Lover Fest

''Lover'' is the seventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on August 23, 2019, by Republic Records. The album is her first after she departed from Big Machine Records, which caused a public dispute over the ownership of Swift's past albums.

Swift recorded ''Lover'' after finishing her 2018 Reputation Stadium Tour, having recalibrated her personal life and artistic direction following the public controversies that preceded her previous studio album, ''Reputation'' (2017). She produced ''Lover'' with Jack Antonoff, Joel Little, Louis Bell, and Frank Dukes. Described by Swift as a "love letter to love", the album explores wide-ranging emotions like infatuation, commitment, lust, and heartache; a few songs discuss political issues such as LGBT rights and feminism. The production incorporates a 1980s-inspired electropop, synth-pop, Country music, country, and pop rock sound characterized by atmospheric synthesizers, mid-tempo rhythms, and acoustic instruments, with eclectic elements of Folk music, folk and funk.

Swift extensively promoted ''Lover'' through television shows, magazine covers, and press interviews. ''Lover'' visual aesthetic featured bright pastel colors. Four singles were released in 2019–2020: "Me!", "You Need to Calm Down", "Lover (Taylor Swift song), Lover", and "The Man (Taylor Swift song), The Man"; the first three reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The fifth single, "Cruel Summer (Taylor Swift song), Cruel Summer", was released in 2023 and topped the Hot 100 for four weeks. In the United States, ''Lover'' was Swift's sixth consecutive Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 number-one album and the List of best-selling albums by year in the United States, best-selling album of 2019, and was RIAA certification, certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The Global Recording Artist of the Year, global best-selling album by a solo artist of 2019, it topped charts and received multi-platinum List of music recording certifications, certifications in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

When ''Lover'' was first released, music critics generally praised the emotional maturity and free-spirited sound of Swift's songwriting, but some took the issue with the wide-ranging musical styles as incohesive. Many publications included the album in their rankings of the best albums of 2019. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album and won the American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Album.

Background

Swift recalibrated her artistry and image from country music to Pop music, pop with her 2014 fifth studio album, ''1989 (album), 1989'', which incorporated a 1980s synth-pop sound with dense synthesizers, Programming (music), programmed drum machines, Electronic music, electronic vocal processing, and Dance music, dance-oriented arrangements. ''1989'' sold over five million copies in the United States within one year and propelled Swift toward global pop stardom, but her fame was blemished by tabloid journalism, tabloid gossip that publicized her short-lived romantic relationships with Calvin Harris and Tom Hiddleston. A mid-2016 dispute with the rapper Kanye West over his single "Famous (Kanye West song), Famous" led to an internet cancel culture, cancellation movement against Swift.

The controversies influenced Swift's 2017 studio album, ''Reputation'', a hip hop music, hip hop-influenced record with themes of vengeance and drama, representing a vindictive image that outgrew her previous "America's Sweetheart" reputation. ''Reputation'' was Swift's last album with Big Machine Records, to which she had signed in 2006. She reflected on the album as a "defense mechanism" that helped her protect her mental health amidst the controversies and her forgone "America's Sweetheart" reputation as liberating, as she no longer had to be self-aware of being "always smiling, always happy".

After finishing the Reputation Stadium Tour in November 2018, Swift signed with Universal Music Group label Republic Records. She publicly voiced her political opinion for the first time upon endorsing two Democratic Party (United States), Democrat candidates for the 2018 United States elections, 2018 midterm elections in her home state Tennessee. Swift recalled that on the Reputation Stadium Tour, her fans saw her "as a flesh-and-blood human being" and not just the media image of her, which "[assigned] humanity" to her life. She channeled this realization in writing songs for her seventh studio album: "This time around I feel more comfortable being brave enough to be vulnerable, because my fans are brave enough to be vulnerable with me."

Themes and lyrics

As with her past albums, ''Lover'' was a reflection on Swift's personal life; she focused on creating music, deprioritized social media, and took her occupation as an entertainer less seriously. She wrote the album after having adjusted her state of mind and embraced a newfound sense of creativity. This sentiment is reflected in the opening track, "I Forgot That You Existed", in which Swift sings about no longer seeking vengeance against those who wronged her. She described the songwriting as very confessional and autobiographical, yet also playful and whimsical; she avoided disclosing the inspirations behind her lyrics. In the September 2019 issue of ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'', Swift dubbed the album a "love letter to love, in all of its maddening, passionate, exciting, enchanting, horrific, tragic, wonderful glory". The track list consists of 18 songs that depict this theme, inspired by Swift's realization of what she called "love that was very real". In addition to purely romantic songs, ''Lover'' includes themes of sorrow and loneliness, which Swift said could be perceived "through a romantic gaze".

