Taylor Swift’s ‘3 a.m. Songs’ Are…As Good As the Rest of the Album??!

Swift teased a visual album, dropped Midnights, then gave us seven additional songs at 3 a.m., because what is sleep, really? I'm fine.

By Lauren Tousignant | October 21, 2022 | 4:15pm

Entertainment Music

Taylor Swift’s ‘3 a.m. Songs’ Are…As Good As the Rest of the Album??!

Today, my Co-star app told me “List of exes,” “Dwelling,” and “Old Love Letters” are on my list of “Don’ts”—a laughable suggestion, considering it’s the day Taylor Swift released Midnights, her 10th studio album and, honestly, her best, most brilliant, and most devastating album yet. The app also told me to “try to stop obsessing today” and that “things feel out of control,” which is true! This morning, Swift dropped a 3 a.m. “very special chaotic surprise” that she’d teased on TikTok at the beginning of the week, which turned out to be seven additional songs. To be clear, this is the only thing that could’ve ever gotten me to set my alarm for 3 a.m., and I am not mad about the loss of sleep.

As a Swiftie, I’m elated; as a human, I’m physically exhausted and emotionally wrecked; and as a fan of astrology, I’m stoked that my Co-star’s very generic prediction for me today turned out to be incredibly spot on.

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It’s unclear what makes these seven bonus tracks “3 a.m.” songs, beyond the fact that Swift just wanted to release more music and have a one-up on any potential leaks. “I think of Midnights as a complete concept album, with those 13 songs forming a full picture of the intensities of that mystifying, mad hour,” she wrote on Twitter. “However! There were other songs we wrote on our journey to find that magic 13.” She added, “Lately I’ve been loving the feeling of sharing more of our creative process with you, like we do with From The Vault tracks. So it’s 3am and I’m giving them to you now.” Sounds good! If she says they’re 3 a.m. songs, then I will forever honor them as such. There’s no such thing as sleep for Swift fans, and there’s no reason that should ever change.

Most importantly, the songs are just as fucking good as the rest of the album. Some have even suggested that they’re better than the first 13 tracks. Three of the songs were co-written and co-produced by Aaron Dessner, Swift’s notorious Evermore and Folklore collaborator, whose name was notably absent from the initial list of collaborators.

“Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” will make you cry. “Paris” will make you dance. “Bigger Than The Whole Sky” might put you in the hospital, so listen with caution. As far as fodder for the Swiftiracy theorists, there’s more than plenty: In “High Fidelity” she sings, “Do you really want to know where I was April 29th?” And fans have already dug up photos of Swift from April 29, 2016—which is around the time she was dating (breaking up with?) that Scottish DJ guy, so the song must be about him.

We also got the “Anti-Hero” music video at 8 a.m., and there are still 12 music videos to go, one of which will be released Tuesday at, of course…midnight. No word on when the rest of them drop—knowing her, it’ll probably be like, 4 a.m. next Friday, 5:55 a.m. two Wednesdays from now, and 1:30 a.m. tonight. In “Anti-Hero” she sings “midnights become my afternoons,” which is more and more feeling like a warning than an innocent lyric. A tour announcement is definitely imminent. I’d bet there will be a Saturday Night Live performance sometime in November. And if I’m not mistaken, there’s still a deluxe Midnights album (a Target exclusive!) that includes two remixes and another bonus track—as well as whatever the hell she’s planned that we’ve yet to learn about.

I’ve never been happier or more delirious.