Folklore (Taylor Swift album)

Folklore (stylized in all lowercase) is the eighth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was surprise-released on July 24, 2020, through Republic Records. Conceived during quarantine in early 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the album explores themes of escapism, nostalgia, and romanticism. Swift recorded her vocals in her Los Angeles home studio and worked virtually with the producers Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff, who operated from their studios in the Hudson Valley and New York City.

Using a set of characters and story arcs to depict fictional narratives, the album departs from the autobiographical songwriting that had characterized Swift's past albums. Experimenting with new musical styles, Folklore consists of mellow ballads driven by piano, strings, orchestration, and muted percussion. Music critics classified the genre into various styles of folk, pop, and indie, namely chamber pop, indie folk, electro-folk, folk rock, and indie rock. The album's title was inspired by the lasting legacy of folktales, and its visual aesthetic adopts cottagecore.

Folklore was accompanied by the concert documentary Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, featuring Swift's commentary and performances. The album topped the charts in Australasia and various European countries and was certified platinum or higher in Australia, Austria, Denmark, France, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, it spent eight weeks atop the Billboard 200, was the best-selling album of 2020, and was certified six-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Three songs, "Cardigan", "The 1", and "Exile" featuring Bon Iver, reached the top 10 on international singles charts, with "Cardigan" peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.