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Taylor Swift: Here are the details of her new album announcement

Taylor Swift recently announced her new album '1989,' which the singer said is her 'first documented, official pop album.' Taylor Swift's last work was her 2012 album 'Red.'

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Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Taylor Swift recently announced that she will be releasing a new album this October.

Taylor Swift is officially turning to pop.

The singer recently released a new single, “Shake It Off,” and announced that her new album, titled “1989” (Swift’s birth year), will be released on Oct. 27. 

The new work will be her “first documented, official pop album,” Swift said to fans during a Yahoo live stream on Aug. 18, according to USA Today. During the live stream, the singer also responded to questions posed by users on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram.

As the live stream took place, the music video for “Shake” premiered on Vevo, according to the New York Times. 

Swift said that she wanted to create a song that was like “nothing I had done,” according to USA Today. She was inspired to write the song after discovering that “people can say whatever they want about us, at any time. The only thing we can control is our reaction to that." 

Her new album is informed by the music of the 1980s, Swift said, according to Rolling Stone, which she called a period of “limitless potential.”

“Two years gives you enough time to grow and change; change what you believe in and what's influencing and inspiring you," the singer said of the time between her new album and her last work, 2012’s “Red.” “I woke up every single day not wanting, but needing, to make a new style of music. This album is a rebirth for me.” 

The singer told Rolling Stone that she thinks the video for “Shake,” which finds dancers around her performing ballet and moshing while Swift herself is unable to do it, expresses her message of being yourself.

“It shows you to keep doing you, keep being you, keep trying to figure out where you fit in in the world, and eventually you will,” she said.

The news that “1989” will be Swift’s “first… official pop album” seemed to be greeted with a yawn by music industry insiders. “Does anyone still think of Taylor Swift as a country artist anymore?" Rolling Stone contributing editor Anthony DeCurtis asked USA Today. "She's very career-savvy, and I'm sure she and her handlers are convinced she can withstand any potential blowback. And I would agree." 

Billboard associate editor Jason Lipshutz noted that “her last album was based in country music, but it had a lot of bubblegum pop in it” in an interview with USA Today. “She's always been a great storyteller, but she's been trying her hand at pop music more and more,” he said.

Scott Borchetta, president of Swift’s home Big Machine Records, said that he doesn’t think country stations will be featuring this new work but that that’s okay, according to Rolling Stone.

“Will country stations play a complete pop song just because it’s her? No,” Borchetta said. “But when she comes to town, her friends at country radio will come and see her… Taylor fans are going to love it.” 

The singer will perform at the MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 24.

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