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Revision as of 15:02, 12 April 2024

The Tortured Poets Department
Black-and-white image of Swift lying on a bed. The album title is displayed on the image. The image is surrounded by a thick white border.
Standard cover
Studio album by
Taylor Swift
ReleasedApril 19, 2024 (2024-04-19)
Recorded2022–2023
Length65:08
LabelRepublic
Taylor Swift chronology
1989 (Taylor's Version)
(2023) 		The Tortured Poets Department
(2024)

The Tortured Poets Department (colloquially shortened to Tortured Poets) is the upcoming eleventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It is set for release on April 19, 2024, via Republic Records.

Swift announced the album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards on February 4, 2024, after winning Best Pop Vocal Album for her tenth studio album, Midnights (2022). She conceived The Tortured Poets Department shortly after finishing work on Midnights and continued developing the former during the Eras Tour (2023–2024), her ongoing sixth concert tour.

The Tortured Poets Department is Swift's self-proclaimed "lifeline" album—a product of imperative songwriting. It consists of sixteen songs, featuring collaborations with the American rapper Post Malone and the English indie rock band Florence and the Machine. The four physical editions of the album each include bonus tracks.

Background and release

Swift released her tenth studio album, Midnights, on October 21, 2022, to widespread commercial and critical success.[1] In 2023, she released two re-recorded albums, Speak Now (Taylor's Version) and 1989 (Taylor's Version), as part of her re-recording project.[2] On February 4, 2024, the day of the 66th Annual Grammy Awards where Midnights had been nominated, Swift teased the release of a new album by changing the profile pictures across her social media accounts to black-and-white. Fans speculated online that she was preparing to release Reputation (Taylor's Version), a forthcoming re-recording of her sixth studio album, Reputation (2017).[3] Swift's website also appeared as if it had malfunctioned, reporting an unusual non-standard HTTP status code 321, as well as error code "hneriergrd", which fans deciphered to be an anagram spelling "red herring."[4] The source code of the website contained non-English words.[5]

On February 4 2024, Swift won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year for Midnights; in her acceptance speech for the former, she announced a new studio album she had created since 2022,[6] titled The Tortured Poets Department, set for release on April 19, 2024.[7][8] The album cover artwork was posted to her social media accounts, along with a photograph of a handwritten note, which incorporated English translations of the words from the source code:[5][9]

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...

Sincerely, The Chairman of the Tortured Poets Department.[10]

On February 6, 2024, Swift revealed the track list on her social media. American rapper Post Malone features on "Fortnight" and the English indie rock band Florence and the Machine on "Florida!!!"[11] Four physical editions of the album, each titled after and containing a bonus track, namely "The Manuscript", "The Bolter", "The Albatross", and "The Black Dog", have also been made available for purchase; Swift announced the latter three editions during the Asia-Pacific leg of the Eras Tour, her sixth headlining concert tour.[12] A collector's edition deluxe CD of the album sold out on her website in the first two hours of availability.[13][14]

Concept

Swift characterized The Tortured Poets Department as a "lifeline" album—one that she "really needed" to make.[15] She began conceiving the album immediately after submitting Midnights to her record label, Republic Records, and continued working on it in secret throughout the U.S. leg of the Eras Tour in 2023.[16] According to Swift, creating the album proved to her the integral role of songwriting in her life. She stated, "I have never had an album where I needed songwriting more than I needed it on Tortured Poets."[17]

On April 5, 2024, Apple Music published five playlists curated by Swift, each titled after a lyric from The Tortured Poets Department and thematically inspired by a perceived phase of heartache—denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Each playlist consisted of songs from Swift's previous albums that corresponded to the respective themes and individual audio messages explaining the themes.[18] Billboard reported that the playlists added to fan speculation that The Tortured Poets Department is modeled after the five stages of grief, a psychological theory proposed by Swiss-American psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in 1969.[19]

Title and artwork

The album's official logo features its abbreviated title.

