what you say or even watch your video or channel.
Coming from Folklore and Evermore, Midnights was quite a letdown for me even though it's a nice album and now i get why, thinking about it, the lyrical quality is not as good.
Excellent as always Zach and Ocean Blvd for the win! 😂🎀
FINALLY!!! omg i have been dragged over the coals by my swifty fruends for sharing a simlair take to you on why midnights doesnt deserve the win. Honestly i couldnt of said it better myself!!!!! (side note: no boygenuis video is a tragedy)
Midnights is my favorite album by her but all these criticisms as to why the album isn't her best are all valid. For the people that are being beyond cruel at someone providing their opinions as to why it's not as deserving of the award need to understand that there is a difference between not deserving of the award vs. actually not winning the award. As happy as I am that Taylor won AOTY with Midnights, I do think she mainly won because of Taylormania
THIS!!!
I love this album. But what happened here is she was writing a break up album before the breakup was over. And she's at a place in her life where she doesn't want to be confessional publicly and so is holding back and that's why it's more vague. I think two songs that really stand out as an explanation for this album are Dear Reader (where she confesses to being an unreliable narrator) and then Losing Me which was added as a bit of an epilogue after her relationship was announced to be over and using those two songs yiu can understand the album better. Otherwise yes, i see what you're saying about it being a bit too familiar and not being a breakthrough or statement work.
you're actually so real for this. is rare to find swifties who can love Taylor and be critical at the same time.
i've been saying this and getting a lot of hate for it. its highly possible that Midnights is gonna win AOTY, without deserving it.
I love this album but yes, I absolutely agree that Midnights doesn't deserve to win AOTY. (evermore deserved it, though)
I agree. I wish both folk/ever won, but at least she won a grammy in the same genre.
FR EVERMORE DESERVED IT
100% Evermore supremacy
you are RIGHT and you should say it!!! love your content so much. can’t wait for the SOS video!
I love how honest and well thought out your video essays are, its so refreshing to see! I love Midnights as well but I agree with your analysis here.
What makes Midnights fall short as album of the year worthy for me is that when you compare it to something like 1989 and how iconic and revolutionary to the music industry that album was, Midnights comes nowhere near to such excellence. That's rough because I can't help comparing Midnights to her previous outstanding albums and I wonder if that's something the grammys also take into consideration. Guts, however, absolutely deserves. I'll be happy if Midnights wins of course but I also believe there are more deserving contenders.
I think Midnights is really about loneliness. Like in lavender haze how she's deluding herself to fall back in love with this person who's not very much invested in her. And i think loneliness is the thread that runs through all thses songs. YOYOK is the best example song for that. Any song you take i could see the element of being lonely in it. That's just my thoughts, would welcome any ayy sayers or nayy sayers 😅
i agree. and her refusal to discuss the album could be an extention of this idea of loneliness and introspection.
i feel that the vagueness is intentional on the album - like maybe she felt she didnt need to tell us everything - like im sure other artists are not as candid with their audience as taylor is - it could be that she is trying that on for size. we dont need to know which song refers to which night in her life, as long as i can sit out late at night and vibe to this album while having an existential crisis, or simply vibing to the loopy production. i feel us being able to decode taylor's songs and their source material in the past albums and no tbeing able to do it rn is what is causing this "disconnect". but i dont think this is necessarily a bad thing, given that this is the case with most other artists.
i think while a case can be made in terms of other contenders being better (i havent heard the records all the way through so idk) as a lone, singular body of work, i cant say midnights doesnt deserve it but neither can i say it definitely does.
also- to the lana part- maybe taylor was trying to do something like her and give us vague ranblings? and i mean this respectfully - like is it unfair to see her work in context of what she has always done - given us confessional insights and dock marks if she doesnt stay the course? cause the songs on midnights are a lot like my own unhinged, middle of the night weird thoughts, which are unstructured and many times inconclusive. cause i then see this as more of an experiment gone wrong with taylor trying on a different voice
and i agree that great doesnt always mean excellent, and midnights isnt excellent. for me its a very mood based album - i have to be in a specific frame of mind to listen to it, as opposed to most of her other works
I agree. Midnights isn't even in my top 5 Taylor Swift albums, which doesn't mean it's bad. It just means that she can do so much more better than this artistically.
