Gone are the days of snakes, receipts and reasons. Taylor Swift has made her colorful comeback from the Reputation Era. Following the success of “Reputation” released in 2017 and the successful “Reputation Stadium Tour” which grossed $266.1 million (breaking the record of the highest grossing U.S tour, according to Billboard) fans were left wondering, what will Swift do next?

Her new album, “Lover,” will be released on Aug. 23, featuring 18 tracks.  Swift announced the album title, cover art, deluxe editions of the album (exclusively available at Target) and a new single during an Instagram live session on June 14. She also announced a future collaboration with fashion designer Stella McCartney on an upcoming fashion line.  

Following the release of the lead single “Me!” in April, the pop anthem promoting individuality and featuring Brendon Urie from Panic! At the Disco, I had high hopes for the second single. “Me!” was a typical first single for Swift, a catchy pop song destined to get stuck in your head (Shake It Off, anyone?). “Me!” peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. Fans had mixed reactions on the first single some loving it, others finding it not up to Swift’s usual quality lyrically.

The second single titled, “You Need To Calm Down,” is an instant summer hit. The song tackles the ever growing social media take down culture and those who hide behind a computer screen to cause drama, with a nod to her LGBT+ fans, with a line in the song where she sings “because shade never made anybody less gay.” The music video featured many celebrities such as Laverne Cox, Todrick Hall, Hayley Kioko (who made a special appearance on Swift’s last tour,) Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Katy Perry and  the cast of “Queer Eye,” just to name a few.

  Swift recently created a petition on Change.org, the Equality Act,  which prevents discrimination of LGBT+ members in the workforce, school, and other public places.

“The House has passed the Equality Act, which would protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in their places of work, homes, schools, and other public accommodations. The next step is that the bill will go before the Senate,” Swift’s petition says. “While there’s no information yet as to when the Equality Act will go before the Senate for a vote, we do know this: Politicians need votes to stay in office. Votes come from the people. Pressure from massive amounts of people is a major way to push politicians towards positive change. That’s why I’ve created this petition to urge the Senate to support the Equality Act.”  

This petition currently sits at 355,064 signatures and counting.

I am excited to see what “Lover” has in store. It reminds me a bit of her breakout pop album, “1989,” released in 2014,  which is my personal favorite from Swift’s discography. I hope that there are more collaborations with other artists and an amazing world tour to go along with it.