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Gotta respect the hustle…

Much to the delight of the Swifties of the universe, Taylor Swift dropped her eighth album Folklore last week, and it’s already breaking all sorts of records. The album saw the 30-year-old churn out the album crazy quick, following on just 11 months after 2019’s Lover. It’s no surprise that the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing quarantine allowed her to double down on her efforts, leading to the creation of the record at record pace.

It seems fans are really resonating with the work, with Folklore selling over 1.3 million copies in less than an hour after release. It also broke Spotify’s global record for first-day streams, with 80.6 million, and became Apple Music’s most-streamed pop album in 24 hours, with 35.47 million. Adding onto the seemingly never-ending list of accomplishments, the album set the streaming record in the US and worldwide for an Amazon Music Indie/Alternative record.

Writing on an Instagram post while announcing the album, the global pop-star wrote “Before this year I probably would’ve overthought when to release this music at the ‘perfect’ time, but the times we’re living in keep reminding me that nothing is guaranteed. My gut is telling me that if you make something you love, you should just put it out into the world.”

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Most of the things I had planned this summer didn’t end up happening, but there is something I hadn’t planned on that DID happen. And that thing is my 8th studio album, folklore. Surprise 🤗Tonight at midnight I’ll be releasing my entire brand new album of songs I’ve poured all of my whims, dreams, fears, and musings into. I wrote and recorded this music in isolation but got to collaborate with some musical heroes of mine; @aarondessner (who has co-written or produced 11 of the 16 songs), @boniver (who co-wrote and was kind enough to sing on one with me), William Bowery (who co-wrote two with me) and @jackantonoff (who is basically musical family at this point). Engineered by Laura Sisk and Jon Low, mixed by Serban Ghenea & Jon Low. The album photos were shot by the amazing @bethgarrabrant. Before this year I probably would’ve overthought when to release this music at the ‘perfect’ time, but the times we’re living in keep reminding me that nothing is guaranteed. My gut is telling me that if you make something you love, you should just put it out into the world. That’s the side of uncertainty I can get on board with. Love you guys so much ♥️

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Jul 23, 2020 at 5:00am PDT

The album boasts a stunning 16 tracks, with Swift recruiting The National and Big Red Machine’s Aaron Dessner to help write 11 of the songs, while frequent collaborators William Bowery and Jack Antonoff helped write the remaining tunes. The album also only has one feature, recruiting the universally loved Bon Ever for the album’s fourth track ‘Exile’.