Also, I'm one of those people who don't understand Lana's music, I'm sure she's brilliant. I wish I'm one of those people who loves her music.
Could say the same about guts not my thing. I don't really enjoy pop punk.
SOS is truly the album of the year in my opinion. It's great both lyrically and sonically. I would love for SOS to win.
I also think Taylor winning album of the year for Midnights would do more harm than good to her. Even in the music world every other artist would feel discouraged and grow resentment towards Taylor because it's truly not fair when you award Taylor just for putting out music like every other award shows!
Agree, Midnights leaves a lot to interpretation and that is one of my favourite things about it
I adored midnights, even more than folklore and evermore. Not saying I’m a music scholar but some enjoyment of art is specific to the person. Beauty is in the eye (ear) of the beholder.
While I see where you are coming from when saying the lack of the "confessional" element on "Midnights" feels like a result of Taylor having to offer less thematically and being deep into her "hyper-productivity era", to me all of this seems… Rather intentional? I reckon "Midnights", defined by its name, its tagline, production and basically every other part of it, is SUPPOSED to echo sleepless introspective nights WITHOUT arriving at a clear answer to one's ramblings, which is why Taylor's narrator is being obscure with their story, yet evocative with their feelings (conveyed through the style and the aesthetic of the project, as well). I would even go as far as to say that it makes sense why Lana Del Rey is the singular feature on the standard edition, since she could be deemed the first artist who comes to mind when you think of an image of a "mysterious woman contemplating on everything regarding her life and still, when sharing that, merely hinting at it instead of attempting to be easily understood". Furthermore, I feel like Taylor being more obvious with her diaristic storytelling would be her "playing safe", because WE KNOW she can deliver a song with a transparent structure and an outlined "moral", if you will - she has done that numerous times! WE KNOW her characters can show certainty in their righteousness or their mistakes, but… Can her characters, for instance, be confused? Fervently or dreamily ranting, so to speak? Constantly reminiscing about their experiences, yet not fully comprehending them, hence "presenting the truth" rather than "giving an insight", as you have put it in your review? On "Midnights", Taylor Swift proves - yes, they CAN, at least that is how I view it, and it seems to be working and successful, given the ONGOING public reiteration and discussion of the material on this record and, albeit partly manipulated, commercial success. It might have at first appeared to me, compared to other Taylor's releases, as, perhaps, a rather unrisky and less complicated Swift & Antonoff collaboration, conveniently alluding to Bleachers, too… However, I am now inclined to consider it more of a development to Taylor's artistry and legacy than a regression from her prior work (this is presumably EXTREMELY FAR-FETCHED, but, if I recall all of the following correctly, even in literature modernism with its obscure forms and content, which initially perplexed the readers and was perceived as relatively simplistic, took the lead AFTER romanticism, which to me could be, though VERY roughly, likened to the progression from "folklore"/"evermore" to "Midnights"). I am not sure if I root for Taylor's record to snatch this year's AOTY grammy exclusively, taking into account the excellence and the impact of the other contenders, although I haven't listened to all of them properly yet… I will probably be as happy for Lana to get her LONG-DESERVED accolade, if she gets to win… Nevertheless, I am confident that "Midnights" has EARNED its nomination and it fits your criteria for it, since, summing up all of the above and more, it is an artistic achievement and it has greatly influenced the public and the culture. Reflecting on everything I have just written, I have been WAITING for a more detailed comment from you on your opinion and possible doubts about all of this, and I have once again eaten up the delicious food you have served, Zack, as I shall - so THANK YOU for your dedicated and devoted "boots-on-the-ground" journalism, genuinely!
