Taylor Swift announced that she’d be releasing her new album The Tortured Poets Department at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 4. The singer, 34, revealed that the record would be dropping on April 19, as she accepted the award for Best Pop Vocal album. Taylor noted that this was her 13th Grammy win, and as any Swiftie knows, 13 is the popstar’s lucky number.
After speaking about how excited she was to win the Grammy, Taylor teased fans that she’d be making a very special announcement. “I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I’ve been keeping from you for the past two years, which is that my brand new album comes out April 19th. It’s called The Tortured Poets Department,” she said.
All’s fair in love and poetry… New album THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. Out April 19 🤍https://t.co/WdrCmvLHyA
📷: Beth Garrabrant pic.twitter.com/CCPhmSZ2UD
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) February 5, 2024
Shortly after making the announcement, Taylor announced that she would share the details online from backstage at the award show. She tweeted out the album cover, which showed her lying down on a large pillow. She also included a hand-written poem right beside it. “All’s fair in love and poetry,” she wrote along with the announcement.
The accompanying photo also had a poem, which may be lyrics from the album. The words are written: “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.” The note is also signed “Sincerely, The Chairman of the Tortured Poets Department.”
The announcement came as many fans were expecting Taylor to announce her latest re-recorded album, with many anticipating that it would be reputation, especially after the singer changed her profile picture to black-and-white on social media.
The new album will be released nearly two years after Taylor dropped Midnights in October 2022. While that was her most recent new, full-length record, she has also released two “Taylor’s Version” re-recordings of her iconic albums Speak Now and 1989 in July and October 2023, respectively.