Here's Everything Taylor Swift Revealed About 'Lover' At Her Secret Sessions
Lover is almost here. Taylor Swift's 18-track seventh studio album is dropping on Aug. 23, and Swift has gone for a hat trick with an album release tradition she started with 1989. A few weeks before 1989 and Reputation dropped, Swift hosted Secret Sessions for her diehard fans who have been supporting her online for years. The fans were invited to one of her homes to have snacks with Swift and listen to her new album in its entirety, and she's reportedly done the same for Lover. Some Lover Secret Session attendees are now spilling the tea on the album, so we're going to break down Lover spoilers from Taylor Swift's Secret Sessions that'll get the Swifties pumped for Aug. 23.
In the past, the rules for the Secret Sessions, according to fans who have attended them, were basically: reveal what Swift says you can reveal, don't reveal anything else. That gave SS attendees the chance to share some information about the album online to other Swifties who weren't invited (and entertainment reporters like me who need this info to work — thank you for helping me do my job, Swifties). Lover SS attendees said what they could and couldn't share was much more narrow this time around, so clearly Swift wants to hold her Lover cards closer to her chest than her last two albums. Despite not being able to reveal as much info as last time, the tea they could spill is still juicy. Let's dive in.
1. SS attendees feel Lover is basically the equivalent of 1989 and Speak Now having a baby.
Swifties at the Lover Secret Session say the album has the lyrical quality of Speak Now, Swift's only entirely self-written album, and the sonic quality of 1989. She won Album of the Year at the Grammys for both of those albums.
2. It's not entirely self-written like Speak Now, but Lover reportedly has multiple self-written tracks.
If this SS report is true, Lover will introduce more solely Swift-written songs, something we haven't heard since 1989's "This Love. Every song on Reputation was a collaboration between Swift and other songwriters.
3. Some tracks aren't that great in some fans' opinions, but the other epic tracks make up for the "basic" ones.
A Reddit thread from a Secret Session attendee gave a list of quick thoughts for every song on the album. In the thread, they compared each song to Swift's past work to give readers a sense of what the songs feel like. They said the opener for the album has "State of Grace"-from-Red vibes, but "with a pop twist." But, she also revealed that track 6 is "basic AF," seven and 11 are "forgettable," and 13 wasn't that noteworthy. They also said track 17 was apparently one of the weakest lyrics-wise, but the production of it was unique, so at least there's that. The rest of the songs, according to this Reddit user, are going to make Swifties proud.
It's worth noting that Reddit thread didn't include comments about tracks five, 14, or 16. Fans already know track five is "The Archer" thanks to an Instagram Live Swift did announcing the song and why it's the fifth on the album. That means "ME!" and "You Need To Calm Down," the only singles released from Lover so far, are tracks 14 and 16.
4. Track 10 is going to wreck us all.
The 10th song on Lover is so emotional, Swift apparently couldn't be in the room when fans listened to it. Rumor has it the song is called "Soon You'll Get Better," and it's reportedly all about her mother's cancer coming back, which she wrote about in an essay for Elle. Swift knows how to take a feeling and expand on it in a way that really twists the knife into your heartache, whatever the cause may be, so having a song about her mother's struggle with cancer is going to be a tearjerker. Imagine all the feelings produced in "All Too Well," except it's about your mother being sick. All I have to say is: f*ck.
To make things even more emotional, The Dixie Chicks are reportedly featured on the track. The Dixie Chicks are Swift's mother's favorite music group, and Swift dropped a Dixie Chicks easter egg in the "ME!" music video. Swifties know that Swift wouldn't throw in an Easter egg like that without it meaning something for the album, so get your tissues out and prepare to ugly cry.
5. Swift Reportedly Sings About Trump On One Of The Tracks
According to a Reddit thread detailing the Lover Secret Sessions, a song reportedly called "False God," Swift apparently sings about politics and the current state of the world.
Swift promised when announcing the impending arrival of Lover that this album gets political, and she has backed up that promise by urging fans to register to vote in primary elections, creating a petition for the Equality Act, and creating the gay AF "You Need To Calm Down" music video.
6. The Original Lyrics For "All Too Well" Will Be Included In One Version Of The Four Different Deluxe Lover Albums
The OG version of the Swiftie fandom's favorite song, "All Too Well," was 10 minutes long, but Swift had to cut down the run time in order to fit it onto Red. Swift is releasing four different versions of the deluxe edition of Lover that includes photo-scanned pages of her diaries from over the years. One of those deluxe editions reportedly contains the original 10-minute long "All Too Well" lyrics, according to a SS attendee's Tumblr post. Woah.
7. Swift's Favorite Song She's Ever Created Is Reportedly On Lover
"What do you mean 'All Too Well' isn't your all-time favorite?!" I hear Swifties asking in unison. A tweet from a Secret Session-er revealed that Swift herself said her favorite song ever is on Lover, so there's the tea on that. Sorry 'bout that, "All Too Well"!
Lover drops Aug. 23, so get ready!
