With fall approaching, there are countless things to look forward to: the return of fall-flavored Starbucks drinks, football season, sweater weather, etc. But if you're a Taylor Swift fan, one thing always outshines the rest every other fall—new Taylor Swift music.
Since 2006, Swift has released a new album every other October ("Taylor Swift" in 2006, "Fearless" in 2008, "Speak Now" in 2010, "Red" in 2012, and "1989" in 2014). So, 2016 being an even-numbered year, fans everywhere are patiently awaiting news of a sixth album, and have been for several months now. However, no real confirmation that said sixth album even exists has been given.
Regardless, Taylor Swift has still been in the news concerning her recent romantic engagements. Earlier this summer, her split with Calvin Harris after a little over a year made headlines, and just a few weeks later, her new relationship with "Thor" star Tom Hiddleston (and the end of which, as of last week) also made the news. But still, no news of an album.
In fact, Swift's record label, Big Machine Records, confirmed the opposite last week. A rumor had been circulating on Twitter claiming Swift was going to release her next album within the next few months, but Scott Borchetta, Swift's record label representative, put an end to that rumor with a big "NOPE."
His tweet left fans feeling shocked. No new album?!
There's speculation this denial of a new album is just a red herring, a strategy on Swift's part to throw her fans off so she can release a surprise album, Beyonce-style. Back in July, rumors of a surprise album circulated after Hollywood Life claimed Swift told them exclusively that her sixth album was "almost done" and she planned to release it in the fall, and at a time when no one was expecting it. The truth of this information is questionable, though, especially when there's been no other indication she will be releasing new music any time soon.
However, a surprise album is very possible at this point, given the recent evidence that Swift can be quite devious when it comes to her career strategies.
But it's also possible we won't be getting an album this time around. Swift has said herself that she's interested in taking a break from creating for a while. Back in April, Swift told Rolling Stone that "this is the first time in ten years I haven't known what's next." For the last decade, she's known she'd be releasing an album every other year and going on tour the following year, but now, she might have other plans. In the same interview, she expressed wanting to "live [her] life a little bit without the pressure to create something."
Though this news is kind of devastating to her fans, honestly, she deserves to do that at this point in her career. After the most successful album and tour of her career in 2015 ("1989"), almost ten years of consistent and constant producing new material, and, not to mention, the constant Internet ridicule of her dating/personal life, maybe it's time for the 26-year-old singer to take some time for herself. Her name's been up in lights for a while now, and she's had enough of her secrets splashed on the news front page to get to choose the Rose Garden over Madison Square for now.
Even though she's expressed wanting to take a break, she made sure to note she'd still be writing songs during that time, and some of her famous close friends have commented on the fact that she never makes it two months into a "break" without aggressively getting back to work. So, whether she is taking a break for a few years or if there's truth to the surprise-album rumor, we can be sure Taylor won't be done with music forever any time soon.
Whatever does come next for Taylor Swift, if the last ten years are any indication, it's sure to be amazing.
"It was the end of a decade, but the start of an age." - Taylor Swift, "Long Live"