Most tracks are straightforward, open-hearted love songs. The title track, "Lover (Taylor Swift song), Lover", is about commitment to a romantic partner; the ways couples customize their marriage vows inspired its bridge (music), bridge. "Me!" is about self-affirmation and self-love. Lust is the theme of "I Think He Knows", which is about self-confidence after a reciprocated infatuation; and "False God (song), False God", about the false hopes in a long-distance relationship. "Paper Rings" and "London Boy (song), London Boy" explore playful and quirky aspects of love; the former is about a committed romance without materialistic concerns, and the latter is a romantic confession to an Englishman with tongue-in-cheek lyrics that name locations in London. The penultimate track "It's Nice to Have a Friend" tells a love story that begins in childhood and proceeds to adulthood; Swift considered the song a representation of the feelings one wishes to experience whether they are a child or an adult.

Other songs explore the pitfalls of romance. "The Archer (song), The Archer" is about her self-awareness and acknowledgement of her past mistakes, and "Cruel Summer (Taylor Swift song), Cruel Summer" is about a painful, fleeting summer romance. "Cornelia Street" narrates a relationship in which Swift is afraid she will lose her partner again if she repeats her earlier mistakes. She takes the blame for having hurt her partner on "Afterglow" and contemplates a loved one's prolonged medical treatment on "Soon You'll Get Better". "Death by a Thousand Cuts (song), Death by a Thousand Cuts" was inspired by the romantic comedy film ''Someone Great (film), Someone Great'' and is about overcoming a failed relationship's painful aftermaths. Swift said that writing "Death by a Thousand Cuts" was "incredible news" to her because she could continue writing songs about heartbreak even if she was in a healthy relationship. In the closing track, "Daylight (Taylor Swift song), Daylight", Swift says that she "[wants] to be defined by the things that [she loves]" and contemplates that love to her now is "golden" rather than "burning red" as she once believed, a reference to the track "Red (Taylor Swift song), Red" of her 2012 studio album ''Red (Taylor Swift album), Red''.

A few songs reflect Swift's perception of contemporary politics of the United States, US politics. Since her 2006 debut as a country-music artist, Swift's record company had warned her against becoming involved in politics, but after witnessing the political events affecting the rights of certain people, she became disillusioned and decided to involve in the public political discourse. Swift wrote "Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince" after the 2018 midterm elections; its lyrics use high school as a metaphor for American politics because she thought the social events of a traditional American high school, like the political landscape, can alienate some people. "The Man (Taylor Swift song), The Man" was inspired by the double standards women experience the music industry and in wider society. "You Need to Calm Down" advocates for LGBT rights, inspired by a conversation in which a friend asked Swift what she would do if she had a gay son; other inspirations were cyberbullying, cyberbullies, cancel culture, and the way the mass media "pits [women] against each other".

Production and music

Swift started recording ''Lover'' in November 2018, soon after she completed the Reputation Stadium Tour. She wanted to incorporate eclectic styles to accompany the diverse lyrical themes, which was made possible by her new contract with Republic Records granting her more artistic freedom than before. Swift recorded and produced much of ''Lover'' with Jack Antonoff, who had produced ''1989'' and ''Reputation''; other producers are Joel Little, Frank Dukes, and Louis Bell, all of whom were first-time collaborators of Swift. The producers of respective tracks are credited as their co-writers alongside Swift, except for songs Swift wholly wrote; "Lover", "Cornelia Street", and "Daylight". The hip-hop producer Sounwave co-wrote and co-produced "London Boy", the singer Brendon Urie co-wrote "Me!", and the musician St. Vincent (musician), St. Vincent (credited as Annie Clark) co-wrote of "Cruel Summer".

While recording, Swift revisited musical styles with which she had earlier experimented. While she associated ''Reputation'' musical style, devoid of acoustic instruments, with imagery of "nighttime cityscape ... old warehouse buildings that had been deserted and factory spaces", she conceptualized ''Lover'' as "a barn wood floor and some ripped curtains flowing in the breeze, and fields of flowers"; the songs on ''Lover'' use many acoustic instruments. Swift recorded her vocals as though she were performing live, stating much of the album is nearly whole takes. In publications' reviews, music critics categorized ''Lover'' as primarily a pop album with a 1980s-influenced sound combining pop rock and electropop. Will Hodgkinson of The Times, ''The Times'' considered it both a pop and country album. Compared to the dark, hip hop tones of its predecessor, ''Lover'' musical styles are brighter, more lighthearted, and atmospheric. The tracks are of varying tempo, and are built on straightforward song structures with piano melodies, rock music, rock arrangements, and standard chord progressions; a few experiment with styles and song structures that were new to Swift.

