Taylor Swift drops surprise new album ‘Folklore’

It had all the makings of an epic chart battle - but so far, Taylor Swift has won against Kanye West purely by default.

Taylor Swift has been called “petty” and “devious” after she announced overnight that she’ll be releasing a new album today, the same day her nemesis Kanye West is set to release his new album.

Swift stunned fans when she revealed on Twitter that her 8th studio album, Folklore, would drop at midnight tonight in the US, which is 2pm AEST.

So Swift’s album is out now — but West’s is so far nowhere to be seen.

Here’s the video for Swift’s subdued first single, Cardigan:

Swift’s surprise album drop comes just a day after Kanye, who appears to be in the middle of a bipolar episode, revealed he would release his new album Donda today.

Fans have speculated this could be the latest battle in a war between Swift and Kanye that dates back to when the rapper infamously interrupted Swift’s speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

taylor swift is the most devious american sweetheart for a multitude of reasons but her dropping a surprise album “coincidentally” on the same day kanye releases his is.. she’s so precise & calculated with her facade she’s the regina george of pop music & i love that

— ༺ 𝔊𝔬𝔱𝔥 𝔍𝔞𝔣𝔞𝔯 ༻ (@arabthot) July 23, 2020

Plz god let kanye and logic outsell this petty white woman taylor swift tonight pic.twitter.com/5N6V8TTtWM

— Josh🍾💕 (@joshsplug2) July 23, 2020

Kanye West & Taylor Swift dropping on the same day?? pic.twitter.com/7eHqppZs0L

— 𝕵𝕭 (@JBou_) July 23, 2020

Kanye West: my new a-

Taylor Swift announcing the release of her brand new album #Folklore by surprise, available tonight, without making any publicity stunts: pic.twitter.com/GYwsvIoAF6

— Blazin' Bad Zula 🇮🇨 (@beardphrodite_) July 23, 2020

I'm here for Taylor Swift's petty ass surprise dropping the same day as Kanye pic.twitter.com/8kCChyzqJO

— 𝕂ℝ𝕀𝕊 (@krzgarcia) July 23, 2020

Taylor Swift after seeing that Kanye West was dropping an album tonight 🤣 #Folklore pic.twitter.com/w0Fq1MujtK

— #BLM✊🏽 (@DiAndre_01) July 23, 2020

Taylor Swift dropping her album folklore in the middle of a Kanye breakdown pic.twitter.com/dUtrcG0Dwk

— Veto M (@Veto_Davinci) July 23, 2020

Not even a freaking pandemic can sever the unholy cord that links Kanye West and Taylor Swift

— cganz (@mehpatrol) July 23, 2020

RELATED: Inside Kim, Kanye and Taylor’s toxic years-long feud

Swift announced her album on Twitter, writing that it will be “an entire brand new album of songs I’ve poured all of my whims, dreams, fears, and musings into”.

“Most of the things I had planned this summer didn’t end up happening, but there is something that I hadn’t planned on that DID happen,” she wrote.

“I wrote and recorded this music in isolation but got to collaborate with some musical heroes of mine: Aaron Dessner, Bon Iver, William Bowery and Jack Antonoff.

Taylor Swift is dropping a new album.

“Before this year I probably would’ve overthought when to release this music at the ‘perfect’ time,” Swift wrote. “But the times we’re living in keep reminding me that nothing is guaranteed. My gut is telling me that if you make something you love, you should just put it out into the world.

“That’s the side of uncertainty I can get on board with,” she concluded. “Love you guys so much.”

According to the New York Post, a music video for new track Cardigan will also be released today. The album can be pre-ordered from Taylor Swift’s online store.

Surprise 🤗 Tonight at midnight I’ll be releasing my 8th studio album, folklore; an entire brand new album of songs I’ve poured all of my whims, dreams, fears, and musings into. Pre-order at https://t.co/zSHpnhUlLb pic.twitter.com/4ZVGy4l23b

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 23, 2020

RELATED: Inside Kanye West’s mental health battle

Kanye has been making headlines all week thanks to a series of erratic tweets about his wife Kim Kardashian and mother-in-law Kris Jenner.

Kanye claimed that both Kim and Kris have been trying to “lock me up”. He also claimed that he’s been trying to divorce Kim for some time.

Amid the twitter outburst, he also announced he’ll be dropping his new album on Friday.

DONDA coming this Friday pic.twitter.com/HGibF3PHYf

— ye (@kanyewest) July 21, 2020

According to a new report, Kanye is now threatening to reveal Kardashian family secrets during a Twitter “livestream” if his wife follows through on any attempt to “lock him up”.

The rapper – who suffers from bipolar disorder and is reportedly becoming increasingly “paranoid” amid his latest episode – has so far resisted calls from his family to seek medical help and is instead “holed up” in a bunker on his Wyoming ranch, surrounded by a small circle of friends.