Ethereal

## Alternate covers

### Producer(s)

Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Shellback, Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner, Ariana Grande

## Singles

1. "Moonlight"
Released: July 10, 2024
2. "Echoes of Silence"
Released: September 27, 2024
3. "With You"
Released: November 15, 2024
4. "Maybe (feat. Ariana Grande)"
Released: March 21, 2025
5. "Forever"
Released: November 26, 2025

***Ethereal*** is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, released on November 15, 2024, via Republic Records. The album was announced at the last show of the Eras Tour. *Ethereal* was inspired by her chaotic life before and during the Eras Tour. With having just released *Midnights,* she was not planning on recording another album til late 2023, but due to life changing life events she decided to write as a way to deal with the chaos and stress in her life at that time. After the announcement of *Speak Now (Taylor's Version),* she decided to take *Ethereal* seriously and make it her official eleventh studio album.

## Background

On August 28, 2022, Taylor had announced her tenth studio album, *Midnights,* which was set to be released on October 21 of that same year. Just after the release of the album, her life had taken a serious turn with many plans in her life going another path then she intended them to. The album had been started around early November in 2022, just after she was finishing up organising the Eras Tour. Not taking the album seriously at first, Taylor considered putting some songs on a future version of *Midnights.* While those plans fell through, she continued writing songs for the album. During the making of *Ethereal,* Taylor was also finishing up 1989 (Taylor's Version).

## Music and lyrics

The standard edition of *Ethereal* consists of thirteen tracks. The deluxe edition adds three bonus songs, of which two are acoustic versions. The deluxe target-exclusive CD adds two more songs.

### Composition

*Ethereal* has been described as a dream pop, synth-pop and bedroom pop album, with heavy R&B, electronica and electropop elements. Departing from the deep electronic and electropop sounds of *reputation* and *Midnights,* Taylor sought to create an experimental pop album. The sounds being mostly inspired by the tracks "This Love", "Wildest Dreams", "You Are In Love", "The Archer", "Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince", "Cornelia Street" and "Daylight". The soft synths give all of the songs a calming vibe and feel.

### Theme

*Ethereal* is a concept album, just like *Midnights,* about her thoughts and feelings during the "Midnights Era". The album explores more serious topics that are autobiographical. *Ethereal* was said to be an album that "Was rushed but it wasn't at the same time."

### Songs

The opening track, "Whispers of Serenity", is a soft dream-pop track with synths throughout the whole song. It is an R&B-leaning track about reminiscing on a so-called perfect relationship. "Ethereal" is the title track with the sound being similar to Taylor's 2022 song "Labyrinth". Beginning with slow synths, it turns into a faster track where she sings the chorus and bridge in a high falsetto. "Beautiful Endings" is a soft piano ballad about not being on bad terms with your ex while going through a break-up. "Forever" is a soft dream-pop songs which talks about how not everything can last forever. The fifth track, "Echoes of Silence" is a muted synth-pop and electropop track, it discusses the first night alone after a break up. "Missing You" is a track about missing the one you loved the most. Taylor left the song up for interpertation, while most think it's about her ex-boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, many people think it's about losing a close one, such as a family member or a close friend. "Crying 'Beside a Fire" is a track that talks about reminiscing on a past relationship.

The seventh track, "Moonlight", is a steady synth-pop ballad with subtle guitars, similar to "Bigger Than The Whole Sky". The song is a direct reference to the American singer and actress Ariana Grande, who's song "Moonlight" is the opening track to her third studio album "Dangerous Woman". "In My Dreams" is a soft dream-pop song with themes of dreaming about a past love, and how they're still in love in their dreams. "New York City" is mostly considered a sequel to "Cornelia Street" and of how she never walks down Cornelia Street. "With You" is a soft ballad reminiscing on the moments she spent with her ex-boyfriend. "Melodies of Love" is a playful yet meaningful song to Taylor, with it being described as a song that talks about ignoring the problems in a relationship and thinking nothing of it, while it was tearing down the relationship from the inside. "In the Darkness" describes Taylor's life during the Eras Tour, of how she was alone without anyone to come back to. "Maybe" is a track that talks about her potential future relationships, similar to "Begin Again" in themes, she wonders if she's ready for another so quickly. The song features vocals from American singer and actress Ariana Grande. It was the first song written for the album overall and it is the closing track of the album.

The first bonus track, "Our Symphony" is an orchestral pop and synth-pop tracks with violins making up most of the productions. The seconds and third bonus tracks are acoustic versions of "Maybe" and "Moonlight". The first CD track is "Not Over You" which talks about her slow process of moving on from a relationship. "The Midnight Sky" is a callback to her previous album *Midnights* which talks about late night thoughts she had during the Eras Tour. The final track is "You" which talks about still being reminded of their lover by the smallest things.

## Release and promotion

*Ethereal* was released on November 14, 2024. It marked her eight album in the five year span of 2020-2024, wheras she had released only four albums in the entire 2010s decade preceding that. Upon release, *Ethereal* was available in three CD, LP, and digital album editions each, as well as a cassette.

### Singles

"Moonlight" is the lead singe of *Ethereal.* Republic Records released the song to the US hot adult conemporary radio on July 5, 2024, followed by contemporary hit radio of July 10, 2024. It became best-selling song of 2024. "Echoes of Silence" and "With You" were released as the second and third singles of the album on September 27, 2024 and November 15, 2024 respectevly. "Maybe" was released to US contemporary hit radio as the fouth singe on March 21, 2025. "Forever" became the fifth and last single from the album on November 26, 2025.

### Tour

On December 20, 2024, Taylor revealed on Jimmy Fallon and social media her seventh concert tour, The Ethereal Tour. She described the tour as a more intimate type of tour, with only going to some cities and stadiums. With a smaller amout of shows, Taylor was able to travel to many more countries. The tour began on June 5, 2025 in Tampa, Florida and ended on December 23, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. The tour grossed around $538 million.

## Era

The era was started right after the Eras Tour ended, with the album being announced in June 2024, Taylor had exactly five months to prepare for the album release and another era. She cut of her hair to the same length as she had in 2019 and dyed the tip of her hair pink again. She started wearing peach coloured clothes, indicating that the era colours were light peachy colours such as tan, peach, light red, pink and such lighter warmer colours.

## Track listing

* "Maybe" is the longest track on the standard edition of the album with six minutes and seventeen seconds, while "Beautiful Endings" is the shortest track on the album with two minutes and fifty-eight seconds
* The first track written for the album was "Maybe" in November of 2022 and the last track written for the album was "With You" which was written and finished in September of 2024.

***Ethereal*** - Deluxe edition

***Ethereal*** - Target-exclusive CD

* The Target-exclusive CD features unedited tracks that weren't shortened
* "The Midnight Sky" is the longest overall song of the whole album, including the deluxe tracks