Swifties, this is not a drill. Mother Taylor has officially announced that her 11th studio output, The Tortured Poets Department, will launch on 19 April 2024.
It would appear that Camp Swift is abuzz with much anticipation, and not just because of the Grammys that were held just earlier today. While gracing the red carpet at the Crypto.com Arena, the 34-year-old mega-pop star’s social media accounts erupted in a hive of activity after an unexpected, but no less highly-anticipated announcement was made.
Taylor Swift to debut The Tortured Poets Department on 19 April 2024
Nominated for six awards during the 66th iteration of the music industry’s most recognisable accolade, Pennsylvania-born Taylor Swift was already creating a considerable stir for potentially becoming the first artist in the industry’s history to cinch the Album of The Year title four times, beating out the likes of Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, and Paul Simon, with her 10th output, Midnights.
While her 2022 album continues to make waves, the singer-songwriter is fast moving on to her next project. Taking the stage to accept her award for Best Pop Vocal Album, Swift, dressed in a cinched ivory Schiaparelli Couture dress paired with black contrasting opera gloves, dropped the bomb that her next studio album release will be slated to take place on April 19th.
“So I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I have been keeping from you for the last two years, which is that my brand-new album comes out April 19th. It’s called ‘The Tortured Poets Department.’ ” she said, adding “I’m going to go and post the cover right now backstage. Thank you, I love you! Thank you!”
The now-viral post on Instagram reveals her next album’s cover, tastefully lensed by Beth Garrabrant in greyscale, which appears to feature Swift laying on pillows dressed in a sheer top and black shorts with the album’s title on the topmost edge.
A second image included shows a handwritten note that is indicative of song lyrics, which read “And so I enter into evidence, My tarnished coat of arms, My muses, acquired like bruises, My talismans and charms, The tick, tick, tick of love bombs, My veins of pitch-black ink, All’s fair in love and poetry…”, suitably signed off with “Sincerely, The Chairman of the Tortured Poets Department.”
According to Swift, the album has been in the works for around two years. Beyond the recording studio, the hitmaker had mounted one of the most successful music tours in history with The Eras Tour, selling out in arenas across the globe.
Feature and hero image credits: Taylor Swift/Instagram