her September 2019 one-off concert in Paris. Swift planned to embark on a worldwide concert tour titled Lover Fest, which was due to begin in mid-2020 and included four shows in the U.S., ten shows in Europe, and two shows in Brazil. It was officially cancelled in February 2021 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Media response Lover received extensive media coverage; the BBC's Nick Levine wrote; "if it doesn't become her sixth in succession to top the Billboard 200, it would be a major music industry shock". Some publications noted the extensive promotional campaign was old-fashioned compared to the emerging trend of surprise album releases in the digital era; Rolling Stone Elias Leight commented Swift was the last-remaining pop star to rely on radio push and corporate tie-ins to promote albums. Her first album released on streaming platforms from the beginning, it was noted in some articles as a sign Swift had abandoned her anti-streaming stance. Because of Swift's Billboard 200 record of having four albums sell over one million copies each, some journalists debated whether she would achieve the feat the fifth time, and whether streaming would impact its sales figures. Some reviewers said they thought Lover would perform well on charts even if critical reviews were negative, and that it was also a means for Swift to rebuild her public image after the Reputation controversies, and the dispute with Big Machine and Braun. Kate Knibbs from The Ringer wrote; "as Swift tries to control the narrative, it is a reminder that ... Swift has achieved an American Dream—she's too big to fail". Billboard Andrew Unterberger, noting the diverse styles and themes of the four songs released prior to Lover—"Me!", "You Need to Calm Down", "The Archer", and "Lover"—said Swift released Lover to focus on her artistic merit on her own terms, and not because she wanted to control her image. In the September 2019 issue of Entertainment Weekly, Maura Johnston commented although Swift's blurring of the line between the personal and the promotional, and although her social media posts might prompt tabloid gossip, Lover should stand the test of time with its best songs. Critical reception In mainstream publications, Lover received positive reviews from music critics. At review-aggregating website Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received a mean score of 79, which is based on 26 reviews.