@senseshchepin thank you for this comment! I think Zach is very well spoken and makes great points, but maybe because he has been such a TS fan for so long and is so familiar with her work he had expectations that were just not met with midnights. And that is completely fine. I like his criticism. However, as someone who was never super familiar with TS until last year (of course i knew some of her songs, but didn't REALLY listen to full albums until the re-recordings) I find Midnights quite different than all of her previous albums, and different in a good way. More mature, more mysterious, yes... sometimes confusing, but so what? Do we really need to dissect and understand every single lyric in order to enjoy a song? Why is it ok for Lana, but not for Taylor? As a new fan, my take is that Taylor likes to experiment and she tries to consistently give us something different. Midnights is precisely that attempt to jump into something very different from her Folklore/Evermore and back into Pop, but not the pop she has done before: very curated, planned, a cohesive story to tell, etc. Midnights, as you mentioned above, could be interpreted as an attempt at literature modernism, and I'm ok with it being vague, rambling or even confusing at times. Granted, the "15 seconds later they were clapping too" is interesting. Is it the AOTY? At the end of the day, it is an album I truly enjoyed and listened to it the most in comparison to the other nominees. I think it is deserving of a nomination for sure. Personally, Im rooting for Lana because I also really loved TUOB and the fact that the women does not have a grammy is a CRIME. Also really enjoyed GUTS and would not be upset if it wins. Cant say I have listened to SOS enough to have a fully formed opinion.
I will say, I think Midnights is the Grammy’s safe choice for album of the year. I feel like if she wins, it will just contribute to the Taylormania that’s started since the Eras Tour, or even before then. Taylor Swift has won album of the year before, and for much better albums. When it comes to the last two years, there have been other albums that, in my opinion, are much better and more deserving for album of the year.
I don’t think it’s safe choice actually. Because she would have been the only person ever to have 4 AOTYs. I think that’s kind of risky move for the Grammies.
@@katherinepierce7948She’s been the only person to do achieve a lot of things recently, and hasn’t gotten much pushback (in comparison to the praise). I’d be interested if her undeservingly winning AOTY would start to shift the public eye in that way.
@@katherinepierce7948 I 100% agree. I’m seeing everywhere, from swifties and general music critics, that midnights does not deserve to win. It really feels like that’s the consensus. So if the academy chooses midnights, it will a) put the Grammys under fire for being biased, and b) catapult Taylor to the already fast-approaching destination of overexposure. If she wins it will truly not be a safe choice for the Grammys OR Taylor.
@@hannahthomas4044the tay hate train has been on the rise for a while now
Honestly you put into words what i was feeling this entire time and couldn't exactly explain it 😂 midnights is so insanely vague!!! I kept looking at the tracklist and thinking "damn... what the hell are these songs even about??" I guess from the 13 original tracks the clearest one is probably vigilante shit 😂 and that says a lot!
I think she didn't have much to say with this album. Midnights feels like a collection of ok pop songs. Nothing more, nothing less. If it wins AOTY, it's obvious they're awarding her success rather than the quality of the work she put out, and I think the Grammys will lose a lot of credibility.
I hate how you have to prove that you're a huge fan of Taylor Swift in order to prevent people from attacking you. Even people who doesn't like her work can critic her.
in order for her to break this record, she needs to release her magnum opus, and a TRUE aoty
Wait I wish we could have an open dialogue about this because I think if you’re to rethink your approach to the album, I think your takeaway would be much deeper. For me, this album is the product of Taylor going through her diaries at the end of the Lover era for the Deluxe content. I think Dear Reader is the perfect summary of how she got to Midnights. I think that tied with the re-record process, it was the perfect time to revisit her past with the lens of current day Taylor. To me, that’s the thesis of the album where she is looking back and wanting to rewrite her past but knowing it would come with implications. I think this is also seen with songs like YOYOK and Maroon.
I will agree that I think Taylor’s desire to keep this album 100% Jack means we didn’t get the perfect bow of Dear Reader, but I think the intention of the 3AM version was to appease the listeners who were expecting Folklore/Evermore without it completely muddling the record with an non cohesive album.
As for this more so being a hard launch to the Eras Tour, I think that was an unintentional byproduct of how big of an artist got from 2020-2023. I think we were meant to get more from this project but Taylor and her team pivoted. Taylor has learned that they leave a lot on the table when moving on too fast (see Cruel Summer). However sacrificing art for money and a stronger name isn’t out of the question either.
I respect your opinion, but again, I think your view on the project isn’t what the intent of the project was supposed to be.
For the sake of better music from the HBIC, it must be said!
Love the video. Swifties have this narrative that she is often snubbed or undermined by critics, but I actually think it's the opposite. There have been some incredible records released over the years by great artists (Lana for example) who are legitimately ignored and underrepresented in the awards race and media publications.
Take 'Lover' for example - it got a 7.1 on Pitchfork which is actually quite high. If this album was released by someone else, I believe it would have ranked lower. And 'Midnights' is a step back in her artistic journey ESPECIALLY after Folklore and Evermore, but reviewers and critics get mercilessly attacked and threatened for stating it. Journalists should not have to feel afraid to share their honest opinions and shouldn't have to resort to giving middle ground, lukewarm critiques that always include some sort of discussion about her impact and success. It's boring to not have honest discussions about the music and as you said, not helpful to Taylor's artistic career.
i love this channel so much because its not a blind swiftie, hes a swiftie that actually knows what hes talking about
Swiftologist serving us with the content that not many swifties are brave enough to serve we have to stan
Did you see she was invited to be a voter for the Grammy's and the Oscar's. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter 💖
Yeah. I think she already is confirmed as a voting member on the music branch for the oscars
Taylor would vote for Lana 💗
TBH as a swiftie for many years, Midnights is definitely not Taylor's best album. I wouldn't put it in my top 5. Lana, Olivia, Miley really deserve AOTY.
You're absolutely right. I think midnights relies FAR too much about past TS lore and makes it so it's hard for us to connect to it as a standalone album. It's just as described, a bunch of snippets that start to give you insight, but don't follow through because we're missing the bigger picture of the complete albums they're related to. It's still great. I love it. It's just not quite there for me. Unreal Unearth got there for me more and it wasn't even nominated.
and that’s why you’re the swiftologist! ❤ amazing analysis, sending you protection from the crazies! personally I want Guts to win; as a former Olivia hater Guts has completely changed my mind on her and her music. the songwriting is sooooo personable to Olivia and what she’s feeling, unlike Midnights 😅 happy grammy month thank you over and over again for feeding us!!!
thank you legend
I really love Midnights. It’s a total vibe and sounds different from everything she put out before it. It’s one of my favorite albums from her.
Right ❤❤
"I am the people." Realest thing I've heard this morning 🙌🏾
I love Taylor. She is the artist I listen to most often. I love Midnights. With that being said, I hope it doesn't get AOTY. I want it to fuel her into another 1989 moment. Side note: I have listened to 1989 TV vault tracks way more than Midnights. I feel like there's more substance there and I'm obsessed.
I think Hozier deserves a grammy for Unreal Unearth, its such a beautiful album with such a consistent theme (a journey through hell), the writing and the vocals are stunning and its just.... So good.
There's lots of literary references, it had a very clear start and end point, eat your young and butchered tongue have the heard hitting messages... So much to love about this album
It's sad that these smaller artists never get in the big categories. I think Lana should win with Ocean Blvd, but the Hozier album is spectatular and definitely deserved a nomination. The new Mitski album is also great and WAY better than Midnights
@@NathanHautain yeah, I absolutely love midnights but it's not the Best album ever
i still can't fathom that he wasnt nominated. such a deserving artist. all things end should definitely be nominated for something
I disagree but I respect your opinion. No way is Guts IMO a better album than Midnights. It’s a good album with a couple of amazing songs. SOS is an amazing production but lyrically no way near Midnights quality. And Oceans I can see why people enjoy it (definitely not for me) but it doesn’t have a widespread appeal. It’s too niche.
Completely agree
She promoted it as “13 sleepless nights throughout my life” but it’s actually just 13 sleepless nights throughout the last year.
your videos always amaze me. everything just flows and makes sense, every sentence, every conclusion. thank you for your work and effort, it’s rare these days especially when it comes to swiftie-opinions.
Wow, thank you!
and she won babe! 😘😘😘😘
When you were talking about maroon to me it came across as that’s exactly how she felt with Joe like: “we were just partying in our room how’d we end up in an argument yet again” like frustration almost and honestly I felt like that was a lot of songs on midnights like “we were so happy why is this happening” type thing… idk
idc what the bots are saying you’re the only swiftie looking at all this OBJECTIVELY
Absolutely. Switologist is clearly more informed than the Recording Academy.
@@yassified13and yet the voters voted for Taylor, don't be that miserable
100% agree with thissss
@@michaelvalverdenavarro7690 you’re saying this as if the voters are smart or prestigious or something 😭
Definitely
I was honestly unsure of how I would feel about this video, but you have made excellent points that make a lot of sense. I’m very interested to see how the Grammys turn out.
SOS is the perfect and the safest choice for the academy to give an award to the album that received commercial success and critical acclaim and kind of became career-defining for SZA and shape the rnb as we speak
it would also make Grammys good press since they deliberately don't want to award any black women in the category and literally snubbed Beyonce with three of the most interesting and intricate bodies of work in her catalogue... and don't get me started with SZA nominations in 2017, it's embarrassing at this point
PERIOD!!! Renaissance was an AOTY if I’ve ever seen one, the fact that she didn’t win was sickening.
@@blondematcha fr
And they SCREWED IT. How are they gonna hide the fact that they're biased with who they award when they gave AOTY to midnight's? They're just proving again and again who are the important ones
they hate the swiftologist because he tells the truth
periodddddd
The truths and opinions are completely different. And the truth is, Midnights won Album of the year. Thats the only truth from now on. So knock it off 😎
@@5106530preachhhhhh
And you hated Midnights and said it would never win a Grammy,!!! well,well
@@jeannie779 no one said it wouldnt! we just retain the right to our opinion that it wasnt the deserving candidate :)
Having consumed all content from the swiftologist/evolution of a snake, I’ve grown to love how consistently wrong Zach’s takes are. Always wrong but I do enjoy the passion behind the arguments. 😂 💜
they are not wrong at all, and midnights winning does not make him wrong. Unlike you, he provided extremely clear evidence.
I would laugh at his funny arguments starting with "I think" 😂😂😂 if this was a debate tournament.
@@linnay8330 I know for a fact he is more well-spoken than you could ever be
midnights was advertised as a return to the confessional diaristic songwriting but it was probably her most vague yet. I hope the next record is much more like her speak now/red/fearless songwriting because of what has happened in her life since midnights.
1:33 how do you say she’s having her campaign around the commercial success instead of the quality while showing a poster that contains great reviews from critics (?)
That’s literally the opposite of what you said
I agree that midnights probably shouldn’t win or won’t win, but I think it’s just because midnights isn’t a sonic or career evolution like her previous wins.
Completely disagree on the Anti-Hero point. I don’t think you can argue that a song that sat at the top of the charts and streaming for a year was all chart manipulation. LWYMMD and ME! were heavily manipulated and couldn’t chart for more than a month let alone a year.
I didn't say it was all chart manipulation. I actually directly said "I would never contest it was a massive hit." But the chart manipulations had a hand in that.
@@theswiftologistshe had a massive fan base so Anti-Hero has a lot of streamings but impact wise it isn't as widespread like Blank Space or Shake it off?
I had this exact feeling all 2023. It makes no sense that the songs/this album have had so much success when it’s objectively not her best album. Reputation comes to mind immediately. Her biggest year ever - if she had released reputation it would have the same success (yet it’s actually deserved) but when that album actually came out it didn’t do as well as she wanted. But it sucks we don’t get to see how long Anti-hero’s or Midnights’ real reach
I don't think that GUTS is better than Midnights. Just reading other comments.
It is tho
You are so well spoken! I could listen to your take on anything. Keep it up!
I’m going to be honest I personally think Olivia and Lana deserves it but I feel like people should analyze midnights down to the very last part because it’s honestly one of the best albums in the last couple years.
Oh I just know ur seething rn
I’m actually living :) happy for taylor! Excited for the new record!
@@theswiftologistno you're NOT 🙄
@@theswiftologist lmao you're embarrassing
you are the fakest Swiftie i have ever seen . just keep using Taylor's fame for the views and the subs .
@@theswiftologistfake swiftie make me disgusting than any kinds of haters in the world
Content and Editing EXCELLENT. i feel very strongly about this topic, and you do it justice. I am seated firmly for Grammys 2024
thank you for noticing the editing!!
