The 66th annual Grammy Awards were already going well for pop phenomenon Taylor Swift, after making history by becoming the only artist ever to win 4 Album of the Year awards. However, making history was only the start to Swift’s night. During the end of her acceptance speech for the Best Pop Vocal Album award, Swift announced that she will be releasing her brand new album, The Tortured Poets Department, on April 19th.
As expected, the internet and millions of fans across the globe went crazy. Whether you love her or not, Taylor Swift seems to be everywhere. Whether she’s traversing the world on The Eras Tour, dominating TikTok feeds and Instagram stories, or being in the audience at the Kansas City Chiefs games, Swift seems to constantly be the subject of conversation. The announcement of The Tortured Poets Department only multiplied her presence and significance.
Leading up to the Grammys, many fan theories circulated about how Swift could be re-releasing Reputation which is why the new album was completely out of the blue. According to USA Today, these reputation fan theories were apparently backed by Taylor Swifts website crashing the afternoon of the Grammys, with the website stating ‘Error 321′ which is a communication error that happens when a telephone connection fails. This situation was reminiscent to Swifties of one of Taylors most iconic lines from “Look What You Made Me Do” where Swift sings “Sorry, the Old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, ’cause she’s dead.”
However, it seems that this was simply a red herring to distract fans so they would be blown away by Swift’s real announcement.
Following the announcement on February 4th, Swifts social media followed suite by ushering in a black and white theme, which also happens to be the theme of the new album. Subsequently, on February 5th, Swift released the track list for the album which includes 16 songs (not including bonus tracks) and features from artist Post Malone and the band Florence and the Machine.
The track list for The Tortured Poets Department is as follows:
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!!! (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 Manuscript (Bonus Track)
One song that stood out to me and I’m sure many others when the track list was first released was So Long, London. Anyone who claims to be a Swiftie knows that this song must be about Joe Alywn, Swift’s most recent ex-boyfriend who happens to be British. Another song that I’m excited for is I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can). This title references the popular Internet meme that’s circulated for ages where people joke that they could fix a psychotic character like the Joker or Patrick Bateman. Tracks like these two and more sound like they could be playful or even petty, which I’m definitely looking forward to. Other tracks like I Can Do It With a Broken Heart and The Alchemy sound more intense and emotional.
If there’s one thing about Taylor Swift, it’s that she guarantees range and diversity when it comes to her songwriting and producing. She can deliver a heartbreaking ballad, pop hit, and lyrical masterpiece all on the same album. Instead of talking about all that she can do, the question that lies next is what can’t Swift do?
