Taylor Swift is back with a vengeance. On Sunday morning, Swift released the first promotional single from her latest album. “...Ready for It?” is our second glimpse of the Reputation era, continuing the theme of Swift’s media-painted serial-dater character with a secret romance on the side.
Swift drops heavy beats and a rap before belting out the dreamy chorus, sounding more like the old Taylor we knew. Lyrics such as “In the middle of the night, in my dreams / You should see the things we do, baby” are strongly reminiscent of “Say you’ll see me again / Even if it’s just in your wildest dreams” from the 1989 era. Still, Swift reminds us that “the old Taylor is dead,” and this new Taylor is a rapper with a reputation to uphold.
Through her new image we still catch remnants of the old Taylor, especially in her AT&T Now Behind-the-Scenes videos. She is the same cat-loving, cookie-eating romantic we’ve grown up listening to, albeit with an edge.
Since the end of the 1989 World Tour, Swift has been noticeably absent on social media and kept her personal life away from media attention. In August, she won the largely publicized trial against David Mueller for sexual assault. Shortly after, she cleared her social media accounts and announced her sixth studio album.
Reputation drops on November 10th.