Taylor Swift’s ninth studio album, evermore, was her second major release in 2020, arriving only five months after folklore. Swift has described the two albums as ‘sister records,’ with evermore serving as a continuation and further artistic venture into ‘the forest of this music’.

In contrast to Swift’s usual structured and extensive album rollouts, evermore–much like folklore–was announced via social media sixteen hours prior to release. Shortly after the announcement, she explained her reasoning for surprising fans with another album:

Ever since I was 13, I’ve been excited about turning 31 because it’s my lucky number backwards, which is why I wanted to surprise you with this now. You’ve all been so caring, supportive and thoughtful on my birthdays and so this time I thought I would give you something!

Swift also dedicated evermore to people who turn to music in effort to ‘cope with missing loved ones,’ acknowledging the unusual loneliness of the 2020 winter holiday season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Like folklore, the writing on evermore was a collaborative effort between Swift, Aaron Dessner (of The National), Jack Antonoff, William Bowery, and Bon Iver. The album is notable for containing three artist features (HAIM, The National, and Bon Iver), the most of any of Swift’s studio records to date.

A music video for the lead single, “willow,” was released alongside the album at midnight on December 11, 2020.