Antonoff co-produced 11 tracks, all of which were recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City; "Paper Rings", "London Boy", and "Daylight" were additionally recorded at Metropolis Group, Metropolis Studios in London; the first two tracks, and "Cruel Summer" and "I Think He Knows", were additionally recorded at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Antonoff's production is characterized by 1980s drums, atmospheric synthesizers, and reverberation, reverbed beats, exploring eclectic styles across genres including synth-pop, punk rock, punk, folk rock, and quiet storm. Because of Antonoff's 1980s-style production, some critics commented ''Lover'' expands on the 1980s synth-pop sound of ''1989''. ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' journalist Jason Lipshutz commented ''Lover'' is not an expansion on ''1989'' sound but a more-ambitious record that is larger in scope. Swift conceptualized tracks like "Lover" and "Paper Rings" as songs that might have been played in a 1970s wedding reception; as such, these tracks use retro style, retro instruments to bring forth the timeless feel she desired. For "Lover", Swift and Antonoff used instruments that, according to Swift, were invented before the 1970s; it is a waltzing-tempo track combining indie folk and alternative country with acoustic guitar, percussion, and pizzicato string instruments, strings. "Paper Rings" is a gleeful new wave music, new wave-influenced pop punk track with influences from rockabilly and 1980s pop.

Many songs produced with Antonoff have a radio-friendly pop production. "Cruel Summer" is a 1980s-influenced, synth-pop song with pulsating synthesizers and distorted vocals, and "London Boy" is a bubblegum pop song with layered synthesizers and repeated beats. The upbeat, electropop and contemporary R&B, R&B track "I Think He Knows" features influences of funk with Swift's falsetto vocals over guitars, a deep bass (music), bass, and a marching beat. Despite its lyrics about a painful heartbreak, "Death by a Thousand Cuts" has an upbeat production with a recurring guitar line, quivering synthesizers, and faint church bells with vocal harmonies in the background. The ballads "The Archer", "Cornelia Street", and "Daylight" are characterized by dense, atmospheric synthesizers; the first of which combines dream pop and synth-pop with steady kick drum beats throughout. "Soon You'll Get Better" and "False God", which were produced with Antonoff, feature subtler production compared to the dominant uptempo sound. "Soon You'll Get Better" is a country ballad featuring slide guitars and the Dixie Chicks contributing background harmonies, banjo, and fiddle. "False God" combines elements of jazz, trap music, trap, neo-soul, and 1980s R&B; Swift sings over hiccupping vocal samples and a lone saxophone line.

Little co-produced four tracks on ''Lover''; these were recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York, Golden Age Studios in Los Angeles, and Golden Age West in Auckland, New Zealand. Swift had first met Little at a Broods concert in Los Angeles; they got acquainted at the New Zealand show of her Reputation Stadium Tour. Shortly after, Swift invited Little to New York to record songs with her; "Me!" is one of the first songs they created together. "Me!", which features Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco, contains pop hook (music), hooks, and the horn instrument, horns and marching band drums in the refrain evoke a 1960s big band sound. "Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince" is at atmospheric, gloomy, synth-pop track with shouting cheerleaders' voice in the background. The synth-pop tunes "The Man" and "You Need to Calm Down" feature pulsating synthesizers; "The Man" is built on a pulsating drum beat and "You Need to Calm Down" features cascading vocal echoes in the refrain.

The three tracks Swift produced with Bell and Dukes, which were recorded at Electric Feel Studios in Los Angeles, have an experimental music, experimental quality. The opening track "I Forgot That You Existed" is a lighthearted post-tropical house tune that is built on piano and finger snaps. The power ballad "Afterglow" has a slow-building melody consisting of slow bass and Swift's falsetto vocals. Some critics considered the penultimate track "It's Nice to Have a Friend" as the album's most original and experimental song. The song includes a sample of "Summer in the South" from the Toronto-based Regent Park School of Music's album ''Parkscapes''; it has a sparse production with steelpans, harps, and tubular bells; and is punctuated by a trumpet solo and church bells near the middle. Swift said she wrote the track with only verses, and was more focused on the "vibe and feeling", contrasting her usual songwriting with a clear refrain and structure. Recording wrapped on February 24, 2019; a sample of Cautious Clay's song "Cold War" used for "London Boy" was approved in June that year.

