Lover is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift.

It was released on
August 23, 2019, by Republic Records. The lead single, "Me!", featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! at
the Disco, was released on April 26, 2019. The second single "You Need to Calm Down" was
released on June 13, 2019. The title track was released as the third single on August 16, 2019.
Aside from Urie, Lover also features a collaboration with the Dixie Chicks. The album was produced
by Swift, Jack Antonoff, Joel Little, Louis Bell, Frank Dukes and Sounwave; Swift also serves as the
executive producer.

Contents

 1Background
 2Recording
 3Artwork
 4Release and promotion
o 4.1Distribution
o 4.2Promotion
o 4.3Singles
o 4.4Promotional singles
o 4.5Live performances
 5Critical reception
 6Commercial performance
 7Track listing
o 7.1Notes
 8Personnel
 9Release history
 10References

Background
Speculation of the album started on February 24, 2019, when Swift posted a photo of seven palm
trees to her Instagram account,[2] which she later confirmed was the day she finished the album.[3] On
April 13, Swift released a countdown on her official website, counting down to midnight EDT (UTC-
04:00) on April 26.[4] At midnight, Swift released the album's lead single, "Me!" featuring Brendon
Urie of Panic! at the Disco, along with its accompanying music video.[5] Swift encouraged fans to find
hints about the album title in the video and many fans pointed out that at one point in the video, the
word "Lover" appeared at the top of a building in the background.[6]
On June 13, 2019, Swift confirmed the album title in a livestream on Instagram, and that the album
would be released on August 23, 2019.[7] The numbers of the release date (eight, two, and three)
add up to 13, Swift's favorite number.[8] Swift also announced that the album's second single, "You
Need to Calm Down", would be released the next day on June 14, followed by its music video three
days later.[8] She described the album as a romantic one, stating that it was "not just simply
thematically, like it's all love songs or something. The idea of something being romantic, it doesn't
have to be a happy song. You can find romance in loneliness or sadness or going through things in
your life... it just looks at those things through a romantic gaze."[7] In a Vogue interview published in
September 2019, Swift described the album as a "love letter to love, in all of its maddening,
passionate, exciting, enchanting, horrific, tragic, wonderful glory."[9] Swift revealed that the title of the
album was Daylight before she wrote the song "Lover".[10]
Recording
The album was recorded in under three months, finishing on February 24, 2019.[3] Recording studios
used for production of the album included Electric Lady Studios in New York City.[11]

Artwork
The album cover photo was shot by 24-year-old Valheria Rocha, a Colombian artist.[12]

Release and promotion

Distribution
The album was released on August 23, 2019, by Republic Records. The standard edition was
released on CD and for digital download and streaming, and later in the month on cassette tape.[13] It
is the first time Swift released an album the initial release day for streaming and the first time she
sold an album directly on her website for digital download. The deluxe edition comes in four
versions, each containing a CD, two bonus audio memos and a blank journal, with different bonus
content of Swift's old diary entries, photos, and a poster.[14] The deluxe editions are distributed
exclusively by Target in the US,[15] and on Swift's official website globally.[16]

Promotion
A few weeks before the expected release of the album, Swift invited select group of fans to private
listening parties called Secret Sessions, a tradition beginning with the album 1989 in 2014. Secret
Sessions were held in London,[17] Nashville,[18] and Los Angeles.[19] Swift teamed up
with iHeartRadio to release audio recordings of the Secret Sessions.[20]
Swift partnered with Amazon in the lead-up to the release, with Amazon featuring Lover designs on
some of their cardboard delivery boxes.[21] On August 20, Swift released an exclusive playlist
on Spotify, which incrementally revealed lyrics from the album.[22] The next day, Swift unveiled a line
of clothing and accessories designed in collaboration with designer Stella McCartney.[23]
On August 16, 2019, Swift announced the track listing of the album on her social media.[24]

Singles
The song "Me!" featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco serves as the album's lead single. It
was released along with its accompanying music video on April 26, 2019.[5] The lyric video was
released on May 1. The song broke several records, including the biggest single-week jump on
the Billboard Hot 100 chart in its history.[25] It peaked at number two in the United States and in
Canada,[25] while it debuted and peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart.[26]
The second single, "You Need to Calm Down", was announced during Swift's album release
livestream on Instagram on June 13, 2019, and was released on June 14, along with the lyric
video.[7] The accompanying music video, which was released on June 17,[27] had special
appearances from a variety of guests, most of whom are part of the LGBTQ+ community,
including Ellen DeGeneres and RuPaul.[28][29] It debuted and peaked at number two on
the Billboard Hot 100.
At the 2019 Teen Choice Awards, Swift announced that the title