After weeks of Instagram teases and new song title rumors, today (Aug. 18), Taylor Swift finally revealed a few truth bombs on her Yahoo! livestream. First, she debuted a new poppy, "Happy"-esque single "Shake It Off." Secondly, she announced a new album title and album cover for 1989. Thirdly, Swift debuted the official music video for "Shake It Off," featuring masterful dancing styles of all kinds.
Swift started out the video announcement on top of the Empire State building... "But it's kind of scary up here, I thought we could go inside where we can talk."
The truths came as soon as the worldwide live stream began, with a new poppy anthem written by Swift, Max Martin and Shellback entitled "Shake It Off." Filled with hooks galore, this bona fide pop anthem was inspired by all the rumors surrounding Swift and how you can either "descend into insanity" or, well, shake it off.
"'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play play / And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate / I'm just gonna shake, shake shake shake shake it off / And the heart breakers are gonna break, break, break break, break / But I'm gonna shake it off," she peppily sings over a Katy Perry-esque stomping beat.
Seriously, this thing is infectious.
Soon, Swift kept the ball rolling with surprise No. 2: she has spent the last two years building a brand new record. Billed as her first documented, official pop album, Swift noted that she was inspired by the "endless possibilities" and bold music of the late 1980s. Pulling from her sonic influence and Dec. 13, 1989, birthdate, Swift named the album 1989...
Oh, and it's coming out in a little over two months. Swift announced a release date for Oct. 27, with a pre-sale available now on her official website, taylorswift.com.
The accompanying album cover is a polaroid picture of Swift's bust and bottom half of her face, with "T.S. 1989" written in handwriting.
The third surprise came in the form of a music video for "Shake It Off," with Swift embracing her inner dorky dancer by submerging herself with some of the world's best dancers in the styles of hip-hop, lyrical, ballet, jazz and even cheerleader.
Watch below:
