title: Space Launch System

text: There are no official NASA estimates for how much the SLS will cost per launch, nor for the SLS program annual recurring costs once operational. Cost per launch is not a straightforward figure to estimate as it depends heavily on how many launches occur per year. For example, similarly, the Space Shuttle was estimated, in 2012 dollars, to cost $576 million per launch had it been able to achieve 7 launches per year, while the marginal cost of adding a single additional launch in a given year was estimated to be less than half of that, at just $252 million of marginal cost. However, at the rate that it flew, the final cost was $1.64 billion per Space Shuttle launch, including development.


title: Space Launch System

text: NASA associate administrator William H. Gerstenmaier said in 2017 that there would be no official per flight cost estimates of any variety provided by NASA for the SLS. Other bodies, such as the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the NASA Office of Inspector General, the Senate Appropriations Committee, and the White House Office of Management and Budget have put out cost per launch figures, however. Several internal NASA programs and project concept study reports have released proposed budgets that include future SLS launches. For example, a concept study report for a space telescope stated it was advised by NASA HQ in 2019 to budget $500 million for an SLS launch in 2035. Another study in 2019 also proposing a space telescope assumed a budget for their launch of $650 million in current-day dollars, or $925 million for when the launch would occur, also in the "mid-2030s".


title: Space Launch System

text: Europa Clipper is a NASA scientific mission that was initially required by Congress to launch on SLS. Oversight bodies both internal and external to NASA disagreed with this requirement. First, NASA's Inspector General office published a report in May 2019 that stated Europa Clipper would need to give up $876 million for the "marginal cost" of its SLS launch. An addendum to the letter published in August 2019 increased the estimate and stated that switching to a commercial rocket would save over $1 billion. Ultimately, Europa Clipper was rebooked to launch on a Falcon Heavy for a contract price of $178 million — saving $2 billion in launch costs compared to SLS. The move was done not only for cost reasons but also due to unacceptably high vibration loads on SLS, and concerns over the availability of spare SLS vehicles from the Artemis program.


title: Space Launch System

text: A JCL (Joint Cost and Schedule Confidence Level) analysis cited in that letter put the cost savings at $700 million, with the SLS at $1.05 billion per launch and the commercial alternative at $350 million. Finally, a letter from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to the Senate Appropriations Committee in October 2019 revealed that SLS's total cost to the taxpayer was estimated at "over $2 billion" per launch after development is complete; said development has cost $23 billion in 2021 dollars. The letter suggested Congress remove this requirement, agreeing the NASA Inspector General, adding that using a commercial launch vehicle for Europa Clipper instead of the SLS would save $1.5 billion overall. NASA did not deny this $2 billion cost of launch and an agency spokesperson stated it "is working to bring down the cost of a single SLS launch in a given year as the agency continues negotiations with Boeing on the long-term production contract and efforts to finalize contracts and costs for other elements of the rocket".


title: Space Launch System

text: This OMB figure is dependent on the rate of construction, so building more SLS rockets faster could decrease the per-unit cost. For example, Exploration Ground Systems – whose only role is to support, assemble, integrate, and launch SLS – has separately budgeted fixed costs of $600 million per year on facilities, spread across however many rockets launch that year. Then, in December 2019, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine shared informally that he disagrees with the $2 billion figure since the marginal cost of an SLS launch should decrease after the first few, and is expected to end up around $800 million to $900 million, although contract negotiations were only just beginning for those later cores.


title: Space Launch System

text: In November 2021 a new NASA Office of Inspector General audit was released, which estimated that, at least for the first four launches of SLS, the per-launch production and operating costs would be $2.2 billion for SLS, plus $568 million for Exploration Ground Systems. Additionally, since the first four missions are under the Artemis program, the payload would cost $1 billion for Orion and $300 million for the ESA service module.


title: Space Launch System

text: The SLS was created by an act of Congress in the "NASA Authorization Act of 2010", Public Law 111–267, in which NASA was directed to create a system for launching payloads and crew into space that would replace the capabilities lost with the retirement of the Space Shuttle. The act set out certain goals, such as being able to lift 130 tons or more of payload into low earth orbit, a target date of December 31, 2016 for the system to be fully operational, and a directive to use "to the extent practicable" existing components, hardware, and workforce from the Space Shuttle and from Ares I. On 14 September 2011, NASA announced their plan to meet these requirements: the design for the SLS, with the Orion spacecraft as payload.


title: Space Launch System

text: The SLS has considered several future development routes of potential launch configurations, with the planned evolution of the blocks of the rocket having been modified many times. Many options, all of which just needed to meet the congressionally mandated payload minimums, were considered, including a Block 0 variant with three main engines, a variant with five main engines, a Block 1A variant with upgraded boosters instead of the improved second stage, and a Block 2 with five main engines plus the Earth Departure Stage, with up to three J-2X engines.


title: Space Launch System

text: In the initial announcement of the design of the SLS, NASA also announced an "Advanced Booster Competition", to select which boosters would be used on Block 2 of the SLS. Several companies proposed boosters for this competition, all of which were indicated as viable: Aerojet and Teledyne Brown proposed three booster engines each with dual combustion chambers, Alliant Techsystems proposed a modified solid rocket booster with lighter casing, more energetic propellant, and four segments instead of five, and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and Dynetics proposed a liquid-fueled booster named Pyrios. However, this competition was planned for a development plan in which Block 1A would be followed by Block 2A, with upgraded boosters. NASA canceled Block 1A and the planned competition in April 2014, in favor of simply remaining with the Ares I's five-segment solid rocket boosters, themselves modified from the Space Shuttle's solid rocket boosters, until at least the late 2020s. The overly powerful advanced booster would have resulted in unsuitably high acceleration, and would need modifications to LC-39B, its flame trench, and Mobile Launcher.


title: Space Launch System

text: On 31 July 2013, the SLS passed Preliminary Design Review. The review included not only the rocket and boosters but also ground support and logistical arrangements.


title: Space Launch System

text: On 7 August 2014, the SLS Block 1 passed a milestone known as Key Decision Point C and entered full-scale development, with an estimated launch date of November 2018.


title: Space Launch System

text: In 2013, NASA and Boeing analyzed the performance of several EUS engine options. The analysis was based on a second-stage usable propellant load of 105 metric tons, and compared stages with four RL10 engines, two MARC-60 engines, or one J-2X engine. In 2014, NASA also considered using the European Vinci instead of the RL10, which offered the same specific impulse but with 64% greater thrust, which would allow for the same performance at a lower cost.


title: Space Launch System

text: In 2018, Blue Origin submitted a proposal to replace the Exploration Upper Stage with a cheaper alternative to be designed and fabricated by the company, but it was rejected by NASA in November 2019 on multiple grounds; these included lower performance compared to the existing EUS design, incompatibility of the proposal with the height of the door of the Vehicle Assembly Building being only , and unacceptable acceleration of Orion components such as its solar panels.


title: Space Launch System

text: From 2009 to 2011, three full-duration static fire tests of five-segment solid rocket boosters were conducted under the Constellation Program, including tests at low and high core temperatures, to validate performance at extreme temperatures. The 5-segment solid rocket booster would be carried over to SLS. Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems has completed full-duration static fire tests of the five-segment solid rocket boosters. Qualification Motor 1 was tested on 10 March 2015. Qualification Motor 2 was successfully tested on 28 June 2016.


title: Space Launch System

text: , three SLS versions are planned: Block 1, Block 1B, and Block 2. Each will use the same Core stage with its four main engines, but Block 1B will feature the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS), and Block 2 will combine the EUS with upgraded boosters.


title: Space Launch System

text: The ICPS for Artemis 1 was delivered by ULA to NASA about July 2017 and was housed at Kennedy Space Centre as of November 2018.


title: Space Launch System

text: In mid-November 2014, construction of the first Core Stage hardware began using a new welding system in the South Vertical Assembly Building at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility. Between 2015 and 2017, NASA test fired RS-25 engines in preparation for use on SLS.


title: Space Launch System

text: The core stage for the first SLS, built at Michoud Assembly Facility by Boeing, had all four engines attached in November 2019, and it was declared finished by NASA in December 2019.


title: Space Launch System

text: The first core stage left Michoud Assembly Facility for comprehensive testing at Stennis Space Center in January 2020. The static firing test program at Stennis Space Center, known as the Green Run, operated all the core stage systems simultaneously for the first time. Test 7 (of 8), the wet dress rehearsal, was carried out in December 2020 and the fire (test 8) took place on 16 January 2021, but shut down earlier than expected, about 67 seconds in total rather than the desired eight minutes. The reason for the early shutdown was later reported to be because of conservative test commit criteria on the thrust vector control system, specific only for ground testing and not for flight. If this scenario occurred during a flight, the rocket would have continued to fly normally. There was no sign of damage to the core stage or the engines, contrary to initial concerns. The second fire test was completed on 18 March 2021, with all 4 engines igniting, throttling down as expected to simulate in-flight conditions, and gimballing profiles. The core stage was shipped to Kennedy Space Center to be mated with the rest of the rocket for Artemis 1. It left Stennis on April 24 and arrived at Kennedy on April 27. It was refurbished there in preparation for stacking. On 12 June 2021, NASA announced the assembly of the first SLS rocket was completed at the Kennedy Space Center. The assembled SLS was used for the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission in 2022.


title: Space Launch System

text: While the first SLS for Artemis 1 is currently flying to the moon on a test flight in fall 2022, NASA and Boeing are constructing the next three, for Artemis 2, Artemis 3, and Artemis 4. Boeing stated in July 2021 that while the COVID-19 pandemic had affected their suppliers and schedules, such as delaying parts needed for hydraulics, they would still be able to provide the Artemis 2 SLS Core stage per NASA's schedule, with months to spare. The spray-on foam insulation process for Artemis 2 has been automated for most sections of the core stage, saving 12 days in the schedule. The Artemis 2 forward skirt, which is the foremost component of the core stage, was affixed on the liquid oxygen tank in late May 2021. , the complete core stage is set to ship to NASA in March 2023. For Artemis 3, assembly of elements of the thrust structure began at Michoud Assembly Facility in early 2021. The liquid hydrogen tank that is to be used on Artemis 3 was originally planned to be the Artemis 1 tank, but it was set aside as the welds were found to be faulty. Repair techniques were developed, and the tank has reentered production and will be proof tested for strength, for use on Artemis 3.


title: Space Launch System

text: As of July 2021, Boeing is also preparing to begin construction of the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS), which is planned to debut on Artemis 4.


title: Space Launch System

text: Originally planned for late 2016, the uncrewed first flight of SLS has slipped more than twenty-six times and almost six years. As of earlier that month, the first launch was originally scheduled for 8:30 am EDT, 29 August 2022. It was postponed to 2:17 pm EDT (18:17 UTC), 3 September 2022, after the launch director called a scrub due to a temperature sensor falsely indicating that an RS-25 engine's hydrogen bleed intake was too warm. The 3 September attempt was then scrubbed due to a hydrogen leak in the tail service mast quick disconnect arm, which was fixed; the next launch option was at first a period in late October and then a launch in mid-November, due to unfavorable weather during Hurricane Ian. It launched on November 16.


title: Space Launch System

text: NASA originally limited the amount of time the solid rocket boosters can remain stacked to "about a year" from the time two segments are joined. The first and second segments of the Artemis 1 boosters were joined on 7 January 2021. NASA could choose to extend the time limit based on an engineering review. On 29 September 2021, Northrop Grumman indicated that the limit could be extended to eighteen months for Artemis 1, based on an analysis of the data collected when the boosters were being stacked; an analysis weeks before the actual launch date later extended that to December 2022 for the boosters of Artemis 1, almost two years after stacking.


title: Space Launch System

text: In late 2015, the SLS program was stated to have a 70% confidence level for the first Orion flight that carries crew, the second SLS flight overall, to happen by 2023; , NASA delayed Artemis 2 from 2023 to May 2024.


title: Space Launch System

text: Although the SLS is only confirmed for use on the first few Artemis missions, many NASA mission concept studies for robotic missions planned to launch on the SLS, such as:


title: Space Launch System

text: Neptune Odyssey, Europa Lander, Enceladus Orbilander, Persephone, HabEx, Origins Space Telescope, LUVOIR, Lynx, and Interstellar probe. These concept studies were prepared for possible recommendation by the National Academy's Decadal surveys. The Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey in 2021 recommended a smaller, merged version of HabEx and LUVOIR preceded by a technology maturation program to reduce cost and schedule risk, although the eventual mission may or may not use SLS. In 2022 the Planetary Science Decadal Survey recommended Enceladus Orbilander as the third highest priority for flagship planetary missions in the 2020s. The Heliophysics Decadal Survey, due to be completed in 2024, is considering the Interstellar Probe mission concept.


title: Space Launch System

text: The SLS has been criticized based on program cost, lack of commercial involvement, and the non-competitive nature of a vehicle legislated to use Space Shuttle components.


title: Space Launch System

text: In 2011, Rep. Tom McClintock and other groups called on the Government Accountability Office to investigate possible violations of the Competition in Contracting Act, arguing that Congressional mandates forcing NASA to use Space Shuttle components for the SLS are de facto non-competitive, single-source requirements assuring contracts to existing Shuttle suppliers. The Competitive Space Task Force, in September 2011, said that the new government launcher directly violates NASA's charter, the Space Act, and the 1998 Commercial Space Act requirements for NASA to pursue the "fullest possible engagement of commercial providers" and to "seek and encourage, to the maximum extent possible, the fullest commercial use of space". Opponents of the heavy launch vehicle have critically used the name "Senate launch system", a name that was still being used by opponents to criticize the program in 2021, as "the NASA Inspector General said the total cost of the rocket would reach $27 billion through 2025".


title: Space Launch System

text: Lori Garver, a former NASA Deputy Administrator, called for canceling the launch vehicle alongside the Mars 2020 rover. Phil Plait shared his criticism of the SLS in light of ongoing budget tradeoffs between the Commercial Crew Development and SLS budgets, also referring to earlier critiques by Garver. In 2019, the Government Accountability Office found that NASA had awarded Boeing over $200 million for service with ratings of 'good' to 'excellent' despite cost overruns and delays. , the maiden launch of the SLS was expected in 2021. NASA continued to expect that the first orbital launch would be in 2021 as late as May 2021.


title: Space Launch System

text: NASA moved out $889 million of costs relating to SLS boosters, but did not update the SLS budget to match, a March 2020 Inspector General report found. This kept the budget overrun to 15% by FY 2019. At 30%, NASA would have to notify Congress and stop funding unless Congress reapproves and provides additional funding. The Inspector General report found that were it not for this "masking" of cost, the overrun would have been 33% by FY 2019. The GAO separately stated "NASA's current approach for reporting cost growth misrepresents the cost performance of the program".


title: Space Launch System

text: On 1 May 2020, NASA awarded a contract extension to Aerojet Rocketdyne to manufacture 18 additional RS-25 engines with associated services for $1.79 billion, bringing the total RS-25 contract value to almost $3.5 billion. Eric Berger from "Ars Technica" noted that the average cost of each engine under the contract would be $146 million, with each SLS launch consuming $580 million in its four RS-25 engines alone. Berger further commented that for the cost of a "single" RS-25 engine, "six" RD-180 engines (each more powerful than the RS-25) could be purchased, or nearly an entire Falcon Heavy launch with two-thirds of the SLS lift capacity.


title: Space Launch System

text: Former NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, who oversaw the initial design and development of the SLS, also criticized the program in an interview with Politico in September 2020. Bolden said that the "SLS will go away ... because at some point commercial entities are going to catch up." Bolden further stated, "They are really going to build a heavy-lift launch vehicle sort of like SLS that they will be able to fly for a much cheaper price than NASA can do SLS. That's just the way it works."


title: Space Launch System

text: In 2009, the Augustine commission proposed a commercial launcher with lower operating costs and noted that a launcher was the minimum required to support lunar exploration. In 2011–2012, the Space Access Society, Space Frontier Foundation, and The Planetary Society called for the cancellation of the project, arguing that the SLS will consume the funds for other projects from the NASA budget. U.S. Representative Dana Rohrabacher and others proposed that an orbital propellant depot should be developed and the Commercial Crew Development program accelerated instead.


title: Space Launch System

text: A NASA study that was not publicly released and another from the Georgia Institute of Technology showed this option to be possibly cheaper. In 2012, the United Launch Alliance also suggested using existing rockets with on-orbit assembly and propellant depots as needed. The lack of competition in the SLS design was highlighted. In the summer of 2019, a former ULA employee claimed that Boeing, NASA's prime contractor for SLS, viewed orbital refueling technology as a threat to the SLS and blocked further investment in it. In 2011, Robert Zubrin, founder of Mars Society and Mars Direct, suggested that a heavy lift vehicle could be developed for $5 billion on fixed-price requests for proposal. In 2010, SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk claimed that his company could build a launch vehicle in the payload range for $2.5 billion, or $300 million (in 2010 dollars) per launch, not including a potential upper-stage upgrade.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: Evermore (stylized in all lowercase) is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was a surprise album released on December 11, 2020, via Republic Records, less than five months after "Folklore", her eighth studio album. "Evermore" was a spontaneous product of Swift's extended collaboration with her "Folklore" collaborator Aaron Dessner, mainly recorded at his Long Pond Studio in the Hudson Valley.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: Swift described "Evermore" as an offshoot of "the folklorian woods"—an escapist, cottagecore-inspired direction she first ideated with "Folklore" during the COVID-19 pandemic; she regards them as sister albums. "Evermore" blends alternative rock, indie folk and chamber pop styles, carried by fingerpicked guitars, somber pianos, lavish strings, and sparse percussion. Impressionist storytelling and mythopoeia dominate its lyrical technique. The subject matter has been described as an anthology of tales about love, marriage, infidelity, and grief, exploring the complexities of human emotion. American bands Bon Iver, Haim, and the National are featured.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: Earning widespread acclaim from critics, "Evermore" was praised for its character studies, experimental production, and Swift's nuanced vocals. Reviews regarded the album a sequel or a counterpart to "Folklore", and various publications listed it in their 2020 year-end rankings. "Evermore" was nominated for Album of the Year at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, a second consecutive nomination for Swift in the category after winning it with "Folklore" the previous year. Dessner and Long Pond have achieved mainstream notability since "Evermore" release.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: The album reached number one in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Greece, New Zealand, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Republic Records reported over a million copies of "Evermore" sold in its first week globally. It was Swift's eighth consecutive "Billboard" 200 number-one debut, spending four weeks atop the chart, and achieved various chart feats in Australia, the UK and the US; in the latter, the tracks "Willow", "No Body, No Crime", and "Coney Island" impacted pop, country, and alternative radio stations, respectively. "Willow" became Swift's seventh "Billboard" Hot 100 number-one song and her second in 2020 after "Cardigan", making her the first ever act to simultaneously debut atop both "Billboard" 200 and Hot 100 charts two times. "Evermore" was 2021's best-selling alternative music album and Americana album in the US and the UK, respectively.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: During the COVID-19 lockdowns, on July 23, 2020, American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift announced her eighth studio album and first surprise album, "Folklore", and released it the next day. Produced by herself, first-time collaborator Aaron Dessner, long-time collaborator Jack Antonoff, and boyfriend Joe Alwyn, the album was a critical and commercial success, becoming the best-selling album of 2020 and winning Album of the Year at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. On November 25, 2020, a concert documentary titled "", shot at Dessner's Long Pond Studio in Hudson Valley, was released to Disney+. It detailed the making of "Folklore" with performances of its songs.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: After releasing "Folklore", Swift continued to work remotely with Dessner, who would send her instrumental tracks, to which she would write the lyrics. She stated the rave reception of "Folklore" further encouraged her to experiment further with its musical style. Soon after, Swift's sessions with Dessner resulted in a project that was a natural extension of "Folklore", which eventually assumed its individual identity as "Evermore". Dessner dubbed "Evermore" a "weird avalanche" effecting from "Folklore". In comparison to its predecessor, the development of "Evermore" was a more experimental process, during which the duo did not subject themselves to any limitations. In an Apple Music interview to Zane Lowe, Swift stated "Evermore" gave her a feeling of "quiet conclusion and sort of this weird serenity" after putting out "Folklore", and correlated it with the themes of those albums, saying one of "Folklore" main tropes was "conflict resolution"—"trying to figure out how to get through something with someone", whereas "Evermore" deals with "endings of all sorts, sizes and shapes", and the pain and various phases of those closures.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: On December 10, 2020, three days prior to her 31st birthday, Swift posted nine photos on Instagram, which together formed an image depicting the singer's back, with her hair in a braid and facing a forest. In another post across her social media, she announced her ninth studio album, titled "Evermore", releasing at midnight. She revealed the track-list, and a music video for its opening track, "Willow", which would premiere on YouTube alongside the album release. Referring to lockdown regulations in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Swift wrote: "You've all been so caring, supportive and thoughtful on my birthdays and so this time I thought I would give you something! I also know this holiday season will be a lonely one for most of us and if there are any of you out there who turn to music to cope with missing loved ones the way I do, this is for you". Prior to the "Willow" music video premiere, Swift said she likens "Evermore" to fall and winter, in contrast to its predecessor's spring and summer.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: Like its predecessor, "Evermore" is also a product of remote collaboration and virtual communication, and was recorded in total secrecy. Dessner produced or co-produced all of the tracks except "Gold Rush", which Swift and Antonoff produced. All of the tracks, except "Cowboy like Me", were recorded at Long Pond Studio, when "Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions" was shot.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: After the release of "Folklore", Swift wrote two songs, "Closure" and "Dorothea", for Big Red Machine, which is a supergroup by Dessner and Justin Vernon, the frontman of American indie folk band Bon Iver; the songs ended up on "Evermore" instead. To celebrate "Folklore", Dessner casually composed an instrumental track "Westerly", named after the location of Swift's Rhode Island home. An hour later, Swift wrote "Willow" to the track and sent it back to him. She wrote the title track "Evermore" with Alwyn (alias William Bowery) and sent it to Vernon, who added a bridge. Dessner realized they were creating a counterpart to "Folklore" only after the duo wrote more than seven songs. He composed "Tolerate It" on a piano in time signature and sent it to Swift, conjuring a scene in her mind upon hearing the track; she sent it back with finished lyrics. Dessner stated he "cried when [he] first heard" its lyrics.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: Swift traveled to Long Pond Studio to film "Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions". Once filming was complete, Swift stayed at Long Pond overnight, to record with Dessner and Antonoff. The next morning, she approached Dessner in his kitchen with "'Tis the Damn Season", which she wrote during the night. Dessner cited the song as one of his favorite works ever, and that it could have just remained as an instrumental, but instead, Swift's "incredible storytelling ability and musical ability took it and made something much great". "No Body, No Crime" was inspired by Swift's "obsession with true crime podcasts/documentaries". She wrote the song on a rubber-bridge guitar and mailed Dessner a voice memo, after which he started producing it. Swift had specific ideas on how she wanted the song, including a guest feature from American pop rock band Haim, who recorded their vocals at Ariel Rechtshaid's Los Angeles home and forwarded it to Swift. The song's harmonica and guitar riffs were played by Josh Kaufman, who also played the harmonica on "Betty" from "Folklore;" JT Bates played the drums, and also did the same on "Dorothea".


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: Aaron Dessner and his twin brother, Bryce Dessner, sent Swift some of the instrumentals they made for their band, American indie rock band the National. One of those was what would become "Coney Island". Swift and Alwyn wrote its lyrics, and recorded it with her vocals. After listening to the demo, the Dessner brothers felt that the song was very related to the National, and envisioned Matt Berninger (the band's lead vocalist) singing it, and Bryan Devendorf (the drummer) drumming it. Aaron Dessner informed Berninger, who was "excited" for the idea. The band assembled, Devendorf played the drums, while his brother Scott Devendorf played the bass and pocket piano; Bryce Dessner helped produce the song.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: "Marjorie" was an instrumental precursor to "Peace", the fifteenth track on "Folklore". The latter's drone is present in the former's bridge. The backing rhythm of "Marjorie" was composed with an Allovers Hi-hat Generator, a software developed by producer Ryan Olson, which had been used in many Big Red Machine songs. The instrument takes any sound and splits them into samples, and regenerates them in randomized musical patterns. Dessner went through the patterns, picked his favorite parts, looped them, developed them into an instrumental, and sent it to Swift, who wrote "Marjorie" to it, a song about her maternal grandmother and opera singer, Marjorie Finlay. She also sent a folder of Finlay's opera records to Dessner, who sampled some of it on the song. "Right Where You Left Me" and "Happiness" were written days before "Evermore" was finished. Dessner had been working on the composition of "Happiness" since 2019, thinking it would be a Big Red Machine song; Swift, however, admired its instrumentals and ended up finishing its lyrics, which was also the case with "Right Where You Left Me". The last few weeks of recording "Evermore" overlapped with the recording of "Fearless (Taylor's Version)"—Swift's first re-recorded album; she recorded "Happiness" and "You Belong with Me (Taylor's Version)" on the same day.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: Vernon was more involved in "Evermore" than "Folklore". He played the drums on "Cowboy like Me" and "Closure", guitar and banjo on "Ivy", and contributed backing vocals in "Marjorie". For "Closure", he processed Swift's vocals through his Messina vocal modifier, which distorted her soft timbre into a robotic growl. "Cowboy like Me" was recorded at Scarlet Pimpernel Studios, located in the UK, owned by Marcus Mumford, the lead singer of English folk rock band Mumford & Sons; Mumford provided backing vocals on the song. In "Ivy", Dessner added sleigh bells to invoke winter-oriented emotions, coinciding with the song's wintry imagery. He intentionally added "a wintry nostalgia" to most of the music in "Evermore", leaning towards the idea Swift told him. Dessner said mixing the album's 17 songs was a "Herculean task" and that the sound engineer Jon Low thought it would not be finished on time.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: The standard edition of "Evermore" is one hour long, consisting of 15 tracks, while the deluxe adds two bonus songs. Haim, the National and Bon Iver provide guest vocals on "No Body, No Crime", "Coney Island", and "Evermore", respectively. Critics have dubbed "Evermore" a sequel and a companion record to "Folklore".


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: "Evermore" is an indie folk, folk-pop, alternative rock, and chamber rock, record with country influences. It has its predecessor's minimal and lo-fi styles, but looser and more experimental in nature. The album is characterized by its acoustic core and wintry mood, consisting of sparse arrangements, slow-burning melodies, burbling, fingerpicked acoustic guitars, swaying electric guitars, soft, smooth, and somber pianos, warm and woozy synthesizers, mandolin, twangy banjos, throbbing drum machines, lush strings, electronic thrums, subtle layers of Mellotrons, flute, French horn, and cellos. Swift's mellifluous vocals are backed by gauzy harmonies and "misty atmospherics".


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: "Rolling Stone" wrote that "Evermore" deepens Swift's goth-folk vision. "Hits" described the album's sonic palette as "watery" and "hypnotic". "The Daily Telegraph" said that there is no sense of tempo or urgency in its songs, departing from the stadium-suited tempos of Swift's earlier works. "Esquire" noted "Evermore" focus on "sonic details and nuances rather than big hooks." According to critic Tom Hull, while Swift remains attentive to "production details", "Evermore" follows "Folklore" in abandoning "pop glitz" in favor of "straightforward songcraft" due in part to the pandemic shifting Swift's focus from arenas to homely settings. "Stereogum" described it as "a soft, meditative, consciously quiet" album of "restorative old-school singer-songwriter music". In "Slate" opinion, "Evermore" has a more spacious ambience with lots of break, unlike the "maximalist-minimalism" of "Folklore", which had "layers upon layers of restrained instrumental lines".


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: "Evermore" is an intimate album heavily rooted in elaborate first-person storytelling from third-person perspectives, character studies, and narrative mythmaking. It ventures deeper inside the imaginary world Swift built with "Folklore", blending facts and fiction. Both albums share a common escapist concept, but in contrast to "Folklore"s more introspective and romantic nature, "Evermore" is bolder, uninhibited, playful, and impressionistic, delving extensively into Swift's ideas of adult love and pain. The songs generally ruminate themes of forbidden love, romantic neglect, forgiveness, marriage, and infidelity, revolving around a set of unique characters, such as embattled couples, scorned friends, and complicated women. "Evermore" also analyses conflicted emotions and possibilities, aside "noirish twists" in plots.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: Like its sister album, "Evermore" lyrically incorporates nature, landscapes and objects in the sky, such as crescent moon, sunrise, comets, amber skies, precipice, willow, clover and ivy. Swift's trademark turns of phrase and wordplay are also abundant. "Variety" observed that "warmth amid iciness" is a "recurring lyrical motif". "American Songwriter" opined that "Evermore" has Swift mostly writing "the 'unhappily ever after' anthology of marriages gone bad". "Slate" also called it an anthology, emphasizing "her leap away from autobiography into songs that are either pure fictions or else lyrically symbolic in ways that don't act as romans à clef". "Stereogum" labeled the album "observational fiction". "Pitchfork" noted that Swift remains a versatile, expressive vocalist, and a "wordy" lyricist to "magnify sad, small moments." Music theory professor Alyssa Barna said Swift adopts a static, colorless timbre for both vocals and instrumentation in the album. "Spin" remarked the "exceedingly complex human emotions" she unravels in "Evermore" with "precision and devastation".


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: "Evermore" opens with "Willow", a chamber folk love song propelled by picked guitars, glockenspiel, orchestrations, programmed drums, and a "breathless chorus". "Champagne Problems" is a mournful ballad with spacious, oompah piano chords entwining with a guitar arpeggio and choir vocals. It depicts a struggling girlfriend whose mental issues disrupt her romantic relationship, leading her to turn down her lover's proposal. "Gold Rush" is a nimble chamber pop song with drums, horns, violins, swiveling shifts in tempo, and a "dreamy" chorus. Its frenzy verses are couplets delivered in a pulsating rhythm over persistent beats, with a red herring in its intro and outro made of "layered vocals". Expressing jealousy and insecurity towards an attractive subject, "Gold Rush" limns the narrator's infatuation for the subject using a daydream, and depicts her distaste at her own incapacitation in the face of beauty, comparing it to gold rushes.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: The fourth track, "Tis the Damn Season", is a Christmas song. It sees a female narrator arrive for her holidays at hometown Tupelo, where she encounters her former lover and ends up in bed with him despite knowing the rekindled flame will not lead anywhere. It is built around an electric guitar riff, and the narrator is revealed to be a character named Dorothea, later in the album. "Tolerate It" recounts a young woman in an age-gap relationship, and depicts her internal agony and resentment towards her aloof, unappreciative partner. It is a slow-building ballad guided by a "muffled" piano and tense synth-beats. Its plot was inspired by "Rebecca", the 1939 novel by English author Daphne du Maurier. "No Body, No Crime" opens with police sirens. It is a "twangy", cinematic, country, pop rock, and country rock song, featuring Haim's harmonies. It tells a "macabre revenge tale" of a woman named Este murdered by her husband in favor of his mistress. The narrator is a friend of Este and takes revenge by murdering the unfaithful man.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: "Happiness", the melancholic seventh track, is an ambient ballad driven by "hazy" synthesizers, hi-hats, violin, bass, organs, piano and drone. The song channels a stream of consciousness, in which the narrator empathizes with the subject after their divorce, contemplates the split, and apologizes for "losing track of the facts", and affirms happiness will be found again. It contains references to "The Great Gatsby". "Dorothea" is an Americana song from the perspective of the male subject in "'Tis the Damn Season", who stays in Tupelo while his high-school lover, Dorothea, moves to Los Angeles for a Hollywood career. He narrate his stories of her, such as a skipped prom and feelings of separation, and yearns for Dorothea's return to the simple rural life, over a honky-tonk piano, tambourine and guitars. It has been compared to "Betty" due to their similar perspectives.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: The ninth track, "Coney Island", is an alternative rock, waltz and indie-folk duet with Matt Berninger of the National. The song depicts suburban nostalgia and recollects a couple's memories in Coney Island; Swift's melodious vocals contrast Berninger's mumbled baritone. "Ivy" is a folk song with "elastic vocals" and a "jaunty chorus", documenting a married woman's infidelity, over a ticking arrangement of banjo, picked guitar, trumpet, and Vernon's gentle harmonies. It conveys her temptation for her secret lover and the realistic consequences that may hinder their affair, using a metaphor of ivy vines growing over a stone house to represent her deep-rooted attachment.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: Swift sings about two "gold-digging" con artists in the eleventh track, "Cowboy like Me", who unexpectedly fall in love with each other while frequenting resorts and deceiving rich people. It is an alternative, country, folk rock, and blues tune, with hushed guitars, harmonica riff, mandolin, piano, lap steel, and Mumford's backing vocals. "Long Story Short" is a pop-infused indie rock song with a rousing post-chorus hook, explosive guitars, strings, crisp beats of live drums and drum machine. Swift retreads "Reputation" (2017) in the song, summarizing her life's worse moments and emotional healing. "Marjorie" details Swift's grief over her grandmother Finlay, who died when Swift was 13 years old. Its lyrics consist of Finlay's advices to her granddaughter, as well as Swift's memories and regrets. Its gentle production samples Finlay's soprano vocals over "buzzing" synths, pizzicato strings, drone, pulse, cello, and a "pulsing keyboard arrangement".


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: "Closure", the fourteenth track, is Swift's kiss-off to the song's unnamed subject, a reply to their "self-serving" request, insincere kindness, and pretentious amity. It is an electroacoustic, industrial folk song characterized by an unusual time signature, and a "skittering" production of brass, piano, to-and-fro strings, electronic creaks, "clattering percussion", and synth drums. The album ends with the title track—a piano ballad that progresses into a dramatic bridge after a tempo shift, where Swift is joined midway by Vernon's signature falsetto in a call and response. Swift navigates depression, desolation and negative notions in her verses, in contrast to Vernon's optimistic and supportive verses that attempt to help her, resulting in a realization that pain is temporary. The deluxe edition of "Evermore" includes two bonus tracks: "Right Where You Left Me" is a country and folk-pop song, portraying the fate of a love "frozen in time", over twangy guitars. In contrast, "It's Time to Go" is about the narrator's knowledge of when to exit a relationship, such as a friendship, featuring tales of divorce and losing a dream career to an unfit individual; the song contains references to Swift's dispute over her masters.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: The visual aesthetic of "Evermore" takes upon a wintry theme, a yuletide version of the cottagecore, woodland aesthetic of "Folklore". "Time" stated that "Folklore" is a muted, autumnal palette of sounds and feelings, whereas "Evermore" is its winter companion with lingering sadness and regret. While "Folklore" adapts a grayscale monochrome, "Evermore" employs colors. "The Times of India" opined that "Evermore" embraces "1960s-era Laurel Canyon".


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: The cover artwork of "Evermore" shows Swift in a barren field, facing away from the camera, looking over the bare trees in the distance. She is seen standing at the edge of a forested area, while on the cover of "Folklore", she was seen inside a forest. Her hair is styled in a French braid and she wears a single-breasted, brown and orange checked flannel coat, taken from a collection by English designer Stella McCartney. "Stylist" called the hairstyle "messy-yet-chic". Adam Reed, UK editorial ambassador for French beauty company L'Oréal, admired Swift's braid and described it as "simple, supernatural and timeless". According to "Consequence", the cover artwork is "gorgeous in its simplicity", and has Swift facing a field, insinuating "she's inviting the listener to see the field through her eyes." Following "Evermore" release, replicas of the flannel coat Swift wore on the cover artwork quickly sold out on Farfetch. The album cover was the third most-searched album cover of 2021 on the internet, after Kanye West's "Donda" (2021) and Olivia Rodrigo's "Sour" (2021).


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: "Evermore" was released on December 11, 2020, two days before Swift's 31st birthday, to digital music and streaming platforms only. It is a "sister album" to "Folklore", which was launched less five months prior; both of them are surprise albums announced 16 hours prior to their midnight releases. "Evermore" marked the second time Swift abandoned her long, traditional album rollout.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: The CDs were released on December 18, 2020. The bonus tracks of "Evermore" deluxe edition, "Right Where You Left Me" and "It's Time to Go", which were formerly physical-exclusive, were released to streaming services on January 7, 2021. Cassette tapes and vinyl LPs of "Evermore" were released on February 21, and May 28, 2021, respectively. "Billboard" reported that the delayed release of the album's physical formats is owed to its surprise release and the time-consuming manufacturing process of physical albums, specifically the vinyl copies. Limited number of autographed CDs were sold at select independent record stores.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: On December 14, 2020, Swift appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" to promote the album. On a December 2020 episode of Howard Stern's Sirius XM radio show, English singer-songwriter Paul McCartney revealed that Swift originally decided to postpone the release of "Evermore" by one week to respect the original December 11 release date of his eighteenth studio album, "McCartney III;" upon learning this, McCartney decided to release his album on December 18 instead so that Swift could move forward with her "Evermore" rollout as initially planned. Three six-song compilations consisting of tracks from both "Evermore" and "Folklore", titled "The Dropped Your Hand While Dancing Chapter", "The Forever Is The Sweetest Con Chapter", and "The Ladies Lunching Chapter" (all stylized in all lowercase), were released to streaming platforms on January 21, January 27, and February 4, 2021, respectively.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: "Willow" was released as the lead single of "Evermore", alongside the album itself, on December 11, 2020. The song was accompanied with a music video directed by Swift. The single debuted at number-one in Australia, Canada and the United States. In the US, it scored her her seventh number-one song, second number-one in 2020 (after "Cardigan"), and the third number-one debut of her career. "Willow" topped Hot Alternative Songs, Adult Top 40 and Digital Song Sales charts as well. According to "Billboard", three of the album's tracks were sent to different radio formats—a plan that was adapted for "Folklore" as well. "Willow" impacted US adult contemporary and pop radio stations on December 14 and 15, 2020, respectively; "No Body, No Crime" was sent to US country radio on January 11, 2021. "Coney Island" was promoted to US adult album alternative radio on January 18, 2021.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: "Evermore" was met with widespread critical acclaim upon release, with emphasis on its kinship with "Folklore" and Swift's expansion of her musical boundaries. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized score out of 100 to ratings from publications, the album received a weighted mean score of 85 based on 29 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: Describing Swift as an unrivaled songwriter, Brodie Lancaster of "The Sydney Morning Herald" found "Evermore" traveling deeper into the singer's fictitious narratives, and praised the depth and variety of its characters. "NME" critic Hannah Mylrea opined that Swift pushes her indie reinvention further in "Evermore", terming it a "freewheeling younger sibling" while "Folklore" is the "introspective, romantic older sister"; Mylrea thought "Evermore" is looser and more experimental, expanding on its predecessor's sonic palette. In congruence, "American Songwriter" designated "Folklore" as the "archetypal older sister—a careful, yet hopeless romantic" whereas "Evermore" is the "bold, scrappy younger one", with the latter being a yuletide evolution of the former's sound. Maura Johnston, writing for "Entertainment Weekly", asserted that Swift "levels up" on "Evermore" by taking musical risks, and dubbed the sister albums a career-high for the singer.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: "Spin" critic Bobby Olivier thought the "career-redefining" album finds Swift at her prime, joining "the pantheon of songwriters who consistently deliver despite unimaginable expectations". He regarded "Evermore" a stronger work than "Folklore". Annie Zaleski of "The A.V. Club" also chose "Evermore" over "Folklore", and noted that the former continues the latter's "universe-building" with stronger writing and greater sonic cohesion. "The Guardian" Alexis Petridis said "Evermore" furthers Swift's departure to alternative rock from mainstream pop, comparing it to her country-to-pop shift in "Red" (2012); he added that it proves her ability to switch genres easily. Calling it heartfelt and ruminative, Neil McCormick of "The Daily Telegraph" lauded the album's emotional songcraft and unhurried tempo, noting its songs are not for stadiums. Patrick Ryan of "USA Today" gave plaudits to its mystical instrumentation and escapist lyrics, stressing that "Evermore" is not a vestige of "Folklore", but rather a sister reinforcing Swift's strengths. In her "Rolling Stone" review, Claire Shaffer saw Swift embracing new genres and ambitious storytelling, and welcomed her new artistic direction.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: "The Independent" writer Helen Brown deemed its songs haunting and contemplative, and complimented its "tasteful" compositions. Jason Lipshutz of "Billboard" stated that the album is more progressive and audacious than "Folklore", although posing as a sequel at first. He explained that "Evermore" explores the complications of adult love more extensively than its predecessor, and flaunts Swift's boldest and richest songwriting. "Variety" critic Chris Willman praised the album's subliminal production and Swift's agile vocals, and underlined its impressionist storytelling style that clicks only after multiple listens. "Stereogum"s Tom Breihan named "Evermore" a "full-on winter album" populated by "subtle growers" shrouded in a sedative atmosphere. Jon Pareles of "The New York Times" commended its diligent sound and poised lyrics, and noted more character studies in it than "Folklore".


