Taylor Swift Kevin Winter/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
Taylor Swift knows that saying “The Tortured Poets Department” is an exaggeration, so she has an alternative.
“You could call it 'Tortured Poets' if you just refused to remember anything more than one-word album titles,” Swift, 34, joked during her Eras Tour on Saturday, February 17 concert in Melbourne, Australia.
The Tortured Poets Department will be Swift's 11th studio album and will be released on April 19, news she announced at the 2024 Grammys earlier this month.
“[The way I can celebrate] “I'm going to tell you a secret that I've been keeping from you for the last two years, which is that my brand new album is coming out on April 19th,” Swift said on February 4th while accepting the trophy for best pop vocal album. “It’s called The Tortured Poets Department and I’ll post the cover right backstage.”
Swift, who later won Album of the Year for the fourth time, didn't always plan on dropping her album announcement at the awards show.
“I had told my friends, I told them Jack [Antonoff], but I hadn't really told many other people. I thought, “Okay, if I'm lucky enough to win something tonight, I'll just do it.” “I'm about to announce my album,” she said days later during one of her Eras concerts in Japan. “And luckily that’s what happened.”
Taylor Swift performs in Melbourne, Australia on February 16, 2024. Graham Denholm/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
Swift continued: “My backup plan was that I would do it in Tokyo tonight. But thanks to you and your support, I was lucky enough to win a Grammy and tell you about it on the Grammys stage.
Days later, Swift released the tracklist for The Tortured Poets Department and its first “bonus version.” Swifties have theorized that TTPD is a sister album to Swift's 2022 album Midnights and is primarily inspired by a breakup. Songs on The Tortured Poets Department include “So Long, London,” “But Daddy I Love Him,” “I Can Fix Him (No, Really, I Can),” and “Down Bad.”
Related: Every Easter Egg Taylor Swift Teased for 'The Tortured Poets Department'
Marcelo Endelli/TAS23/Getty Images While Taylor Swift's “The Tortured Poets Department” surprised fans, the pop star seemingly left several Easter eggs that hinted that her eleventh studio album was on the way. Swift unveiled her latest musical endeavor and accepted the award for Best Pop Vocal Album – her 13th career win. […]
Swift announced during her concert on Friday, February 16, that a second bonus version includes the single “The Bolter.”
“I had to do it. It's really been a lifeline for me,” Swift said of the LP on Friday. “It kind of reminded me why songwriting is something that actually gets me through life, and I've never had an album where I needed songwriting more than Tortured Poets.”
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Although Swift hasn't revealed her musical inspiration for TTPD, many fans believe it's about their breakup Joe Alwyn. Swift and Alwyn, 32, dated for six years before Us Weekly confirmed their split in April 2023. She has since moved on with the NFL star Travis Kelcewho has already “heard” excerpts from TTPD.
“I've heard some of it, yes, and it's unbelievable,” Kelce, 34, gushed in a February press conference before the Super Bowl. “I can’t wait for her to shake up the world when she finally goes down.”