It was a surprise announcement during the Grammy Awards ceremony, and ever since, the excitement has been building until its release. On April 19th, a day that will go down in history as ‘The Tortured Poets Department Day’. Taylor Swift has been actively promoting this new studio album, which is already making waves. And we’ve finally uncovered its hidden secret message and heard its first single. Let’s break it down…
The singer had confirmed with Apple Music that there was a secret phrase waiting to be discovered gradually through different playlists curated by herself and her team. And the message Taylor had hidden from us was: “We hereby conduct this post mortem”.
As stated by the singer in her partnership with Apple Music, the playlists would explore the five stages of grief: denial (I Love You, It’s Ruining My Life), anger (You Don’t Get to Tell Me About Sad), bargaining (Am I Allowed to Cry?), depression (Old Habits Die Screaming), and acceptance (I Can Do It With a Broken Heart).
April 19 🤍https://t.co/WdrCmvLHyA pic.twitter.com/1qSQqzYgEf
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) February 6, 2024
The most prevalent theory among Swifties is that her album serves as an autopsy of a relationship that reached its end and explores the causes behind it. Her relationship with Joe Alwyn, as well as their subsequent breakup, lie at the heart of this album, marking the eleventh in her discography.
On April 18th, 2024, Taylor Swift’s THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT became the most pre-saved album Countdown Page in Spotify history. 🤍 pic.twitter.com/gJbZgegdwV
— Spotify (@Spotify) April 18, 2024
But that’s all in the past now because at present, the singer has confirmed the first single from her upcoming studio album. «Fortnight» with Post Malone marks the debut single from The Tortured Poets Department. “I’ve been such a huge fan of Post because of the writer he is, his musical experimentation and those melodies he creates that just stick in your head forever,” she shared on her official Instagram account.
The first single from The Tortured Poets Department is…………. Fortnight featuring @postmalone 🤍 I’ve been such a huge fan of Post because of the writer he is, his musical experimentation and those melodies he creates that just stick in your head forever. I got to witness that… pic.twitter.com/b6cqrHkbE1
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) April 18, 2024
This collab is the first between the two stars and one of two collabs on the album (alongside Florence and the Machine). Swift has poured her heart into this project: “It really helped me through a tough time. The things I was going through and writing about—it reminded me why songwriting is so important to me. I’ve never felt the need to write songs more than I did for Tortured Poets.”