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: In less favorable reviews, Kitty Empire of "The Observer" praised the album's emotion and themes, but felt Swift is "still a little muted on "Evermore" as she was on "Folklore" by pastel music that smears Vaseline on her otherwise keen lens." Chris Richards of "The Washington Post" found the album overlong, felt some lyrics were sub-par for Swift's prowess, and rejected the notion of categorizing her 2020 works as indie. Mikael Wood of the "Los Angeles Times" felt that the album is "Folklore"s leftovers, and "simply repeats its trick", but named "Tolerate It", "Gold Rush", "Champagne Problems", "No Body, No Crime" and "Dorothea" as highlights.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: By the time Swift unveiled the album, many publications had already issued their year-end rankings of best albums of 2020. "Evermore" ranked on lists published after December 11, including number-one placements from NJ.com, "USA Today", and "Variety", which it shared with "Folklore". "Evermore" finished at number 20 on Metacritic's aggregated list of 2020 year-end rankings.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: Available only via digital music and streaming platforms, Republic Records reported over a million copies of "Evermore" sold in its first-week worldwide, marking Swift's eighth consecutive studio album to achieve it. All of the album's 15 tracks entered the top 75 of the "Billboard" Global 200 chart. Aided by "Evermore" and "Folklore", Swift was 2020's top streamed artist on Amazon Music across all genres. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) named her the best-selling solo artist and female artist of 2020, and second overall.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: "Evermore" debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200 chart, topping it for four weeks. It opened with 329,000 units, consisting of 220.49 million on-demand streams and 154,000 digital albums, and earned the biggest sales week for an album since her own "Folklore". It is Swift's second number-one album in 2020 and eighth consecutive number-one debut, making her the third woman with eight number-ones, behind Barbra Streisand (11) and Madonna (9). Alongside "Folklore" at number three, Swift became the first woman in the chart's history to simultaneously have two albums in the top-three. The gap between the number-one debuts of "Folklore" and "Evermore" was 140 days, breaking the Guinness World Record for the shortest gap between two chart-topping albums by a woman on the "Billboard" 200. The album debuted atop the Alternative Albums chart as well, dethroning "Folklore" from number one; "Evermore" topped the chart for 15 weeks.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: All of the album's 15 tracks entered the "Billboard" Hot 100 simultaneously. "Evermore" became Swift's third album to chart all of its standard tracks together, after "Lover" (2019) and "Folklore". Swift became the woman with the most Hot 100 hits with 128, regaining the record from Nicki Minaj. With the number-one debut of "Willow", she also became first act to simultaneously place an album and a single atop both "Billboard" 200 and Hot 100 charts at two occasions, following "Folklore" and "Cardigan". All tracks appeared on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart as well, except "No Body, No Crime" which debuted at number two on the Hot Country Songs. Due to eight tracks from "Folklore" remaining on the chart alongside the 14 from "Evermore", Swift occupied 22 of the chart's 50 positions—the second most simultaneous entries in the chart's history, behind Linkin Park (23). On the Hot Alternative Songs, Swift claimed 16 spots, besting Machine Gun Kelly's record.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: Despite its availability for the last two weeks of 2020 only, "Evermore" became one of the top 10 best-selling albums of 2020. It placed eighth on "Rolling Stone" best-sellers list, and tenth on MRC Data's best selling albums of 2020 with 283,000 sales; its sister record, "Folklore," was the top seller of 2020.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: In April 2021, "Evermore" surpassed a million units in the US. In June, it scored its fourth week atop the "Billboard" 200 with 202,000 units, following its vinyl release. 192,000 of that sum were pure sales, surpassing her own "Fearless (Taylor's Version)" for the largest sales week of 2021. It marked the 53rd chart-topping week of Swift's career, extending her record as the female act with the most weeks at number one in "Billboard" 200 history and the third-most overall, behind the Beatles and Elvis Presley. The album sold 102,000 vinyl copies the same week, breaking the former record by Jack White's "Lazaretto" (40,000) for the biggest sales week for vinyl LPs since MRC Data's inauguration in 1991. "Evermore" became the best-selling CD and vinyl album of 2021. In July 2021, it became the best-selling album of the year, with 374,000 copies sold; "Evermore" was the seventh most consumed album with 818,000 total units.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: "Evermore" topped the 2021 "Billboard" Year-End Top Album Sales and Top Alternative Albums charts. It further placed fourth on the year-end "Billboard" 200 chart. Swift ranked as the number-one "Billboard" 200 Artist, "Billboard" 200 Female Artist, Top Album Sales Artist, Top Alternative Artist, and Top Alternative Albums Artist. Selling 529,000 pure copies, "Evermore" was sixth on the best-selling albums list of 2021, alongside three other Swift albums—"Red (Taylor's Version)", "Fearless (Taylor's Version)", and "Folklore"—in the top 10.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: In Canada, "Evermore" appeared at the top spot of "Billboard" Canadian Albums chart as Swift's eighth Canadian number-one album, and her second in 2020. The album spent three weeks atop the chart. All of the tracks debuted inside the top 50 region of the Canadian Hot 100 simultaneously, except "Closure" (number 57); "Willow" became her seventh Canadian number-one hit, with "Champagne Problems" at number six, "No Body, No Crime" at 11, "'Tis the Damn Season" at 13, "Gold Rush" at 14, and "Tolerate It" at 18. In 2021, "Evermore" was the country's seventh best-selling album.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: In Australia, Swift achieved a "Chart Double" by occupying the top spots of both albums and singles charts simultaneously. "Evermore" entered at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart, garnering her seventh chart-topper. Collecting her second number-one album of the year 19 weeks after "Folklore", Swift broke the record for the shortest gap between two successive number-ones, surpassing the 25 weeks between Ariana Grande's "Sweetener" (2018) and "Thank U, Next" (2019). "Willow" debuted atop the ARIA Singles Chart, accompanied by 11 fellow tracks. It marked her seventh Australian number-one song. "Evermore" spent four consecutive weeks at number-one in Australia, tying with "Folklore" as her second longest-running chart-topper, behind "1989" (11 weeks).


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: In the United Kingdom, "Evermore" topped the UK Albums Chart for two weeks. It made Swift the fastest female artist to accumulate six number-one albums in the country (i2012–2020), surpassing Madonna (1997–2008), and the first female artist to score six chart-toppers in the 21st-century. The album is her second number-one album in 2020 after "Folklore", establishing her as the first act to score multiple chart-topping albums in a calendar year, since David Bowie in 2016. "Evermore" also topped the UK's Vinyl Albums chart, and the Americana Albums chart. On the Official Singles Chart, "Willow" landed at number three and gave Swift her eleventh top-five hit, while tracks "Champagne Problems" and "No Body, No Crime" arrived at numbers 15 and 19, respectively, increasing her UK top-20 hits total to 21. "Evermore" was the best-selling Americana album of 2021 in the UK.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: In New Zealand, the album launched atop the Top 40 Albums chart, while its tracks "Willow", "Champagne Problems", "No Body, No Crime" and "Gold Rush" charted at numbers three, 24, 29 and 34 on the Top40 Singles chart, respectively. In Malaysia, "Willow" and "Champagne Problems" debuted at numbers two and 15, respectively, whereas on the Singaporean Top 30 Singles chart, the tracks entered at the first and 16th spots; "Gold Rush" and "No Body, No Crime" also charted in Singapore.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: In many European territories, "Evermore" attained in its peak multiple weeks after its release. It debuted at number one in Croatia in January 2021, and reached the top spot in Flanders in its sixth week on the Ultratop 200 Albums, after debuting at number two. It marked Swift's fifth consecutive number-one album in the Belgian region. The album peaked at number two on the Irish Albums Chart in its third week. It opened at number three in its debut week, marking Swift's sixth consecutive top-three album in Ireland; it was the most downloaded and streamed album of the week. Simultaneously, "Willow" also placed at number three on Irish Singles Chart, alongside tracks "Champagne Problems" and "No Body, No Crime" at sixth and eleventh spots, respectively, rising Swift's sum of top 50 hits to 38. On the Scottish Albums Chart, "Evermore" opened at number five, but peaked at number three after 25 weeks. On Germany's Offizielle Top 100, the album opened at number 24, rose to number six the next week, and ascended to number five in June 2021, whereas it topped the Greek Albums Chart in August 2021.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: Journalists praised Swift's fast-succeeding release of "Evermore" after "Folklore". "Variety" compared it to similar moves by the Beatles and U2, while "Rolling Stone" termed it a "hot streak" reminiscent of Prince in 1987 and David Bowie in 1977. "Vulture" called it a "major shock", as Swift is known for her traditional album roll-outs. "Our Culture Mag" and "NJ.com" welcomed her "artistic dedication", as Swift was also concurrently re-recording her back catalog in 2020. "The Sydney Morning Herald" named her "the queen of pandemic productivity". "The New York Times" felt the album was as a crucial moment in Swift's career and creativity. "The Guardian" and "Vox" opined that "Evermore" and "Folklore" threw emphasis on Swift's work ethic, helped critics recognize her musicianship and view her as a dedicated songstress, moving away from her popstar image in the mid-2010s. "Billboard" cited the two albums as the most notable examples for how the pandemic veered music in 2020, and forced artists to amend their creative process. "CNN" and "The Times" named Swift among the most prominent celebrities of the pandemic. Swift was the world's top paid solo musician of 2020, and the highest paid in the US, thanks to her revenues from "Evermore" and "Folklore", which according to Junkee were "alternative experiments" taken mainstream by Swift's "sheer star power".


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: At the 2021 American Music Awards, "Evermore" won the American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Album, as Swift's record-breaking seventh nod and fourth win in the category. Swift was also nominated for Artist of the Year and Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist, and won the latter for a record-breaking sixth time. At the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, "Evermore" contended for Album of the Year as Swift's fifth nomination in the category, following "Fearless" (2008), "Red" (2012), "1989" (2014) and "Folklore".