The album is also referred to as Tortured Poets[17] or abbreviated to TTPD as depicted in the official logo.[15][20] The lack of an apostrophe in the official title, as in The Tortured Poets' Department, was the subject of a debate over grammatical correctness. Scholars stated that Swift has employed Tortured Poets as an attributive noun, as in the case with the 1989 drama film Dead Poets Society, and not as a possessive noun which would warrant an apostrophe.[21]

The cover artwork, photographed by American photographer Beth Garrabrant, is a black-and-white glamour photo shot of Swift lying on a bed wearing black lingerie: a see-through top and high waist shorts,[22][23][24] from the fashion labels The Row and Yves Saint Laurent.[23][25] Both the artwork and title were parodied by numerous brands, organizations, sports teams, and franchises, and inspired numerous memes.[26][27][28]

Track listing

The Tortured Poets Department
No.TitleLength
1."Fortnight" (featuring Post Malone)3:48
2."The Tortured Poets Department"4:53
3."My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys"3:23
4."Down Bad"4:21
5."So Long, London"4:22
6."But Daddy I Love Him"5:40
7."Fresh Out the Slammer"3:30
8."Florida!!!" (featuring Florence and the Machine)3:35
9."Guilty as Sin?"4:14
10."Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?"5:34
11."I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)"2:36
12."Loml"4:37
13."I Can Do It with a Broken Heart"3:38
14."The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived"4:05
15."The Alchemy"3:16
16."Clara Bow"3:36
Total length:65:08
Manuscript edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
17."The Manuscript" 
Bolter edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
17."The Bolter" 
Albatross edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
17."The Albatross" 
Black Dog edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
17."The Black Dog" 

Release history

The Tortured Poets Department release history
Region Date Format(s) Edition(s) Label Ref.
Various April 19, 2024
  • Standard
 Republic [29]
United States
  • vinyl LP
[30]
Japan April 20, 2024 CD
  • Standard
  • Japan deluxe
 Universal Japan [31]

