Make way for a new era!
Taylor Swift’s “Midnights” era lasted a good two years, but at this year’s Grammys, she surprised us all by announcing her 11th album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” The album will be released on April 19, 2024 (still obsessing over the title, I need a few weeks to process).
Swift announced it at the 66th Annual Grammys during her acceptance speech after receiving her first win of the night for “Best Pop Vocal Album” for her album “Midnights” (her 13th Grammy win).
Swifties had already been suspecting an announcement at the Grammys because Swift left a ton of Easter eggs throughout the day.
Her site had crashed for a few hours and some fans were able to look at the code in the website. They found out the crash was intentional and noticed an error code that included the text “hneriergrd.”
With Swift loving her puzzles, Swifties have experience with deciphering her cryptic clues. They found it to mean “red herring.”
Arriving at the Grammys in a long white dress with black gloves, hand in hand with Lana Del Rey, Swifties took this color scheme as an intentional nod to “reputation.” Not to mention she had a clock necklace that was speculated to be counting down to something.
Most notably, she changed her social media profile pictures to black and white, which we have seen her previously do back in 2017 when she was getting ready to come back with her announcement for the album “reputation.”
Many, including me, were hoping for an announcement that she would be releasing “reputation (Taylor’s Version)” and all of these Easter eggs were proof it was coming that night. Even though “reputation” is my favorite album of hers, I was not let down by not getting it.
In her speech, she mentions this album has been a secret for the past two years, so I can just imagine the emotional rollercoaster we’ll be going through when we finally get to listen to it.
She ends her speech by saying, “I’m going to go post the cover right now. Thank you, I love you!” And she wasn’t kidding.
Just seconds after ending her speech, posts were up on her Instagram and X of the announcement. She included song lyrics with the cover and signs it with, “All’s fair in love and poetry… Sincerely, The Chairman of The Tortured Poets Department.”
It’s set to have 16 tracks with one bonus track titled “The Manuscript.” The surprises don’t stop there, as she released her song titles the following day.
“The Tortured Poets Department” will have four sides with four songs each. Some of the songs include “Guilty as Sin?,” “I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can),” “Clara Bow” and, what might be my personal favorite, “So Long, London” (I will be listening to “London Boy” 24/7 to prepare for the emotional damage).
With songs featuring Post Malone and Florence & The Machine, I can already feel this album creeping up to my top 3.
I am in love with the aesthetic of this era as it gives off all the academia and bibliophile vibes that I am here for.
It’s also her third black and white album, being sisters with “Reputation” and “Folklore.” So, I have high high hopes for this new release.
Some fans have put together that she has been following a pattern of releasing two re-records and then a new album.
If she sticks to this after “The Tortured Poets Department,” the re-record of her debut album will be her 13th release. If you’re reading this, chances are you’re a Swiftie, so you know the significance of the number 13: Taylor’s favorite number. I think it’s such a full circle moment and bittersweet if she chooses to release them this way.
Swift never fails to surprise us, so while we wait for her to reclaim her “reputation” and her name (self-titled album), we have a brand new album to look forward to as well as impatiently counting down to April 19. This album may just ruin our lives, but it’s okay. We love her.