Taylor Swift has announced plans for a second surprise new album this year, evermore, to be released on Friday.

The new record is a "sister album" to folklore, which came out over the summer as a result of the singer-songwriter's productive efforts during coronavirus lockdown.

On the same day that evermore is released, lead single 'willow' will come out, while a deluxe album release will feature two bonus tracks.

Speaking about the new album, Swift said on social media: "To put it plainly, we just couldn't stop writing songs. To try and put it more poetically, it feels like we were standing on the edge of the folklorian woods and had a choice: to turn and go back or to travel further into the forest of this music.

"We chose to wander deeper in. I've never done this before. In the past I've always treated albums as one-off eras and moved onto planning the next one after an album was released."

She continued: "There was something different with folklore. In making it, I felt less like I was departing and more like I was returning.

"I loved the escapism I found in these imaginary/not imaginary tales. I loved the ways you welcomed the dreamscapes and tragedies and epic tales of love lost and found into your lives. So I just kept writing them."

Swift is also working on a project to re-record all of her early songs after her former manager sold off the rights to her back catalogue to a private equity firm.