Release and promotion

Title and artwork

Swift initially considered choosing "Daylight" as the album's title but scrapped the idea because she thought it was too on-the-nose. She picked ''Lover'' as the title because she felt it better represents the overall theme and is "more elastic as a concept"; songs such as "You Need to Calm Down", which is about LGBT rights, could align with this concept. Colombian photographer and collage artist Valheria Rocha, who worked with Swift on the album's art direction, photographed and edited the album's cover art. The cover depicts Swift with sapphire hair tips and a pink, glittery heart shape on her right eye in front of colorful, pink clouds. Some media commented the artwork evokes the atmosphere of summer and music festivals.

Swift used the bright, pastel colors of the cover art in her social media posts and clothing during promotion of ''Lover'', departing from the dark, black-and-white art and aesthetic of ''Reputation''. In an article for ''Entertainment Weekly'', Emma Madden said ''Lover'' cover art looks like "a fan-made aesthetic post on Tumblr", and called it part of the emerging trend of "kitschy album artwork". By using cover art that deliberately looks like a fan-made product rather than art commissioned from professional graphic designers, ''Lover'' brought "a level of iconicness and relatability" to Swift's audience because, according to Rocha, they could create their own versions of the cover art.

Marketing

Whereas Swift avoided social media and public appearances during promotion of ''Reputation'', she embarked on an extensive promotional campaign for ''Lover'' on social media, televised events, and press interviews. Media speculation on Swift's follow-up to ''Reputation'' arose when she appeared at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards in March, where she was adorned with butterfly motif (visual arts), motifs and pastel tones, the aesthetic she later used in her clothing for public appearances. Her social media posts showed her outgoing, comfortable persona, departing from the dark, antagonistic image she adopted for ''Reputation''. Swift conducted interviews with publications including ''Entertainment Weekly'', ''The Guardian'', ''Vogue'', and ''Rolling Stone'', where she openly spoke about her adjusted personal life. A few weeks before the album's release, Swift invited a select group of fans to private ''Secret Sessions'' listening parties in London, Nashville, and Los Angeles; she had hosted similar sessions for ''1989'' and ''Reputation''. She also gave interviews on the American morning television programs ''CBS Sunday Morning'' and ''Good Morning America'', and the talk shows ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' and ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon''.

Swift promoted ''Lover'' with corporate tie-ins and promotional deals, including a merchandise deal with Capital One, airplay deals with SiriusXM and iHeartMedia, a deal with YouTube Music with Swift hosting a live stream on the platform, an Amazon Inc., Amazon deal featuring images of Swift on packaging and an exclusive concert for Amazon Prime users, and a Target Corporation deal to distribute four deluxe editions of ''Lover'' on CD; the deluxe editions were also available on Swift's website. Each deluxe edition contains a CD with two bonus audio memos, a blank journal, a poster and different bonus content of Swift's old journal entries and photos. She also collaborated with the English fashion designer Stella McCartney on a limited-edition merchandise collection.

''Lover'' was released on both digital and physical formats on August 23, 2019, through Republic Records; it was her first album after ending her 12-year contract with Big Machine Records, her first released on media streaming, streaming from its first week, and the first whose master recording she owned. Leading up to the release, Swift was involved in a Taylor Swift masters dispute, public dispute over the ownership of her Big Machine Records albums' master recordings. In a social media post on June 30, 2019, after Big Machine had been acquired by manager Scooter Braun, Swift accused the label of having neglected her desire to acquire the master recordings and called the deal with Braun, whom she deemed an "incessant, manipulative [bully]", the "worst-case scenario". After ''Lover'' was released, Swift began implementing her plan to re-recording (music), re-record her past albums.

Swift performed on many televised shows, starting with a performance of "Me!" with Brendon Urie at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, 2019 ''Billboard'' Music Awards on May 1. She again performed the song with Urie on ''The Voice (American TV series), The Voice'', and alone on ''Germany's Next Topmodel'', ''The Graham Norton Show'', and the The Voice: la plus belle voix (season 8), French version of ''The Voice (franchise), The Voice''. At the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, where she won three awards, Swift opened the show with a medley (music), medley of "You Need to Calm Down" and "Lover". Swift later performed ''Lover'' songs on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge, ''Saturday Night Live (season 45), Saturday Night Live'', NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concerts, Tiny Desk Concert, the Jingle Bell Ball#2019, Jingle Bell Ball 2019 in London, and iHeartRadio WHTZ, Z100's Jingle Ball in New York City. She also promoted the album on Nippon TV's ''Sukkiri Morning Show'' in Tokyo and at the Singles' Day Countdown Gala by Alibaba Group in Shanghai.

