After giving us an auditory tour around London in her feel-good "London Boy," The Daily Mail reported that Taylor Swift was living in the city's colorful Primrose Hill in March 2021. But since the beginning of the Eras Tour (and since her split with actor Joe Alwyn), Taylor's been seen out and about on the New York City streets more frequently. In addition to the fact that, just like the rest of us, she's probably figuring out what a post-COVID lockdown social life looks like, I'm honestly convinced all this adds up to Taylor recording a new album. Let me explain.
Will Taylor Swift release a new album in 2024?
Image via Taylor Swift/UMG
Yes! Taylor Swift is releasing TS11, which is called The Tortured Poets Department. "All's fair in love and poetry," Taylor says in the official Instagram announcement before referring to herself as "The Chairman of The Tortured Poets Department." It's totally reminiscent of Evermore and Folklore and I'm super excited to hear what kind of dreamy, ethereal, and emotional music we get this time around!
We had a heads up thanks to Deux Moi, an Instagram account that publishes supposedly insider, always anonymous reports of future pop culture events. One of their recent postings (under the pseudonym "King of my Heart," which is also a Taylor Swift song title) says the following:
"A-List singer has been working on new music for quite a while now. They have 1 brand new album completely recorded, and two more albums in progress. New album expected in November as a completely surprise release. Probably announced during their ongoing tour."
After 1989 (Taylor's Version), Taylor Swift only has two rerecordings left: Reputation (Taylor's Version)and Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version). Ever since the release of Midnights after Red (Taylor's Version), I've wondered if we'll get TS11 after 1989 (Taylor's Version) — and I was right!
When is The Tortured Poets Department coming out?
Image via Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Taylor Swift announced during the 2024 Grammys that The Tortured Poets Department will drop April 19, 2024.
How far does Taylor Swift plan her new albums?
Image via SplashPrintingCo/Etsy
We know that Taylor preps for new albums months (sometimes three years) in advance, and thanks to some sleuthing, we also have an idea at what her actual timelines look like. In April of 2020, she posted a selfie captioned, "not a lot going on at the moment." Everyone initially thought she was just referencing the shirt she wears in the "22" music video, but it turned out it was the same week she wrote folklore, which dropped in July of the same year. In short: she did, in fact, have a lot going on.
Both Swift and Blake Lively (who directed her "I Bet You Think About Me" music video in 2021) have multiple captions with the same phrase since then, and now it's officially made its way intothe Eras Tour. During the concert, (almost) every album get its own segment, and in addition to surprise songs, some nights also feature surprise costumes. One of her shirts during the Red section reads "A Lot Going On At The Moment," playing on both the original tee and the 2020 Instagram post.
Whether or not the red letters on this tour shirt actually hint at her next release like @thethriftyswiftie asks,it's still a fun and nostalgic detail that I definitely want to order off of Etsy! Plus, Taylor already knew that Speak Now (Taylor's Version) would drop next.
The "Bejeweled" music video is full of Speak Now Easter eggs, but one of the most noticeable details is the color coding. All of Taylor's albums correspond to a color, and in the music video, Taylor rides in an elevator that features buttons with a color for each album era. In addition to pressing the button for the third floor, the button after Midnights is also purple — a color synonymous with Speak Now.
On top of that? The door graphic that appears onstage at the end of the Eras Tour changed from orange to purple.
Is Taylor Swift recording new music?
Image via Republic Records/UMG/Taylor Swift.
Okay now that we're all caught up on Taylor's previous album planning, here's what else is up. On April 14, Mike Birbiglia (who played Taylor's son in the "Anti-Hero" music video) posted a photo with Taylor on the roof of Electric Lady Studios in NYC. You can also see Jack Antonoff, who's helped produce eight of Taylor's albums, in the background! She's been seen leaving the studios multiple times since then, sometimes with artists she's never collaborated with before (looking at you, Joe Keery 👀).
She was seen leaving Antonoff's recording studio before we got Midnights, and thanks to her Directors on Directors segment with Variety, we also know that she is always writing something!
"If you stay ready, you don't have to get ready," she says. Someone embroider this on a pillow.
As one of People's Most Intriguing People of the Year, Taylor Swift's friends and collaborators talk even more about just how many songs she's working with at any given time. “She never really stops writing songs,” The National's Aaron Dessner, who took part in Folklore and Evermore, tells People. “Taylor has so many stories to tell...I think she’ll keep inventing new ways and methods of writing and keep expanding this enchanted universe of her own making that we all get to enjoy.”
Paramore singer (and Speak Now (Taylor's Version) featured artist) Haley Williams totally agrees. “I’m almost afraid to say it,” she says, “but I kind of think she’s just getting started.”
Does Taylor Swift use her clothes as Easter eggs?
Taylor Swift's aesthetic is also often a good indication that something new could be in the works (like the short-lived Bleachella, which Swifties still think coincides with an unreleased rock album). The shift from Barbie doll to Bratz doll, as @kylekerch on Twitter points out, might mean more than the recent Tumblr-core renaissance. (Although Taylor, please come back to Tumblr, we miss you.)
Is Jack Antonoff on Taylor Swift's new album?
After "Cruel Summer" from Lover became Number One on the Billboard Hot 100, Taylor Swift posted a video and some photos with longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff. In the photos Taylor is holding up the number one, while Jack appears to be holding up the number ten. They also seem to be in a recording studio. Since they've collaborated so many times before, it only makes sense they'd work together in the future! Naturally, Swifties have taken the Instagram post as an Easter egg for Taylor Swift's new album.
"Things we know about ts11," one X user posted. "1. Jack antonoff production on some songs 2. Taylor Swift wore really cute outfits while recording it."
Some users are also comparing the decor in the back to future album colors — but only time will tell which details in Taylor Swift's recent posts are Easter eggs, and which are coincidences!
Taylor's known to use a certain amount of punctation marks or emojis as Easter eggs, plus her NYU commencement speech ended up containing Midnights lyrics, so who knows what kind of hidden messages she may be giving us right now with all this street style and pop-up appearances.
But after 15 years of songs that got me through loneliness, unrequited romance, and a solo move to New York, I just know that whatever she has up her sleeve will be exactly what I need in the moment.
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Lead image via Taylor Swift/UMG