@@theswiftologist you’re welcome ! So good ♥️
you’re right, it doesn’t deserve album of the year, it deserves album of the decade
Oh my gosh I love midnights so much it’s like my #2 but it’s so hard to rank ts albums
you’re bouncing on it
@@hanna9261 girl what other album got all the billboard top 10?
@@chappellroanmemespopularity doesn’t necessarily mean excellence
didnt even realize people would vouch for midnights to be album of the year, it is very luke-warm.... you're on your own kid is one of the better ones on the album, but it is also not a new sound.
Luke-warm is such a perfect way to describe Midnights. Okay High's, pretty low low's, not the best when put into Taylor Swift standards.
the thing is Midnights is a great album but it just doesnt deserve to be placed in the same ranks as Fearless, 1989 and Folklore. they are far superior than midnights. it was a great album, just not Taylor's best.
that is why it's MIDnights (ba dum tss). all kidding aside, midnights deserves AOTY but I think the other candidates is much more deserving. Just consider it as a revenge for evermore.
@@evermore6665 lol yes if one album in the world actually deserved a Grammy it's evermore 😭
her worst is still miles better than others the best lol
@@greentearainstop kissing her ass. guts was much better than midnighta
i'm LIVING for grammy month. I totally agree, but I also hope she doesn't win for her own sake. I don't think people would be very happy. it'd also be quite interesting to see how Taylor would react if GUTS one.
I'm kinda glad you made this video bc I was so ready for the worst with the Grammys & I was so surprised & happy when she won
Make the same video for her next album so she can win it again!
Say something pls, midnight win 😏
to make a case for you're on your own kid: in my opinion, it is both diaristic and confessional. the verses are about young unrequited love, following a dream then becoming disillusioned by what you find, and learning to live with the pain of growing up-- especially in the case of feeling like you had to grow up too fast. yoyok is deeply personally resonant with me as someone who moved away from home at 18 and has had a pretty tumultuous young adulthood.
"i hosted parties and starved my body like i'd be saved by a perfect kiss" is extremely diaristic (literally the 1989 era in a nutshell), yet also has the power to connect with people across so many experiences. i could imagine that line resonating with so many people: a middle schooler who wants to be accepted by the popular kids, a broke young person working their ass off but still trying to have fun, someone who has been through substance use struggles, a young parent making sacrifices to try to give their kid the childhood they didn't have, probably anyone who has had an eating disorder, the list goes on
This is such a stacked category this year. I’m gong to be clapping and cheering for whoever Wins, but I’m predicting that Olivia is going to take it home. I can already hear the toxic, delusional Tiktok “swifties” flaming Olivia for this. Olivia would win and Taylor would clap and cheer and yet, people would somehow pick apart the moment and find away to criticize Olivia. We all got crowns you need to calm down. Very brave for making this video, Zack! wonderful video as always, I appreciate you! ❤️❤️
Finally someone said it. Since its release I’ve always thought that midnights it’s one of Taylor’s weakest albums in her career but now that we are not allowed to say anything barely negative about of her anymore, Twitter kinda gaslighted me into thinking that maybe I was in the wrong. Your arguments are so well structured, I’m happy that I’m not the only one who thinks that. I feel that giving her the AOTY for midnights will only translate that she doesn’t have to try anymore, but maybe I’m exaggerating. I still like a lot of its songs and one day I will definitely feel nostalgia for this album, but if you compare it to her previous nominated albums, boy the difference is HUGE.
I personally think that Midnight Rain is a stand out from Midnights (the cruel summer love story etc.) and accomplishes the original 13 sleepless nights concept that Taylor gave us despite it still being vague (because she's made it clear that it was her reminiscing over what could've been in the outro and the chorus creates a clear reason for the break up) and will definitely be remembered/timeless despite it not being a single--but seeing that this song's the "pinnacle" of the album really does show that it does not deserve album of the year
Such an incredible job articulating your thoughts into words that is entertaining and informative as well as carefully thought out!! Love it
I agree. The promo for the eras tour and tv projects overshadowed this album. It wasn't bad but didn't do much
Def not her best album, rooting for GUTS! GO LIV!
Can someone send this video to whoever the hell picks the Grammy winners? Just in case they're still waffling on whether to award Taylor for 2023 mania alone...
