Taylor Swift releases new album, 1989
Highly anticipated release could be the first, and only, platinum record of the year
Taylor Swift's highly anticipated new album 1989 is out today, the singer's first official foray into pop music after catapulting to the top of country music.
Named after her birth year, 1989 features an edgier synth-pop sound and more of Swift's signature relationship-centred lyrics.
Its release also means the 24-year-old will continue her intensive marketing manoeuvres. The Pennsylvania-born singer hit the talk show circuit Monday, scheduling appearances on Ellen, Good Morning America and The Voice.
ABC announced Monday that Swift is the headliner for New Year's Rockin' Eve, the annual countdown show hosted by Ryan Seacrest.
Industry insiders predict Swift's latest release could be the only album to hit platinum status (selling one million units in the U.S.) in 2014, and for good reason. It's already produced a No. 1 single, Shake It Off, and when a track containing nothing but eight seconds of white noise was accidentally released under the album's name on last week, it shot to the top of Canada's iTunes chart almost immediately.
Swift gets star support
The 24-year-old's first official pop album is also garnering support from her famous friends online. New Zealand-born superstar, Lorde — whose 2013 album Pure Heroine went platinum several times over around the world — expressed her love for Swift on Twitter, congratulating her "sista" by posting a photo of the pair on a beach.
- On mobile? Read Lorde's tweet here
Girls creator, actress and author Lena Dunham, gushed over 1989 on her Twitter and Instagram accounts Monday. The 28-year-old declared Oct. 27 "national Taylor Swift Day" and identified "every single song" on the album as her "favourite."
- On mobile? Read Lena Dunham's tweet here
Swift doesn't appear to need any help achieving billboard domination. The seven-time Grammy Award winner already has a number of platinum-selling albums under her belt, and she holds the title as the best-selling digital music artist of all time.
With files from The Associated Press