We are now two for two on expecting Taylor Swift to announce Reputation (Taylor's Version) during an acceptance speech and getting an album announcement instead. After showing up to the 2022 VMAs in a "Look What You Made Me Do"-inspired outfit and announcing Midnights, Taylor Swift wore a black and white ensemble on the 2024 Grammys red carpet before telling the world her new album The Tortured Poets Department was on its way!
And while accepting the 2024 iHeart Radio Music Award for Artist of the Year, Taylor also promises the rest of 2024 will be just as exciting as 2023. "We have so many exciting things ahead of us," the 1989 (Taylor's Version)singer said after thanking iHeart and the fans. "I just can't wait to keep having fun with you guys because we have a lot of exciting things coming up."
Here's the latest news on the new Taylor Swift album, and all its pop culture references.(And everything you need to know about Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version) too ;)).
Has The Tortured Poets Department won any awards?
Noam Galai/Getty Images for MTV
Yes, TTPD has been nominated — and won — quite a few awards. At the VMAs on September 11, Taylor Swift became the most-decorated VMAs solo artist, and the only one to win Artist of the Year twice. She took home seven awards from the MTV show (including Best Collaboration with Post Malone, Best Pop, Song of the Summer, Best Direction, and Best Editing) meaning she has now won over 30 awards.
Does The Tortured Poets Department have music videos?
Taylor Swift/UMG/YouTube
Yes! The Tortured Poets Department music videos include "I Can Do It With A Broken Heart" and "Fortnight." Considering "I Can Do It With A Broken Heart" is professionally-recorded tour footage, a lot of fans are wondering if the video is actually a teaser for another tour documentary, especially thanks to a rumor from The Sun.
"We are so getting a documentary. There is no way they filmed all of this just for a music video," one comment on the "ICDIWABH" video reads, while another agrees, "For a Tour of this magnitude, a documentary is a MUST or even better a DOCU SERIES."
Is The Tortured Poets Department in the Eras Tour?
Taylor Swift/YouTube Shorts
Yes, TTPD is now in The Eras Tour! While I originally wondered if Taylor would just use the album during the surprise song segment of her concerts, Taylor ended up adding an entire Eras Tour section. And for the first night of the European leg of the tour, in Paris, Taylor officially unveiled what she called "Female Rage: The Musical." Here's everything she played!
- But Daddy I Love Him
- So High School
- Who's Afraid Of Little Old Me?
- Down Bad
- Fortnight
- The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
- I Can Do It With A Broken Heart
What has Donna Kelce said about TTPD?
David Eulitt/Getty Images
It looks like Donna Kelce loves Taylor Swift's new album as much as we have! "I listened to the whole album, and I listened to it all morning long when it was released," she tells People. "I was just very impressed. She is a very talented woman, and I think it is probably her best work."
Donna also says that, rather than giving Taylor Swift life advice, she's hoping Taylor can offer her some guidance! "She doesn’t need my advice on anything. In fact, I hope she will give me advice," she continues.
How many songs will be on The Tortured Poets Department?
Taylor Swift/Instagram
Taylor Swift dropped The Tortured Poets Department 's first song list February 5. "I Can Do It With A Broken Heart" is totally referencing Taylor Swift's Eras Tour performances following her split from Joe Alwyn (you can see her crying during the set), while "Florida!!!" is all about using the southern state as an escape.
While we were excited for these tracks, Taylor surprised us with even more at 2AM! The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology has all the songs from the original album, plus 15 more. Here's the full tracklist for TS11:
- Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)
- The Tortured Poets Department
- My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys
- Down Bad
- So Long, London
- But Daddy I Love Him
- Fresh Out the Slammer
- Florida!!! (feat. Florence + The Machine)
- Guilty as Sin?
- Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?
- I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)
- loml
- I Can Do It With A Broken Heart
- The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
- The Alchemy
- Clara Bow
- The Black Dog
- imgonnagetyouback
- The Albatross
- Chloe or Sam or Sophie or Marcus
- How Did It End?
- So High School
- I Hate It Here
- thanK you aIMee
- I Look in People's Windows
- The Porphecy
- Cassandra
- Peter
- The Bolter
- Robin
- The Manuscript
When is The Tortured Poets Department release date?
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
The Tortured Poets Department dropped on April 19, 2024. Ahead of the release, Taylor Swift sent fans on a scavenger hunt to gather clues about the album. @eurosweetheart on TikTok points out that on Apple Music, certain song lyrics from Taylor's discography featured random capital letters. But when the letters were strung together, they formed words! The final message was “We hereby conduct this post mortem.”
At the Eras Tour shows in Tokyo, Taylor Swift explained when she started working on TTPD. “I’ve been working on Tortured Poets since right after I turned in Midnights,” she said onstage. “So, you turn in an album months in advance…and I’ve been working on it for about two years. I kept working on it throughout the U.S. tour and when it was perfect, in my opinion, when it was good enough for you, I finished it.”