At the American Music Awards of 2019, 2019 American Music Awards, at which Swift was honored as the American Music Awards#Artist of the Decade, Artist of the Decade, she performed a medley of "The Man", "Lover", and her past singles. On May 17, 2020, American Broadcasting Company, ABC aired a concert special titled ''Taylor Swift: City of Lover'', which was filmed at her September 2019 City of Lover, one-off concert in Paris. Swift planned to embark on a worldwide festival and concert tour titled Lover Fest, which was due to begin in mid-2020 and included four shows in the United States, ten shows in Europe, and two shows in Brazil. It was officially cancelled in February 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Singles

Three single (music), singles preceded ''Lover''. Swift released the first, "Me!" featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco, on April 26, having commissioned a large butterfly mural in a Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville neighborhood and a social-media countdown. The second single "You Need to Calm Down" was released on June 14 after Swift encouraged her fans to call for the passing of the Equality Act (United States), Equality Act on her social media feeds; the media viewed this release as Swift's intention for the release to coincide with Pride Month. "Lover" was released as the third single on August 16. All three singles peaked in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and the first two peaked at number two. "Me!" broke the record for the List of Billboard Hot 100 chart achievements and milestones, largest single-week jump when it rose from number 100 to number two after one week. "The Archer" was released as a promotional single on July 23. A fourth single, "The Man", was released on January 27, 2020. After Swift embarked on the Eras Tour in spring 2023, "Cruel Summer" resurged in popularity and was released to radio on June 20, 2023, as the fifth single from ''Lover''; it topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Media response

''Lover'' received extensive media coverage; the BBC's Nick Levine wrote; "if it doesn't become her sixth in succession to top the ''Billboard'' 200, it would be a major music industry shock". Some publications noted the extensive promotional campaign was old-fashioned compared to the emerging trend of surprise album releases in the digital era; ''Rolling Stone'' Elias Leight commented Swift was the last-remaining pop star to rely on radio push and corporate tie-ins to promote albums. Her first album released on streaming platforms from the beginning, it was noted in some articles as a sign Swift had abandoned her anti-Streaming media, streaming stance. Because of Swift's ''Billboard'' 200 record of having four albums sell over one million copies each, some journalists debated whether she would achieve the feat the fifth time, and whether streaming would impact its sales figures.

Some reviewers said they thought ''Lover'' would perform well on charts even if critical reviews were negative, and that it was also a means for Swift to rebuild her public image after the ''Reputation'' controversies, and the dispute with Big Machine and Braun. Kate Knibbs from ''The Ringer (website), The Ringer'' wrote; "as Swift tries to control the narrative, it is a reminder that ... Swift has achieved an American Dream—she's too big to fail". ''Billboard'' Andrew Unterberger, noting the diverse styles and themes of the four songs released prior to ''Lover''—"Me!", "You Need to Calm Down", "The Archer", and "Lover"—said Swift released ''Lover'' to focus on her artistic merit on her own terms, and not because she wanted to control her image. In the September 2019 issue of ''Entertainment Weekly'', Maura Johnston commented although Swift's blurring of the line between the personal and the promotional, and although her social media posts might prompt tabloid gossip, ''Lover'' should stand the test of time with its best songs.

Critical reception

In mainstream publications, ''Lover'' received positive reviews from music critics. At review-aggregating website Metacritic, which assigns a standard score, normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received a mean score of 79, which is based on 26 reviews.

Most reviewers commended the album's themes of positivity and emotional intimacy. Many critics, including Jon Caramanica in ''The New York Times'', Neil McCormick in ''The Daily Telegraph'', and Robert Christgau in his Robert Christgau#Consumer Guide, Consumer Guide column, welcomed ''Lover'' as Swift's return-to-form, praised her emotional songwriting ability, and said compared to ''Reputation'' antagonistic themes about celebrity, ''Lover'' is a sign of Swift's embracing of forward-looking perspectives. Others such as Mikael Wood from the ''Los Angeles Times'' and Annie Zaleski from ''The A.V. Club'' commented on its emotional maturity that represents Swift's grown-up perspectives.

Praise for the track list's length and diverse musical styles was more reserved. Those complimentary of ''Lover'' welcomed its disparate styles as a representation of Swift's creative freedom. ''Vanity Fair (magazine), Vanity Fair'' critic Erin Vanderhoof said ''Lover'' production "[ties] together a lot of the best impulses in recent pop, in a way that feels like a road map for [pop music's] survival". Nick Catucci in ''Rolling Stone'' called the album "evolutionary rather than revolutionary", and appreciated its "free and unhurried" styles. Others, taking issue with its length, commented although ''Lover'' is a solid album, it could have been a better record with some refinements. In ''The Observer'', Kitty Empire deemed this "a partial retrenchment until Swift decides what to do next". ''Paste (magazine), Paste'' Claire Martin was critical, deeming the music unimpressive and the lyrics, despite their heartwarming nature, "lacking any profound meaning".

