Leading Evermore: Did Taylor Swift’s New Album Just Save 2020?

In a year that some have called the worst in recorded history, it’s not easy to find many silver linings. But in the waning days of 2020, it might be the unlikeliest of artists that has helped save the year, and ourselves, from utter despair:

Taylor Swift.

Swift’s newest album, Evermore, was released this week, making it her third full-length album in less than 18 months. The album is a companion to Folklore, which she released in July. The 15 songs, plus the 2 songs on the deluxe physical edition, once again showcase Swift’s gift of intimate, narrative-based songwriting that make her the icon of her countless fans, referred to as Swifties, around the world. The album also puts a capstone on a year in which Swift also released two film projects: the documentary film Miss Americana, directed by Lana Wilson, and Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, a documentary concert film directed and produced by Swift herself.  

Aside from her artistic output, Swift also had a transformative year in the way she translated her superstardom to influence causes she cares about. Unlike in 2016, when Swift was subdue about sharing her political perspectives, in 2020, Swift made her ideas, and her passions heard. From publicly criticizing President Trump via her Twitter account to taking a stand on removing Confederate statues in her home state of Tennessee, Swift used her high profile to make high-powered statements about the America she wants to live in. She also put her prodigious voice behind the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, a notable change from her well-observed reticence to do the same in the last presidential election.

But more than the recordings she made and the recognitions she received this year, Taylor Swift’s surprise album drop in the final month of a contentious, Covid-shaped 2020 is an enthusiastic exclamation mark on a year that otherwise has raised so many question marks. By once again surprising (and delighting) her fans, Swift gave her listeners not only an early Christmas present, but also an exquisite coda to a year that feels, to many, to be equal parts excruciating and exhausting.

Ultimately, however, Swift’s surprise album is more than an act of artistry. It is an act of leadership as well. Since her self-titled album was released in 2006, the world has watched Swift grow from a young teen into a powerful woman, grappling with all  the insecurities, the insults, and the enamoring experiences life has to offer. Through her albums, we have listened to her express her fearlessness, contemplate her reputation, ponder love, and harness her power.  We have also watched her express loyalty to her friends and wrestle with the indignities of her critics. Most of all, we have watched Swift, perhaps this year more than any other, recognize the power of her past, and the potential of her future.

It is in that sense that Swift helped, at least partially, save 2020 from itself. She does this not just her music alone, although there is no question her fans are rejoicing at the additional bounty of songs. Rather, with her newest album, Swift reminds us that even in the most difficult of times, the turn inward mustn’t always be filled with fear and frustration, but can cultivate curiosity and creativity. With her two albums of 2020, Swift also shows that even in moments of profound scarcity, there can be abundance – not only in art, but in attitude as well. Sometimes being forced to pause our plans freezes us, and sometimes it allows us to feel liberated – to explore not only our thoughts, but the folklore of our lives.

Most of all, however, Swift embodied the ultimate lesson of 2020 that so many of us have learned this year:  life isn’t a straight line, and it certainly isn’t easy. Despite adversity though, we all have the ability to shape our own narratives in ways small and large. And that isn’t just a skill that for this year alone. It is a skill for next year, and the year after, and ultimately…

Evermore.