References

  1. ^ Bugel, Safi (October 28, 2022). "Taylor Swift: Midnights becomes biggest album of 2022 after one week". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on November 23, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  2. ^ Wickman, Kase (February 4, 2024). "Taylor Swift Arrives at the Grammys 2024". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  3. ^ Smyth, Tom (February 4, 2023). "The Ties Were Black, the Lies Were White...and Now So Is Taylor Swift's Profile Picture". Variety. Archived from the original on February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  4. ^ West, Bryan (February 4, 2024). "'Error 321' Taylor Swift website crashes, sending fans on frantic hunt for 'red herring'". USA Today. Archived from the original on February 4, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  5. ^ a b West, Bryan (February 4, 2024). "Taylor Swift announces brand-new album at Grammys: 'Tortured Poets Department'". The Tennessean. Archived from the original on February 17, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  6. ^ West, Bryan (February 4, 2024). "Taylor Swift announces brand-new album at Grammys: 'Tortured Poets Department'". USA Today. Archived from the original on February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  7. ^ Kuo, Christopher (February 4, 2024). "Taylor Swift announces new album during Grammy win". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  8. ^ Singh, Surej (February 5, 2024). "Taylor Swift announces new album, 'The Tortured Poets Department'". NME. Archived from the original on February 10, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  9. ^ Mendez, Moises (February 6, 2024). "What to Know About Taylor Swift's New Album". Time. Archived from the original on February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  10. ^ Shanfeld, Ethan (February 4, 2024). "Taylor Swift Announces New Album 'The Tortured Poets Department' During Grammys Acceptance Speech". Variety. Archived from the original on February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  11. ^ Garcia, Thania (February 5, 2024). "Taylor Swift Shares Tracklist for 'The Tortured Poets Department,' Featuring Post Malone and Florence + Machine". Variety. Archived from the original on February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  12. ^ Kreps, Daniel (March 3, 2024). "Taylor Swift Announces Fourth and Final 'Tortured Poets Department' Variant: 'The Black Dog'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 3, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  13. ^ Lustig, Hanna (February 6, 2024). "Taylor Swift Released the Track List for 'The Tortured Poets Department'—And It's So Telling". Glamour. Archived from the original on February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  14. ^ Gibson, Kelsie (February 6, 2024). "Everything to Know About Taylor Swift's New Album, The Tortured Poets Department". People. Archived from the original on February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  15. ^ a b Bonner, Mehera (February 16, 2024). "Taylor Swift Reveals Bonus Track Title and New Album Cover for 'The Tortured Poets Department'". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on February 16, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  16. ^ Blistein, Jon (February 7, 2024). "Taylor Swift Reveals 'Tortured Poets Department' Back Up Plan In Case She Didn't Win a Grammy". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 7, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Dailey, Hannah (February 16, 2024). "Taylor Swift Unveils 'The Bolter' Edition of 'Tortured Poets Department' With Exclusive Bonus Track". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 16, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  18. ^ "Taylor Swift Curates Playlists Based on Stages of Heartbreak for Apple Music Ahead of 'Tortured Poets Department' Release". People. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  19. ^ Dailey, Hannah (April 5, 2024). "Taylor Swift Shares 5 'Stages of Heartbreak' Playlists Ahead of 'Tortured Poets Department' Album Release". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  20. ^ Kreps, Daniel (February 16, 2024). "Taylor Swift Announces New 'Tortured Poets' Bonus Track 'The Bolter' at Australia Show". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 17, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  21. ^ Sources on the apostrophe:
    1. Mather, Victor (February 7, 2024). "Tortured Poets' or Poets? Taylor Swift Meets the Apostrophe Police". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 15, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
    2. Rutigliano, Olivia (February 6, 2024). "Is the phrase The Tortured Poets Department grammatically correct?". Literary Hub. Archived from the original on February 19, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
    3. Chang, Joshua (February 8, 2024). "Why Taylor Swift's new album name is (probably) grammatically correct". National Post. Archived from the original on March 4, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
    4. Menon, Vinay (February 8, 2024). "The apostrophe debate over Taylor Swift's 'The Tortured Poets Department' proves why we must never defund the grammar police". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on February 19, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  22. ^ Sen, Mallika (February 4, 2024). "Taylor Swift announces new album: The Tortured Poets Department". Associated Press News. Archived from the original on February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  23. ^ a b Morin, Alyssa (February 5, 2024). "How Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Played a Role in Taylor Swift's Tortured Poets Department Cover". E!. Archived from the original on February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  24. ^ Vasquez, Ingrid. "Taylor Swift Shares the Sexy Cover of New Album 'The Tortured Poets Department': 'All's Fair in Love and Poetry'". People. Archived from the original on February 10, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  25. ^ Dailey, Hannah (February 6, 2024). "Everything We Know About Taylor Swift's New Album 'The Tortured Poets Department' So Far". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  26. ^ Ahlgrim, Callie. "All the best reactions to Taylor Swift's surprise album announcement at the Grammys". Business Insider. Archived from the original on February 7, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  27. ^ Leishman, Rachel (February 5, 2024). "Did Taylor Swift Know Her New Album Name Would Inspire This Many Memes?". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on February 7, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  28. ^ Follett, Gillian (February 7, 2023). "See How Brands Recreated Taylor Swift's New Album Cover". Ad Age. Archived from the original on February 7, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  29. ^ The Tortured Poets Department release formats:
  30. ^ Tingley, Anna (March 12, 2024). "Taylor Swift's 'Tortured Poets Department' Gets Target-Exclusive Phantom Clear Vinyl, Including 24-Page Jacket and Rare Photos". Variety. Archived from the original on March 16, 2024. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  31. ^ "ニューアルバム国内盤『ザ・トーチャード・ポエッツ・デパートメント』の先着特典が決定! (追記3/21) ＜通常盤＞購入特典「ポストカード」の店別デザイン決定!". Universal Music Japan (in Japanese). March 18, 2024. Archived from the original on March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
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