10,000+ industry professionals are Grammy voters.
@@Brooks430 Oof, sounds like a lot of people that could be scared of Tayvoodoo
To me, Midnights was the bookend to her career to date in the sense that it was the review of her life/career/personal life since Debut. It definitely was a hard launch for the Eras Tour, which is smart, but my hope is that TS11 and beyond will be a completely new chapter - one with less Jack to start. He's great, but I'd like to see more challenging works and new producers, etc., from her moving forward for awhile. Maybe pop punk, maybe more on the folklore/evermore side, maybe more country, who knows. Less Jack, more new to her to explore.
Less Jack, less Dessner, less Max Martin too. I would love for her to work with producers from her favorite artists like Kendrick Lamar (DJ Dahi to bring a new energy to her music), Miguel, or her peers who are also fans like Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Paramore, St. Vincent, and 9 Inch Nails main producer) or Zach Bryan for a truly stripped-back acoustic and tonal sound to shift into a new age of country.
@aaliyahfoster2705 omg her and Zach Bryan together would be a dreeeaaamm. Just stripped back, smart lyrics with a heavy hand on layered specificity. Oof. Yes.
@@ChelseaOsborne-my1wo Hoping if not for a new album, Zach Bryan or Megan Moroney would be amazing for a featured track on debut re-recorded.
@aaliyahfoster2705 yes! I'm excited either way ahaha
Taylor is clearly more interested in lore building than making interesting songs, which has a place in pop music overall but it's not a sign of unquestionable artistic merit. Midnights definitely suffers from all of the fan service in the lyrics and is as good as it is in spite of itself. I think she was trying to apply the lyrical abstraction of the folkmore era to her autobiographical songwriting style, and she needs more practice at it. And the fact that WCS, Hits Different, and YLM were left off the main record shows that she wasn't invested in making an emotionally consistent album.
WOW WOW!! Love this daring move. This is why you stand out from most Swifties: you are capable of analyzing your favorite artist! Totally agree with you about Midnights, nothing to add. I like the album but strangely I do not listen much to it, except for one song : Would've, Could've, Should've. Lyrically speaking to me it's the true master piece of this album. And your analysis made me connect the dots and truly understand why.
Did you see what other Swifties did to him on the X?
childish and rude i was so disgusted by them
@@rozhanvakili4685 Nope I haven't. People on Twitter now X have always seemed so mean compared to most of the other platforms. But the attitude is simply why less and less journalists make analysis of Taylor's work. They son't want to be bullied simply doing their job. It's sad. She's my favorite artist, but I truly feel ashamed to be associated with these fanatics at time.
Midnights is incredible and the album of my heart, but totally agree that Lana, SZA, Olivia deserve better.
This video really has made me come to appreciate you and your channel.
I do love Taylor swift and her music but I am starting to stop that crazed ‘she is perfect’ idea that you can get trapped in as a swiftie.
I will probably forever love her and her music but I’m becoming able to also critique and accept that she is not perfect.
I love midnights, I don’t know if it is simply because it is pop and I needed some fun at that time but I do really enjoy it still. I will say that I do gravitate more to the deluxe songs, especially the ones with Aaron’s input more than all the Jack songs.
I do see how all the songs can seem unfinished in the songwriting, how they don’t always go as far as they intend and instead just stop.
But it also makes me think how that’s how you can be in the middle of the night, you can’t think perfectly and do have trouble fully navigating a point. But I can also see how some people see that as a ‘lazy’ way of doing music by just adding an idea to explain the lack of let’s say effort.
Overall I do enjoy midnights and it’s a good album and there are songs like ‘high infidelity’ and ‘would’ve could’ve should’ve’ that will forever be special to me. But it is not the best of her work, which I really acknowledge when I simply play the album and don’t stop and think while it’s playing which I do with evermore and folklore.
Ok that’s my ten cents, thank you for reading my Ted talk 😂
P.s. I forgot but I definitely agree about how she didn’t really explain anything. I always love when we get to hear her process and what the work means to her. But here we didn’t get anything, not any interviews where she really says what the album was like. Instead it tends to pivot to the re-recording and or tour.
But she is almost perfect