Some critics viewed the album as a culmination of Swift's strengths as a singer-songwriter on her past albums, with particular comparisons to ''Red'' (2012); Schwartz and Anna Gaca from ''Pitchfork (website), Pitchfork'' also highlighted the personal lyricism that recalls ''Speak Now'' (2010). In ''The Guardian'', Alexis Petridis viewed ''Lover'' as a testament to Swift's songwriting abilities but commented the genre-spanning styles feel like "consolidation, not progress", and a conservative effort to maintain her commercial success. Carl Wilson (critic), Carl Wilson from ''Slate (magazine), Slate'' wrote although ''Lover'' is a sophisticated album, it is held back by Swift's efforts to satisfy her audience.

Year-end lists

Many publications ranked ''Lover'' in their lists of the best albums of 2019. It appeared on the top-tens of lists by ''Billboard'', ''People (magazine), People'', and ''USA Today''. Some publications, including ''American Songwriter'' and MTV, included it in their unranked lists. In individual critics' list, the album was ranked within the top ten by Zaleski, Wood, Sheffield, and Willman, with the last two naming it the best album of 2019.

Commercial performance

''Variety (magazine), Variety'', citing Republic Records, reported ''Lover'' sold nearly one million copies before its release. In the United States, the album sold around 450,000 copies in its first day and debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 with a first-week tally of 867,000 album-equivalent units, of which 679,000 were pure sales. It is Swift's sixth number-one album and made her the first female artist to have six albums sell more than 500,000 copies each in one week. In its opening week, ''Lover'' outsold all of the other 199 albums on the chart combined, becoming the first album to do so since Swift's ''Reputation'' (2017). All of the album's 18 tracks simultaneously charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, breaking the record for the most simultaneous chart entries for a female artist. With ''Lover'', Swift returned to the top of the ''Billboard'' Artist 100 chart for a thirty-seventh week, extending her all-time record as the longest-running number-one act. By June 2024, the album had spent 250 weeks on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified ''Lover'' RIAA certification, platinum, denoting one million album-equivalent units, after four weeks of release. The only million-selling album of 2019 in the United States, it sold 1.085 million pure copies, both physical and digital, becoming List of best-selling albums by year in the United States, the year's best-selling album. It was the fourth time Swift had the best-selling album of a calendar year in the United States, after ''Fearless (Taylor Swift album), Fearless'' (2009), ''1989'' (2014), and ''Reputation'' (2017). Combining singles sales and streaming, ''Lover'' sold 2.191 million units throughout the year. The RIAA certified ''Lover'' triple-platinum in October 2022 and the album surpassed two million copies sold in the United States by January 2024, becoming Swift's 10th album to do so. After Swift embarked on the Eras Tour in April 2023, ''Lover'' re-entered the top 10 of the ''Billboard'' 200.

''Lover'' peaked atop the charts in the English-speaking countries including Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom (including Scotland), Ireland, and Canada. It made Swift the artist with the most number-one albums (five) of the 2010s decade in Australia and the first female artist in the same decade to have four number-one albums in both the United Kingdom and Ireland. In March 2024, following the Australian dates of the Eras Tour, ''Lover'' again topped the chart in Australia. The album was Music recording certification, certified six-times platinum in Australia and New Zealand, and triple platinum in the United Kingdom.

In continental Europe, ''Lover'' reached number one in Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. The album was certified triple platinum in Poland and Denmark; and platinum in Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, and Norway. In China, it became the first international album to sell more than one million units within its first release week and made Swift the first international artist to have three million-selling albums, after ''1989'' and ''Reputation''. ''Lover'' sold more than 3.2 million copies worldwide in 2019, becoming the year's best-selling album by a solo artist and the second overall, behind Japanese group Arashi's greatest hits album ''5x20 All the Best!! 1999–2019''. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) recognized Swift as the Global Recording Artist of the Year, Global Recording Artist of 2019, making her the first female artist to twice earn that honor—her first being in 2014.

Legacy

Accolades

''Lover'' has received various awards and nominations, including Favorite Album of the Year at the 45th People's Choice Awards, People's Choice Awards, ARIA Award for Best International Artist, Best International Artist at the ARIA Awards, and two album-sales awards at the BuzzAngle Music Awards. At the American Music Awards of 2019, 2019 American Music Awards, at which Swift was honored as Artist of the Decade, ''Lover'' won American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Album, Favorite Pop/Rock Album. Winning four other awards, Swift was the most-awarded artist of the night, and with 29 wins was the most-awarded in American Music Awards, AMAs history. The music videos for ''Lover'' singles won four awards out of twelve nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards; in 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, 2019, "You Need to Calm Down" won MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year, Video of the Year and MTV Video Music Award for Best Video with a Social Message, Video for Good, and "Me!" won MTV Video Music Award for Best Visual Effects, Best Visual Effects; and in 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, 2020, "The Man" won MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction, Best Direction.

