By PAULINA MATA/Staff Writer
Taylor Swift recently enchanted fans with the announcement of her next album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” at the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 4.
Swift’s eleventh album is set to release on April 19, with 16 new songs and a bonus track.
As she accepted her 13th GRAMMY for Pop Vocal Album of the Year, Swift revealed her two-year-long project to the world.
“I wanna say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret I’ve been keeping from you for the past two years,” Swift said, “which is that my brand new album comes out April 19. It’s called ‘The Tortured Poets Department.’”
She posted the track list and back cover of the album the following day on Instagram.
Though the album was totally unexpected, hardcore fans knew Swift had something up her sleeves (or gloves) when she changed her profile pictures to black and white. Many Swifties believed it was an “easter egg” for the long-awaited rerecording of “Reputation.”
the grid is aligned, her profile pictures are black and white, the clock on the karma mv pointing to 2 (feb), tn dropping hints, the curly hair and all black outfits, the sun in the house of serpent in the 13th sagittarius today… all signs point to taylor announcing rep tv
— The Eras Tour (@tswifterastour) February 4, 2024
The claims weren’t totally unfounded, though. It’s not the first time Swift has announced an album at an awards ceremony. She announced “Midnights” at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards while receiving the Video of the Year Award.
Even though Swifties were expecting another rerecording, they aren’t disappointed at all. Swifties are already masterminding their way through the track titles and clues Swift has left them.
The black and white coloring of “The Tortured Poets Department” is reminiscent of Swift’s “folklore” album, which had a much more stripped acoustic sound. Reddit users such as heatherdukefanboy hope that “the sound is more laid back like folklore/evermore maybe with more touches of Speak Now.”
However, fans have also overanalyzed track titles, like extensively researching late actress Clara Bow, who happens to share many traits with Swift.
No sound snippets or lyrics have been confirmed by Swift yet, so “The Tortured Poets Department’s” sound is still up in the air. In the meantime, fans can only speculate and theorize (which they’re very good at doing), and hope that whatever Swift releases, they’re ready for it.