"I'm over the moon about the fact that you guys care about my music," she continues. "Everyone’s like, ‘Why do you make so many albums?’ And I’m like, ‘Man, because I love it! I love it so much! I’m having fun, leave me alone.'”
The brand new album follows Speak Now (Taylor's Version) and 1989 (Taylor's Version). When Midnights was announced after Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version), I wondered whether she'd have a two rerecordings, one new album pattern and it looks like that's what we're getting!
What is Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department?
Taylor Swift/Instagram
Taylor Swift's new album (which is also referred to as TS11) is called The Tortured Poets Department. Taylor Swift announced the album while accepting the award for Best Pop Album at the 2024 Grammys. Just like "Daylight" at the end of Lover sets up Midnights, I think "Dear Reader" sets up The Tortured Poets Department.
In honor of the eclipse on April 8, Taylor Swift posted the first lyrics from TS11! "Crowd goes wild at her fingertips // Half moonshine // Full eclipse," the lyric post (which ended up being from "Clara Bow") reads. "The first line makes you think of someone who’s famous (Clara Bow was an actress) and...moonshine was a type of alcohol that was popular during prohibition during the 1920s which is when Clara Bow was famous," one comment reads.
Taylor's official announcement features even more beautiful language that evokes the same emotion "The Lakes" does, and TTPD is very similar to Folklore and Evermore in terms of lyrics, but the sound reminds me of 1989. It also has ties to Reputation.
"I think the two albums are sisters albums, but in like an opposite way," one Reddit user says. "Reputation is all black, this one is going to be all white and softly coded." Another agrees: "Reputation is presented as a dark album but is truly a love album...This one is presented as soft and white but I bet the lyrics will be devastating."
TS11 has the same lyrical prowess as songs like "Would've, Should've, Could've," "You're Losing Me," and The National's "The Alcott" (on which Taylor's a featured artist). Taylor is all about looking past appearances and telling a complex story, and The Tortured Poets Department will be no different. Just like Reputation is an edgy, glittery, emotionally-charged version of the beginning of her relationship with ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn, I totally agree that TTPD looks grounded, airbrushed, and dreamy from the outside, but the lyrics are SAD.
During her Eras Tour show in Sydney, Australia, Taylor played another round of suspicious surprise songs. While sitting at the piano, Taylor Swift takes her earpiece out and calls attention to the keyboard. "Do you hear that?" she says (via TikTok). "My damn keyboard's playing a synth sound." She then does what she almost always does when dropping an Easter egg: she smirks.
"That sound is how the album starts, mark my words," one comment reads. Another says, "That smirk tells me everything I need to know."
Will The Tortured Poets Department be explicit?
Taylor Swift/Instagram
There are 7 explicit songs on the original The Tortured Poets Department: "The Tortured Poets Department," "Down Bad," "But Daddy I Love Him," "Florida!!! (feat. Florence + The Machine)," "loml," "I Can Do It With A Broken Heart," and "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived."
On The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology, "The Black Dog," "thanK you aIMee," "Cassandra," and "The Bolter" are also explicit.
What is The Albatross about?
Taylor Swift/Instagram
During one of her Eras Tour shows in Sydney, Australia, Taylor Swift announced a new version of The Tortured Poets Department featuring exclusive bonus track "The Albatross." This new album already has some crazy track titles — all with pretty noteworthy meanings.
According to Collins Dictionary, if you call someone an Albatross, "they cause you great problems from which you cannot escape, or they prevent you from doing what you want to do."
What does loml mean?
Taylor Swift/Instagram
At first glance, the twelfth song on The Tortured Poets Department, "loml," means "love of my life." Some fans were wondering if the song was a nod to Harry Styles since his Harry's House finale track is "Love of My Life" (the album also features a track named "Daylight" which is another funny connection to Taylor Swift). But Taylor ends the song saying he's the "loss of my life" and I will never be the same.
Will The Tortured Poets Department have any featured artists?
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Yes, The Tortured Poets Department features Florence + The Machine on the song "Florida!!!" and Post Malone on the song "Fortnight."
What is the theory of Taylor Swift's double album?
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
Throughout her stay in Sydney, Australia for the Eras Tour, Taylor Swift dropped lots — and I mean lots — of twos. @v_swiftie_ points out that in addition to holding up the number two while announcing The Tortured Poets Department, she's been playing more surprise song mashups than normal, and Taylor Nation has been posting Instagram stories featuring the number 2 instead of the number 13. And it turns out, we were right about this leading to a double album! Taylor dropped the second half of TTPD — The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology — at 2AM EST.
What's your favorite song from The Tortured Poets Department? Let us know in the comments and check out these Taylor Swift Disney Movie Posters Inspired By Her Songs for more fun content!
Lead image via Taylor Swift/Instagram
This post has been updated.