On Feb. 4, Taylor Swift won her 14th Grammy award and became the first artist in Grammy history to win album of the year four times, with this year’s award being for “Midnights.” As Swift walked up to the Grammys stage donned in a white gown and black elbow-length gloves, which foreshadowed her announcement, she was congratulated by her collegues and proceeded to deliver her acceptance speech.
Swifties watching the Grammys live eagerly waited for “Reputation (Taylor’s Version)” to be announced. On the contrary, after thanking her fans, Swift instead announced a brand-new album marking the 11th in her discography: “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT.” That night on Instagram, she posted the album’s cover photo in black and white, which explains her Grammys attire. The next day, she posted on Instagram again with the full track list and first bonus track.
Leading up to the release, Swift has been promoting the album in numerous ways. She has released sneak peaks on social media for all four of the album’s variations as File Names: The Bolter, The Albatross, The Black Dog and The Manuscript along with accompanying lyrics for fans to decipher.
Swift set up a QR code mural in Chicago which took fans directly to a YouTube Short of a typewriter as a puzzle. She also launched a pop-up display in Los Angeles as an interactive experience full of hidden surprises for the upcoming album.
Swift has announced that this is the first real breakup album since her release of “Red (Taylor’s Version)” leading fans to speculate themes for the upcoming album and revisit past releases they thought were breakup albums, like “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” when it first debuted.
On Spotify, Swift created playlists out of her existing songs sorted into the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These playlists are all stylized for the upcoming album.
Swift has been teasing Swifties about “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT” ever since its announcement, but now that it has released, fans are more excited than ever.
On April 19, Swift released 16 tracks on her brand-new album: “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT.” At 2 a.m., Swift released 15 extra songs on a follow-up album: “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY.”
The album sounds like a mix of some of her previous albums including pop songs like “Down Bad”, but also sad songs like “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.” It sounds like a mix between the albums “Folklore” and “Midnights.”
The lyrics mainly focus on Swift’s heartbreak about her long-term relationship with Joe Alwyn, but they also include other themes like fame and childhood.
The title track, “The Tortured Poets Department,” includes the faint clicking of a typewriter, a symbol Swift had been using to promote the album. The inclusion of lyrics like “I chose this cyclone with you” represents Swift’s relationships and how she throws herself into chaos.
The song “loml” includes starkly contrasting lyrics conveying the shift in feelings Swift has for somebody after a breakup. She goes from singing “I’ve felt a glow like this never before and never since” to “I’ve felt a hole like this never before and ever since.” She even contrasts the title of the song by comparing her relationship to the love of her life then saying he was the loss of her life.
“THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT” is an amazing album full of genius lyrics and hidden messages. It is fully worth a listen for not just Swifties, but everybody.