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: Croatian singer-songwriter Mia Dimšić named "Evermore" as an inspiration for writing "Guilty Pleasure", her entry song representing Croatia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. American singer-songwriter Christina Perri, regarding her 2022 single "Evergone", told "Consequence" that "Evermore" and "Folklore" influenced her to write heartfelt, melancholic songs as opposed to external expectations for upbeat music. After "Evermore", artists such as Gracie Abrams, Ed Sheeran, King Princess and Girl in Red collaborated with Dessner at his Long Pond Studio. Dessner stated, "After Taylor, it was a bit crazy how many people reached out. And getting to meet and write songs with people you wouldn't have had access to... I'm so grateful for it."


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: On February 2, 2021, a theme park in Pleasant Grove, Utah, called Evermore Park, sued Swift and her team for allegedly infringing its "EVERMORE" trademark, seeking to prevent Swift's further use of the word, and demanded "statutory damages of $2 million per counterfeit mark per type of goods or services sold". The park had sent a cease-and-desist letter to Swift on December 29, 2020, to which the singer's team declined to abide, replying "If anything, your client's website traffic has actually increased as a result of the release of Ms. Swift's recent album which, in turn could only serve to enhance your client's mark". The park claimed that the title of Swift's album confuses consumers, negatively affects the park's searchability. According to their court documents, the park's visitors enquired the staff about whether the album was a collaboration between Swift and the park, and that on the day "Evermore" was announced, the traffic on the park's official website surged by 330 percent in comparison to the previous day, affecting the park's "Google footprint". It also mentioned the park's merchandise and original music on streaming platforms under the "EVERMORE" trademark, claiming Swift's album has made them "harder to find".


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: Swift's team denied the accusations, referring to the suit as "baseless". Their letter filed in court stated "it is inconceivable that there is any likelihood of confusion between your client's theme park and related products and Ms. Swift's music and related products", and claimed that the park's merchandise—"small dragon eggs, guild patches, and a small dragon mount"—are not similar to the products on Swift's webstore. Speaking to "Billboard", Swift's spokesperson called the suit "frivolous" and disputed its "true intent", highlighting a Utah Business report, according to which, the park's founder and CEO Ken Bretschneider "has had at least five lawsuits filed against him and the Evermore group by major construction companies, claiming they are owed between $28,000 and $400,000 in construction, mechanic and landscaping fees. Smaller subcontractors who did work on the park have also filed more than 20 construction liens on the Evermore property".


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: On February 24, 2021, TAS Rights Management (Swift's copyrights company) countersued the park for allegedly infringing Swift's songs "Love Story", "You Belong with Me" and "Bad Blood" by regularly using them in their performances without a license. TAS claimed that the park "blatantly ignored the numerous notices from BMI and opted instead to continue to benefit from the free and unauthorized public performance of [the songs], despite actual knowledge of the liability and substantial penalties imposed by the Copyright Act to protect artists", and pointed out that Bretschneider reached out to BMI "seeking a retroactive license that would cover all performances from 2018 through 2021" after anticipating a lawsuit from Swift's side.


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: In March 2021, Swift's spokesperson stated that both parties have resolved to "drop and dismiss their respective suits without monetary settlement".


title: Evermore (Taylor Swift album)

text: All songs written by Taylor Swift and Aaron Dessner, and/or produced by the latter, except where noted.


title: Renault

text: Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured trucks, tractors, tanks, buses/coaches, aircraft and aircraft engines, and autorail vehicles.


title: Renault

text: According to the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles, in 2016 Renault was the ninth biggest automaker in the world by production volume. By 2017, the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance had become the world's biggest seller of light vehicles.


title: Renault

text: Headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, near Paris, the Renault group is made up of the namesake Renault marque and subsidiaries, Alpine, Renault Sport (Gordini), Automobile Dacia from Romania, and Renault Samsung Motors from South Korea. Renault has a 43.4% stake with several votes in Nissan of Japan, and used to have a 1.55% stake in Daimler AG of Germany, it was sold off in early 2021 to help them overcome financial difficulties. (Since 2012 Renault has manufactured engines for Daimler's Mercedes A-Class and B-Class cars and is also fully involved in manufacturing of the Mercedes-Benz Citan van). Renault also owns subsidiaries RCI Banque (automotive financing), Renault Retail Group (automotive distribution) and Motrio (automotive parts). Renault has various joint ventures, including Oyak-Renault (Turkey) and Renault Pars (Iran). The French state owns a 15% share of Renault.


title: Renault

text: Renault Trucks, previously known as Renault Industriels, has been part of Volvo since 2001. Renault Agriculture became 100% owned by German agricultural equipment manufacturer CLAAS in 2008. Renault's shareholding in AvtoVAZ is being divested to the Government of Russia as an effect of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.


title: Renault

text: Together Renault and Nissan invested €4 billion (US$5.16 billion) in eight electric vehicles over three to four years beginning in 2011. Since the launch of the Renault electric program, the group has sold more than 273,000 electric vehicles worldwide through December 2019.


title: Renault

text: Renault is known for its role in motor sport, particularly rallying, Formula 1 and Formula E. Its early work on mathematical curve modeling for car bodies is important in the history of computer graphics.


title: Renault

text: The Renault corporation was founded on as "Société Renault Frères" by Louis Renault and his brothers Marcel and Fernand. Louis was a bright, aspiring young engineer who had already designed and built several prototypes before teaming up with his brothers, who had honed their business skills working for their father's textile firm. While Louis handled design and production, Marcel and Fernand managed the business.


title: Renault

text: The first Renault car, the Renault Voiturette 1CV, was sold to a friend of Louis' father after giving him a test ride on 24 December 1898.


title: Renault

text: In 1903, Renault began to manufacture its own engines; until then it had purchased them from De Dion-Bouton. The first major volume sale came in 1905 when Société des Automobiles de Place bought Renault AG1 cars to establish a fleet of taxis. These vehicles were later used by the French military to transport troops during World War I which earned them the nickname "Taxi de la Marne." By 1907, a significant percentage of London and Paris taxis had been built by Renault. Renault was also the best-selling foreign brand in New York in 1907 and 1908. In 1908 the company produced 3,575 units, becoming the country's largest car manufacturer.


title: Renault

text: The brothers recognised the value of publicity that participation in motor racing could generate for their vehicles. Renault made itself known through succeeding in the first city-to-city races held in Switzerland, producing rapid sales growth. Both Louis and Marcel raced company vehicles, but Marcel was killed in an accident during the 1903 Paris-Madrid race. Although Louis never raced again, his company remained very involved, including Ferenc Szisz winning the first Grand Prix motor racing event in a Renault AK 90CV in 1906.


title: Renault

text: Louis took full control of the company as the only remaining brother in 1906 when Fernand retired for health reasons. Fernand died in 1909 and Louis became the sole owner, renaming the company "Société des Automobiles Renault" (Renault Automobile Company).


title: Renault

text: Renault fostered its reputation for innovation from very early on. At the time, cars were luxury items manufactured without assembly line advances. The price of the smallest Renaults at the time was 3000 francs (₣); an amount equal to ten years pay for the average worker. In 1905, the company introduced mass production techniques and Taylorism in 1913. In 1911, Renault visited Henry Ford at the Highland Park factory and adopted some of the manufacturing principles from his trip.


title: Renault

text: Renault manufactured buses and commercial cargo vehicles in the pre-war years. The first real commercial truck from the company was introduced in 1906. During World War I, it branched out into ammunition, military aircraft engines (the first Rolls-Royce aircraft engines were modeled and inspired by Renault air-cooled aircraft V8 units) and vehicles such as the revolutionary Renault FT tank. The company's military designs were so successful that Louis was awarded the Legion of Honour for his company's contributions. The company exported engines to American automobile manufacturers for use in such automobiles as the GJG, which used a Renault or four-cylinder engine.


title: Renault

text: Louis Renault enlarged Renault's scope after 1918, producing agricultural and industrial machinery. The war from 1914 until 1918 led to many new products. The first Renault tractor, the Type GP was produced between 1919 and 1930. It was based on the FT tank. Renault struggled to compete with the increasingly popular small, affordable "people's cars," while problems with the United States stock market and the workforce slowed the company's growth. Renault also had to find a way to distribute its vehicles more efficiently. In 1920, Louis signed one of its first distribution contracts with Gustave Gueudet, an entrepreneur from Amiens, France which they still maintain a relationship.


title: Renault

text: The pre-First World War cars had a distinctive front shape caused by positioning the radiator behind the engine to give a so-called "coal scuttle" bonnet. This continued through the 1920s. Only in 1930 did all models place the radiator at the front. The bonnet badge changed from circular to the familiar and continuing diamond shape in 1925. The practice of installing the radiator behind the engine against the firewall continued during the 1950s and 1960s on vehicles where the engine was installed longitudinally in the rear of the vehicle.


title: Renault

text: Renault introduced new models at the Paris Motor Show that was held in September or October of the year. This led to confusion about model years. For example, a "1927" model was mostly produced in 1928.


title: Renault

text: Renault cars during this time period had two model lines; the economy four-cylinder engine models that in the 1930s became the suffix "Quatre" and the luxury six-cylinder models that were initially sold with the suffix "-six" that later became the suffix "Stella". For example, in 1928, when Renault produced 45,809 cars, its seven models started with a 6CV, a 10CV, the Monasix, 15CV, the Vivasix, the 18/22CV and the 40CV. Renault offered eight body styles. The longer rolling chassis were available to coachbuilders. The smaller were the most popular while the least produced was the 18/24CV. The most expensive body style in each range was the closed car. Roadsters and tourers (torpedoes) were the cheapest.


title: Renault

text: The London operation was important to Renault in 1928. The UK market was quite large and North America also received exports for the luxury car market. Lifted suspensions, enhanced cooling, and special bodies were common on vehicles sold abroad. Exports to the US by 1928 had declined to near-zero from their high point prior to WWI. A Type NM 40CV Tourer had a US list price of over US$4,600 ($ in dollars), about the same as a Cadillac V-12, Packard Eight, Fiat 520, or Delahaye. Closed 7-seat limousines like the Renault Suprastella started at US$6,000 ($ in dollars).