At the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020, ''Lover'' was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Pop Vocal Album, which went to ''When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?'' by Billie Eilish. ''Lover'' singles "You Need to Calm Down" and "Lover" were respectively nominated for Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Pop Solo Performance (lost to "Truth Hurts (song), Truth Hurts" by Lizzo) and Grammy Award for Song of the Year, Song of the Year (lost to "Bad Guy (Billie Eilish song), Bad Guy" by Eilish). ''Lover'' won Pop Album of the Year at the 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards, iHeartRadio Music Awards, an award in Sales and Marketing (Packaging Campaign) by the American Advertising Federation in Nashville, and was nominated for Billboard Music Award for Top Billboard 200 Album, Top ''Billboard'' 200 Album at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards, ''Billboard'' Music Awards. The album won Album of the Year (Western) at the Japan Gold Disc Awards, Best Selling Album (English) at Hong Kong's RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards, RTHK International Pop Poll Awards, and a Music Jacket Creative Award at Japan's CD Shop Awards.

Retrospectives

In January 2020, Swift released a Netflix documentary titled ''Miss Americana'', which was directed by Lana Wilson. The documentary, which is titled after the album's seventh track, chronicles the creation and promotion of ''Lover'', and discusses it as an evolutionary phase in Swift's career. It also features the ''Lover'' outtake "Only the Young (Taylor Swift song), Only the Young". After canceling the Lover Fest tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic, without prior announcements, Swift released her eighth studio album ''Folklore (Taylor Swift album), Folklore'', in July 2020, 11 months after ''Lover'' release. Journalists noted ''Lover'' as Swift's final album that was supported by a "long, fancy pop-album roll-out" before she began using surprise album releases, starting with ''Folklore''. Following the cancellation of Lover Fest, Swift embarked on the Eras Tour (2023–2024) as her sixth headlining concert tour. The tour consisted of 10 acts, the first of which is a tribute to ''Lover''.

Retrospective critical commentary has discussed ways ''Lover'' changed Swift's image and artistry from the antagonistic tone of ''Reputation''. Several publications that ranked ''Lover'' as a weaker album in Swift's discography and deemed it an unnecessary course correction from ''Reputation'' included ''Consequence (publication), Consequence'', ''Spin'', and ''Entertainment Weekly''. The ''Alternative Press (magazine), Alternative Press'' upheld Swift's mature songwriting but said that the album's free-spirited sound was both "its blessing and its curse". ''Paste'' deemed ''Lover'' a "mixed bag" containing some songs that failed to demonstrate Swift's craftsmanship but said that as a "transitional work", it was a "perfect inflection point for [Swift, who] found herself caught between her defensive Kanye-beef era and the shimmering resurrection she'd construct throughout the pandemic".

In a ''USA Today'' article commemorating ''Lover'' second anniversary, David Oliver and Hannah Yasharoff lamented the canceled tour and called the album Swift's "lost masterpiece" that represents her artistic maturity and autonomy. After its songs featured on the Amazon Prime Video series ''The Summer I Turned Pretty (TV series), The Summer I Turned Pretty'' in June 2022, ''Lover'' re-entered the ''Billboard'' 200 chart's top 40. "It's Nice to Have a Friend" featured prominently in the promotion of ''M3GAN'', a 2023 horror film.

Copyright lawsuit

On August 23, 2022, at a United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Tennessee federal court, the author Teresa La Dart filed a copyright infringement complaint claiming that a number of creative elements of the companion book bundled with the deluxe CD editions of ''Lover'' were copied from La Dart's 2010 book that is also titled ''Lover'': the pastel aesthetic, a photograph "in a downward pose", and the book's diary format with "interspersed photographs and writings". La Dart's lawyer said Swift owed "[in] excess of one million dollars" in damages. In March 2023, Swift's attorneys requested a dismissal, calling La Dart's claims "entirely meritless" and "woefully deficient". On July 27, 2023, ''Billboard'' reported that La Dart voluntarily withdrew the case without any Settlement (litigation), settlement.

Track listing

Notes

* signifies a co-producer
* "London Boy" contains a sample of "Cold War" by Cautious Clay.

