Five years ago, on July 24, 2020, Taylor Swift shocked the world by releasing her album folklore.
Taylor had planned to launch her Lover Fest series of concerts in 2020, but they were scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On July 23, 2020, Taylor revealed on Instagram, “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.”
Taylor revealed she’d made the project with previous collaborator Jack Antonoff, as well as some unexpected artists: The National‘s Aaron Dessner, singer-songwriter Justin Vernon aka Bon Iver and one William Bowery, who we later learned was Taylor’s then-boyfriend, Joe Alwyn.
folklore was an artistic departure for Taylor, in that it featured her writing songs from the point of view of different characters, several of which were intertwined. The songs “Betty,” “Cardigan” and “August,” for example, are about a love triangle between a young man and two young women, each told from their perspective.
While it wasn’t designed to have chart-topping pop singles, folklore did produce the #1 hit “Cardigan.” The album was not only hailed by fans, but also by critics. It went on to win the Grammy for album of the year, making Taylor the only woman ever to earn that honor three times.
The official TaylorNation Instagram page writes, “#5yearsoffolklore slipped away into a moment in time… happy quinquennial anniversary to the invisible string that had us all wearing cardigans, spinning in our highest heels, and living for the hope of it all.”
folklore led to a sister album, evermore, which was surprise-released in December 2020.
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