Taylor Swift Album Announcement: Alert the Swifties!
By Tenley Baxter
On February 4, 2024, the 66th Annual Grammy Awards were held. Taylor Swift received her thirteenth Grammy for the Best Pop Vocal Album award for her Midnights 2022 album. Swift noted the personal significance of the number 13, which she has used as an iconic lucky number since the beginning of her musical career. She moved on to tell the audience “a secret” that she had been keeping for “the last two years”, and announced her newest studio album. Immediately following her announcement, Swift posted to social media the cover and a handwritten note ending with the phrase “All’s fair in love and poetry” and a signed The Chairman of The Tortured Poets Department.
Leading up to the Grammys, Taylor Swift began including traces of black in her personal media, and her closest friends changed their profile pictures to black and white. These abrupt changes in her clothing and style trends seemed to imply that she would be announcing the re-release of her much-awaited Reputation album. The Tortured Poets Department will be released on April 19th, 2024, marking Taylor Swift’s eleventh studio album produced. The tracklist and titles have been released, and the album will contain 16 songs (and a bonus track in the physical edition) with pieces/songs featuring famous artists including Post Malone and Florence + the Machine.
The announcement took Swifties by surprise, including some students at SVU. Mia Shirts (grad. 2026, Psychology) says, “I totally thought she would be announcing Reputation (Taylor’s Version) because all the signs pointed to it!! She’s a mastermind.” I asked about theories regarding the nature of the album. Mia suggests it will be about Taylor’s recent ex, actor Joe Alwyn, and that because the album is described as “synth pop” it will be more like Taylor’s Midnights album. Fellow T-Swizzle enthusiast Elina Fischer (grad. 2027, Biochem) says, “I think that it will have the lyrical style of folklore [one of the artist’s Indie-style albums] and maybe some rock and pop elements in the music. I love the aesthetic — it’s very hopeless romantic.”
The announcement of Swift’s new album was unexpected. Some fans are disappointed that they will not be enjoying Reputation (Taylor’s Version) any time soon, but it seems that all fans are anxious to experience her brand new music and are overall thrilled.
Are you excited for April 19th too? Or perhaps you have a different opinion on Taylor Swift’s impact on the music industry, media, and more? Check out these other articles by The Herald on T-Swizzle:
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