title: Renault

text: Cars were conservatively engineered and built. The Renault Vivasix, model PG1, was sold as the "executive sports" model beginning in 1927. Lighter weight factory steel bodies powered by a 3,180 cubic centimetre (cc) six-cylinder motor provided a formula that lasted until the Second World War.


title: Renault

text: "de Grand Luxe Renaults", those with a wheelbase over , were produced in small numbers in two major types – six- and eight-cylinder. The 1927 six-cylinder Grand Renault models NM, PI and PZ introduced the new three spring rear suspension that considerably aided stability that was needed since some vehicles surpassed .


title: Renault

text: The straight 8-cylinder Reinastella was introduced in 1929 and expanded to a range culminating in 1939 Suprastella. Coachbuilders included Kellner, , J. Rothschild et Fils and Renault bodies. Closed car Renault bodies were often trimmed with interior woodwork by Rothschild.


title: Renault

text: In 1928, Renault introduced an upgraded specification to its "Stella" line. The Vivastella's and Grand Renaults had upgraded interior fittings and a small star fitted above the front hood logo. This proved to be a winning differentiator and in the 1930s all cars changed to the Stella suffix from the previous two alpha character model identifiers.


title: Renault

text: The Grand Renaults were built using a considerable amount of aluminium. Engines, brakes, transmissions, floor and running boards and all external body panels were aluminium. Of the few that were built, many went to scrap to aid the war effort.


title: Renault

text: Renault was one of the few French vehicle manufacturers that pursued the production of aircraft engines after World War I. In the late 1920s, it attempted to produce a high-power military engine to compete with the American Pratt & Whitney units, which proved unsuccessful, although its civil engines achieved better results.


title: Renault

text: In the 1930s, the company took over the aircraft manufacturer Caudron, focusing its production in small airplanes, acquired a stake in Air France and partnered to establish the airmail company Air Bleu. Renault Caudron airplanes settled several speed world records during the 1930s. Renault continued developing tanks as part of France's rearming effort, including the D1 and the FT's replacement, the R 35.


title: Renault

text: During the late 1920s and early 1930s, Renault was surpassed by Citroën as the largest car manufacturer in France. Citroën models at the time were more innovative and popular than Renault's. However, by mid-1930s the French manufacturers were hit by the Great Depression. Renault could initially offset losses through its tractor, railroad and weaponry businesses, while Citroën filed for bankruptcy, and was later acquired by Michelin. Renault became again the largest car manufacturer, a position it would keep until the 1980s.


title: Renault

text: Renault was finally affected by the Great Depression economic crisis in 1936. The company spun off Caudron and its foundry and aircraft engine divisions into related but autonomous operations, keeping its core automotive business. Between 1936 and 1938, a series of labour disputes, strikes, and worker unrest spread throughout the French automobile industry. The disputes were eventually quashed by Renault in a particularly intransigent way, and over 2,000 people lost their jobs.


title: Renault

text: After the French capitulation in 1940, Louis Renault refused to produce tanks for Nazi Germany, which took control of his factories. As Renault was manufacturing the Renault UE tank for the Allies, he produced trucks instead. On 3 March 1942, the British Royal Air Force (RAF) launched 235 low-level bombers at the Île Seguin, Billancourt, Paris plant, the largest number aimed at a single target during the war. of bombs were dropped on the plant and the surrounding area, causing extensive damage along with heavy civilian casualties. Renault resolved to rebuild the factory as quickly as possible, but bombardments continued a year later, on 4 April, this time delivered by the Americans, and on 3 and 15 September 1943.


title: Renault

text: A few weeks after the Liberation of Paris, at the start of September 1944, the factory gates at Renault's Billancourt plant reopened. Operations restarted slowly, in an atmosphere poisoned by plotting and political conspiracy. In 1936, the Billancourt factory had been the scene of violent political and industrial unrest that had surfaced under Léon Blum's Popular Front government. The political jostling and violence that followed liberation ostensibly reflected the rivalries between capitalist collaboration and communist resistance; many of the scores settled predated the invasion.


title: Renault

text: Responding to the chaotic situation at Renault, a 27 September 1944 meeting of the Council of Ministers took place under de Gaulle's presidency. Postwar European politics had quickly become polarised between communists and anti-communists, and in France de Gaulle was keen to resist Communist Party attempts to monopolise the political dividends available to resistance heroes: politically Billancourt was a communist stronghold. The government decided to "requisition" the Renault factories. A week later, on 4 October, Pierre Lefaucheux, a resistance leader with a background in engineering and top-level management, was appointed provisional administrator of the firm, assuming his responsibilities at once.


title: Renault

text: Meanwhile, the provisional government accused Louis Renault of collaborating with the Germans. In the frenzied atmosphere of those early post-liberation days, with many wild accusations, Renault was advised by his lawyers to present himself to a judge. He appeared before Judge Marcel Martin, on 22 September 1944 and was arrested on 23 September 1944, as were several other French automobile-industry leaders. Renault's harsh handling of the 1936–1938 strikes had left him without political allies and no one came to his aid. He was incarcerated at Fresnes prison where he died on 24 October 1944 under unclear circumstances, while awaiting trial.


title: Renault

text: On 1 January 1945, by de Gaulle's decree, the company was posthumously expropriated from Louis Renault. On 16 January 1945, it was formally nationalised as "Régie Nationale des Usines Renault". Renault's were the only factories permanently expropriated by the French government. In subsequent years, the Renault family tried to have the nationalisation rescinded by French courts and receive compensation. In 1945, and again in 1961, the Courts responded that they had no authority to review the government's actions.


title: Renault

text: Under the leadership of Pierre Lefaucheux, Renault experienced both a commercial resurgence and labor unrest, that was to continue into the 1980s.


title: Renault

text: In the early 1950s, Renault assembled at least two models; "Standard Saloon" and "De Luxe Saloon" in England.


title: Renault

text: In secrecy during the war, Louis Renault had developed the rear engine 4CV which was subsequently launched under Lefacheux in 1946. Renault debuted its flagship model, the largely conventional 2-litre 4-cylinder Renault Frégate (1951–1960), shortly thereafter. The 4CV proved a capable rival for cars such as the Morris Minor and Volkswagen Beetle; its sales of more than half a million ensured its production until 1961.


title: Renault

text: After the success of the 4CV, Lefacheux continued to defy the postwar French Ministry of Industrial Production, which had wanted to convert Renault solely to truck manufacture, by directing the development of its successor. He oversaw the prototyping of the Dauphine (until his death), enlisting the help of artist Paule Marrot in pioneering the company's textile and color division.


title: Renault

text: The Dauphine sold well as the company expanded production and sales further abroad, including Africa and North America. The Dauphine sold well initially in the US, although it subsequently became outdated against increased competition, including from the country's nascent domestic compacts such as the Chevrolet Corvair. Renault also sold the Renault Caravelle roadster, which was called the Floride outside North America.


title: Renault

text: During the 1950s, Renault absorbed two small French heavy vehicle manufacturers (Somua and Latil) and in 1955 merged them with its own truck and bus division to form the Société Anonyme de Véhicules Industriels et d'Equipements Mécaniques (Saviem).


title: Renault

text: Renault then launched two successful cars – the Renault 4 (1961–1992), a practical competitor for the likes of the Citroën 2CV, and the Renault 8. The larger rear-engined Renault 10 followed the success of the R8, and was the last rear-engined Renault. The company achieved success with the more modern and more upmarket Renault 16, a pioneering hatchback launched in 1966, followed by the smaller Renault 6.


title: Renault

text: On 16 January 1970, the manufacturer celebrated the 25th anniversary of its 1945 rebirth as the nationalised "Régie Nationale des Usines Renault". The 1960s had been a decade of aggressive growth: a few months earlier, in October 1969, the manufacturer had launched the Renault 12, combining the engineering philosophy of its hatchbacks with the more conservative "three-box" design. The four-door Renault 12 model fit between the Renault 6 and Renault 16. The model was a success. 1970 was also the first year during which Renault produced more than a million cars in a single year, building 1,055,803.


title: Renault

text: The company's compact and economical Renault 5 model, launched in January 1972, was another success, anticipating the 1973 energy crisis. Throughout the 1970s the R4, R5, R6, R12, R15, R16, and R17 maintained Renault's production with new models including the Renault 18 and Renault 20.


title: Renault

text: During the mid-seventies, the already broad-based company diversified into more industries and continued to expand globally, including South East Asia. The energy crisis led Renault to again attempt to attack the North American market. Despite the Dauphine's success in the United States in the late 1950s and an unsuccessful assembly project in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec (1964–72), Renault began to disappear from North America at the end of the decade.


title: Renault

text: Renault acquired a controlling stake in Automobiles Alpine in 1973, and over the decades, Renault developed a collaborative partnership with Nash Motors Rambler and its successor American Motors Corporation (AMC). From 1962 until 1967, Renault assembled complete knock down (CKD) kits of the Rambler Classic sedans in its factory in Belgium. Renault did not have large or luxury cars in its product line and the "Rambler Renault" was positioned as an alternative to the Mercedes-Benz "Fintail" cars. Later, Renault continued to make and sell a hybrid of AMC's Rambler American and Rambler Classic called the Renault Torino in Argentina (sold through IKA-Renault). Renault partnered with AMC on other projects, such as a rotary concept engine in the late 1960s.


title: Renault

text: In the late 1960s and 1970s, the company established subsidiaries in Eastern Europe, most notably Dacia in Romania, and South America (many of which remain active) and forged technological cooperation agreements with Volvo and Peugeot, (for instance, for the development of the PRV V6 engine, which was used in Renault 30, Peugeot 604, and Volvo 260 in the late 1970s).


title: Renault

text: In the mid-1960s, Renault Australia was set up in Melbourne. The company produced and assembled models including the R8, R10, R12, R16, sporty R15, R17 coupes, R18, and R20. The unit closed in 1981 and the factory closed with LNC Industries taking over import and distribution of Renaults in Australia.