Personnel

Musicians

* Taylor Swift – vocals, writer, percussion (track 8)
* Jack Antonoff – electronic keyboard, keyboards (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8–13, 18); writer (tracks: 2, 5, 6, 8, 10–13); piano (tracks: 3, 8, 9, 12, 18); live drums (tracks: 2, 3, 8, 9); acoustic guitars (tracks: 3, 6, 8, 12); electric guitars (tracks: 6, 8, 18); percussion, bass (tracks: 3, 8, 11); vocoder (track 2); synthesizers (track 10); guitar (track 10); Wurlitzer electric piano, Wurlitzer (track 12); background vocals (track 8)
* Louis Bell – writer (tracks: 1, 15, 17); keyboards (track 1)
* Frank Dukes – guitar (tracks: 1, 15, 17)
* Joel Little – writer, keyboards (tracks: 4, 7, 14, 16); synths, guitar (track 16)
* Laura Sisk – background vocals (track 13)
* St. Vincent (musician), Annie Clark – writer, guitar (track 2)
* Serafin Aguilar – trumpet (track 1)
* David Urquidi – saxophone (track 1)
* Steve Hughes – trombone (track 1)
* Michael Riddleberger – live drums (tracks: 2, 13)
* Sounwave – writer (track 11)
* Cautious Clay – writer (track 11)
* Sean Hutchinson – live drums (track 11)
* Mikey Freedom Hart – keyboards (track 11); background vocals (track 13)
* Evan Smith (musician), Evan Smith – keyboards, saxophones (tracks: 11, 13)
* Emily Robison, Emily Strayer – banjo (track 12)
* Martie Maguire – fiddle (track 12)
* The Dixie Chicks – featured artist (track 12)
* Brandon Bost – background vocals (track 13)
* Cassidy Ladden – background vocals (track 13)
* Ken Lewis (musician), Ken Lewis – background vocals (track 13)
* Matthew Tavares – guitar (tracks: 15, 17)
* Brendon Urie – featured artist, writer (track 16)

Technicians

* Taylor Swift – executive producer, producer (all tracks)
* Jack Antonoff – producer, programming (music), programming, recording (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8–13, 18)
* Louis Bell – producer, programming, recording (tracks: 1, 15, 17); keyboards (track 1)
* Frank Dukes – producer, programming (tracks: 1, 15, 17)
* Joel Little – producer, recording, drum programming (tracks: 4, 7, 14, 16)
* Laura Sisk – recording (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8–13, 18)
* Sounwave – co-producer (track 11)
* Serban Ghenea, Şerban Ghenea – audio mixing (recorded music), mixing
* John Hanes (audio engineer), John Hanes – mix engineer
* Randy Merrill – mastering (audio), mastering
* Grant Strumwasser – assistant (track 1)
* John Rooney – assistant (tracks: 2–6, 9–13, 18)
* Jon Sher – assistant (tracks: 2, 6, 8, 11)
* Nick Mills – assistant (tracks: 8, 11, 18)
* Joe Harrison – guitar (tracks: 1, 15, 17)

Design and art

* Taylor Swift – journal entries (deluxe), personal photographies (deluxe), packaging creative direction
* Valheria Rocha – photography
* Andrea Swift – personal photographies (deluxe)
* Scott Swift – personal photographies (deluxe)
* Joseph Cassel – wardrobe stylist
* Riawna Capri – hair
* Lorrie Turk – makeup
* Josh & Bethany Newman – packaging art direction
* Parker Foote – packaging design
* Jin Kim – packaging design
* Ryon Nishimori – packaging design
* Abby Murdock – packaging design

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

See also

* List of 2019 albums
* List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 2019, List of ''Billboard'' 200 number-one albums of 2019
* List of number-one albums of 2019 (Australia)
* List of number-one albums of 2024 (Australia)
* List of number-one albums of 2019 (Belgium)
* List of number-one albums of 2019 (Canada)
* List of number-one albums of 2019 (Ireland)
* List of number-one albums from the 2010s (New Zealand)
* List of number-one albums of 2019 (Mexico)
* List of number-one albums in Norway
* Scottish Singles and Albums Charts#2019, List of number-one albums of 2019 (Scotland)
* List of number-one singles and albums in Sweden#2019, List of number-one albums of 2019 (Sweden)
* List of UK Albums Chart number ones of the 2010s
* List of UK Album Downloads Chart number ones of the 2010s
* List of best-selling albums in China

Footnotes

References

Cited literature

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External links

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2019 albums
Taylor Swift albums
Republic Records albums
Albums produced by Taylor Swift
Albums produced by Jack Antonoff
Albums produced by Joel Little
Albums produced by Louis Bell
Albums produced by Frank Dukes
Albums recorded at Electric Lady Studios
Electropop albums
Synth-pop albums by American artists
Pop rock albums by American artists