New York: Taylor Swift brought her big reputation to the 2024 Grammy Awards by not announcing Reputation (Taylor’s Version) as was rumored, but instead announcing a brand new album.
That’s right, upon winning her 13th Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album for her 10th studio album, Midnights, Swift revealed her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, will be released April 19.
“I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I’ve been keeping from you for the last two years, which is that my brand new album comes out April 19,” she said on stage. “It’s called The Tortured Poets Department. I’m gonna go post the cover backstage.”
All’s fair in love and poetry… New album THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. Out April 19 🤍https://t.co/WdrCmvLHyA
đź“·: Beth Garrabrant pic.twitter.com/CCPhmSZ2UD
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) February 5, 2024
Prior to the announcement, fans guessed that the “Anti-Hero” singer might be announcing the re-recorded version of Reputation, because Swift changed all of her social media profile images to a black and white pic, similar to the aesthetic of the original Reputation album cover. Then, Swift’s official website went down briefly with a strange error code that, when unscrambled, appeared to be an anagram of “red herring.” Taylor Nation, Swift’s official social media fan account, liked several tweets about the error code being intentional.
Shortly after that, fans noticed her official merch store also went down mysteriously. And, of course, her black and white ensemble at the awards show also had tongues wagging for its Reputation-era nods.
Turns out, all of that was officially one giant red herring. The first look at the album, which Swift shared shortly after the announcement on her Instagram, shows a black and white photo of a dressed-down Swift laying on a bed, so her Grammys ensemble would appear to be an homage to the new era, as opposed to the old one.
The first look also contained a photo of what appears to be a prologue to the album. Written by Swift, it reads: “And so I enter into evidence / My tarnished coat of arms / My muses, acquired like bruises / My talismans and charms / The tick, tick, tick of love bombs / My veins of pitch black ink.”
She ends the note by decreeing “all’s fair in love and poetry…” and signs it off with “Sincerely, The Chairman of The Tortured Poets Department.”
The album is available now to pre-order on Swift’s website. The product description reveals that The Tortured Poets Department will contain 16 new tracks, with a special collector’s edition containing bonus track “The Manuscript.”
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