title: Renault

text: When Peugeot acquired Citroën and formed PSA, the group's collaboration with Renault was reduced, although established joint production projects were maintained. Prior its merging with Peugeot, Citroën sold to Renault the truck and bus manufacturer Berliet in December 1974, merging it with its subsidiary Saviem in 1978 to create Renault Véhicules Industriels, which became the only French manufacturer of heavy commercial vehicles. In 1976, Renault reorganised the company into four business areas: automobiles (for car and light commercial vehicles or LCVs), finance and services, commercial vehicles (coaches and trucks over 2.5 tons GVW), and minor operations under an industrial enterprises division (farm machinery, plastics, foundry, etc.). In 1980, Renault produced 2,053,677 cars and LCVs. The cars at the time were the Renault 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 30; the LCVs were the 4, 5, and 12 Société and the Estafette. The company added 54,086 buses/coaches and trucks.


title: Renault

text: In North America, Renault partnered with American Motors Corporation (AMC), lending AMC operating capital and buying a minority 22.5% stake in the company in late 1979. The first Renault model sold through AMC's dealerships was the R5, renamed Renault Le Car. Jeep was keeping AMC afloat until new products, particularly the XJ Cherokee, could be launched. When the bottom fell out of the four-wheel drive (4×4) truck market in early 1980, AMC was in danger of bankruptcy. To protect its investment, Renault bailed AMC out with cash – at the price of a controlling 47.5% interest. Renault replaced some AMC executives, and Jose J. Dedeurwaerder of Renault became President of AMC.


title: Renault

text: The partnership resulted in the marketing of Jeep vehicles in Europe. The Jeep XJ Cherokee may have been a joint AMC/Renault project since some early sketches of the XJ series were made in collaboration by Renault and AMC engineers (AMC insisted that the XJ Cherokee was designed by AMC personnel; even though a former Renault engineer designed the Quadra-Link front suspension for the XJ series). The Jeep also used wheels and seats from Renault. Part of AMC's overall strategy was to save manufacturing costs by using Renault's parts and engineering expertise when practical. This led to the improvement of the venerable AMC inline six – a Renault/Bendix-based port electronic fuel injection system (usually called Renix) transformed it into a modern, competitive powerplant with a jump from with less displacement (from 4.2 to 4.0 litres). The XJC Cherokee concept, which was conceived in 1983 as a successor to the XJ series, was also a joint collaboration with AMC and Renault engineers until the design was inherited by the Chrysler Corporation in late 1987 after Renault divested AMC – which debuted in 1989 as the Jeep Concept 1 (evolving into the Jeep Grand Cherokee in April 1992).


title: Renault

text: The Renault-AMC marketing effort in passenger cars was unsuccessful compared to the popularity of Jeep vehicles. This was because, by the time the Renault range was ready, the second energy crisis was over, taking with it much of the desire for economical, compact cars. One exception was the Renault Alliance (an Americanised version of the Renault 9), which debuted for the 1983 model year. Assembled at AMC's Kenosha, Wisconsin plant, the Alliance received "Motor Trend"s domestic Car of The Year award in 1983. The Alliance's 72% US content allowed it to qualify as a domestic vehicle, making it the first car with a foreign nameplate to win the award. (In 2000, "Motor Trend" did away with separate awards for domestic and imported vehicles.) A surprising side effect of the AMC linkup was that Renault felt the effects of the Arab League boycott of companies doing business with Israel, as AMC built Jeeps there under license. Plans to sell the Renault 9 in the Middle East were mothballed as a result.


title: Renault

text: Introductions in the US during the 1980s included the Renault Alliance GTA and GTA convertible – an automatic-top convertible with a 2.0 L engine – big for a car of its class and the Renault Fuego coupé. The Alliance was followed by the Encore (US version of the Renault 11), an Alliance-based hatchback. In 1982, Renault become the second European automaker to build cars in the US, after Volkswagen. However, bland styling and poor product quality proved insurmountable.


title: Renault

text: Eventually, Renault sold AMC to Chrysler in 1987 after the assassination of Renault's chairman, Georges Besse by Action directe. The Renault Medallion (Renault 21 in Europe) sedan and wagon was sold from 1987 until 1989 through Jeep-Eagle dealerships. Jeep-Eagle was the division Chrysler created out of the former AMC. Renault imports ended after 1989. A completely new full-sized 4-door sedan, the Eagle Premier, was developed during the partnership between AMC and Renault. The Premier design, as well as its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Bramalea, Ontario, Canada, were the starting point for the sleek LH sedans such as the Eagle Vision and Chrysler 300M.


title: Renault

text: In early 1979, as part of its attempts to expand into the US market, Renault bought a 20% stake in truck manufacturer Mack. The aim of this operation was to make use of the company's extensive dealership network to distribute light trucks. In 1983, Renault increased its stake in Mack to 44.6%. In 1987, it transferred the ownership of a 42% stake to Renault Véhicules Industriels.


title: Renault

text: In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Renault increased its involvement in motorsport, with novel inventions such as turbochargers in its Formula One cars. Renault's Head of Engines, Georges Douin, orchestrated the installation of turbocharged engines across much of the Renault range beginning in 1980. 10% of all turbocharged European cars in 1984 were Renaults. The company's road car designs were revolutionary in other ways also – the Renault Espace was one of the first minivans and was to remain the most well-known minivan in Europe for the next two decades. The second-generation Renault 5, the European Car of the Year-winning Renault 9, and the most luxurious Renault yet, the aerodynamic 25, were all released in the early 1980s. At the same time, poor product quality damaged the brand. The ill-fated Renault 14 may have been the culmination of these problems in the early 1980s.


title: Renault

text: Renaults were somewhat successful on both road and track, including the 1984 Espace launch, which was Europe's first multi-purpose vehicle, a dozen years before any competitor. However, Renault was losing a billion francs a month totaling ₣12.5 billion in 1984. The government intervened and Georges Besse was installed as chairman; he set about cutting costs dramatically, selling many of Renault's non-core assets (Volvo stake, Gitane, Eurocar, and Renix), withdrawing almost entirely from motorsports, and laying off many employees. This halved the deficit by 1986, but Besse was murdered by the communist terrorist group "Action Directe" in November 1986. He was replaced by Raymond Lévy, who continued Besse's initiatives, slimming the company enough that by the end of 1987, Renault was more or less financially stable. However, while Besse was convinced that Renault needed a presence in the North American market and wanted to push forward with restructuring AMC, Lévy, facing domestic losses from Renault at home, and losses from AMC in the US, along with the political climate that led to Besse's assassination, decided to sell AMC to Chrysler that same year.


title: Renault

text: The Renault 9, a small four-door family saloon, was voted European Car of the Year on its 1981 launch. It sold well in France, but was eventually eclipsed by its sister vehicle, the Renault 11 hatchback, as the hatchback body style became more popular in this size of the car. The Renault 5 entered its second generation in 1984 and continued to sell well. The long-running Renault 18 was replaced by the Renault 21 early in 1986, adding a seven-seater estate badged as the Nevada or Savanna depending on where it was sold. Renault's top-of-the-range model in the 1980s was the Renault 25, launched at the end of 1983.


title: Renault

text: In 1990, Renault strengthened its collaboration with Volvo by signing an agreement that allowed both companies to reduce vehicle conception costs and purchasing expenses. Renault had access to Volvo's expertise in upper market segments and in return, Volvo exploited Renault's designs for low and medium segments. In 1993, the two companies announced their intention to merge operations by 1 January 1994 and increased their cross-shareholding. The French accepted the merger, while Volvo shareholders rejected it.


title: Renault

text: A revitalised Renault launched successful new cars in the early 1990s, accompanied by an improved marketing effort on European markets, including the 5 replacement, the Clio in May 1990. The Clio was the first new model of a generation that replaced numeric identifiers with traditional nameplates. The Clio was voted European Car of the Year soon after its launch, and was one of Europe's best-selling cars in the 1990s, proving even more popular than its predecessor. Other important launches included the third-generation Espace in 1996 and the innovative Twingo in 1992, the first car to be marketed as a city car MPV (multi-purpose vehicle). The Twingo was roomier than any prior cars of its size range. Twingo sales reached 2.4 million in Europe, even though the original was only built for (Continental) left-hand drive markets.


title: Renault

text: It was eventually decided that the company's state-owned status was a detriment. By 1994, plans to sell shares to public investors were officially announced. The company was privatised in 1996. This new freedom allowed the company to venture once again into markets in Eastern Europe and South America, including a new factory in Brazil and upgrades for its infrastructure in Argentina and Turkey. In December 1996, General Motors Europe and Renault begun to collaborate in the development of LCVs, starting with the second generation Trafic (codenamed X83).


title: Renault

text: Renault's financial problems were not all fixed by the privatisation, and Renault's president, Louis Schweitzer gave to his then deputy, Carlos Ghosn, the task of confronting them. Ghosn elaborated a plan to cut costs for the period 1998–2000, reducing the workforce, revising production processes, standardising vehicle parts and pushing the launch of new models. The company also undertook organisational changes, introducing a lean production system with delegate responsibilities inspired by Japanese systems (the "Renault Production Way"), reforming work methods, and centralising research and development at its Technocentre to reduce vehicle conception costs while accelerating such conception.


title: Renault

text: After Volvo's exit, Renault searched for a new partner to cope with an industry that was consolidating. Talks with BMW, Mitsubishi, Nissan, PSA and others were held and yielded a relationship with Nissan, whose negotiations with Daimler had stalled. Starting on 27 March 1999, the Renault–Nissan Alliance is the first of its kind involving a Japanese and a French company, including cross-ownership. Renault initially acquired a 36.8% stake at a cost of £2.7 billion in Nissan, while Nissan, in turn, took a 15% non-voting stake in Renault. Renault continued to operate as a stand-alone company, but with the intent to collaborate with its alliance partner to reduce costs. The same year, Renault bought a 51% majority stake of the Romanian company Dacia for £408.5 million, thus returning after 30 years, in which time the Romanians had built over 2 million cars that primarily consisted of local versions of the Renault 8, 12 and 20. In 2000, Renault acquired a controlling stake of the newly formed South Korean Samsung Group's automotive division for £59.5 million.


title: Renault

text: In Japan, Renault was formerly licensed by Yanase Co, Japan's premier seller of imported cars. However, as a result of Renault's purchase of an interest in Nissan in 1999, Yanase cancelled its licensing contract with Renault in the spring of 2000, and Nissan took over as the sole licensee, hence sales of Renault vehicles in Japan were transferred from "Yanase Store" locations to "Nissan Red Stage Store" locations.