By Amanda Incalcaterra
Correspondent
Taylor Swift made history at this year’s Grammy Awards, where she became the first artist to win Album of the Year four times with her album “Midnights,” as well as surprising fans by announcing a brand new album titled “The Tortured Poets Department.”
Previously, Swift had won the award for her albums “Fearless,” “1989” and “Folklore.”
Joined on stage by producer and co-writer Jack Antonoff, audio engineer Laura Sisk, co-writer Sam Dew and collaborator Lana Del Rey, she expressed her gratitude, stating, “All I want to do is keep being able to do this. I love it so much. It makes me so happy.”
It was in her acceptance speech for Best Pop Vocal Album, however, that she made an announcement that left her fans shocked.
Fans were expecting Swift to announce a re-recording of her 2017 album “reputation.” After losing the rights to six of her albums, she began re-recording each album, as well as introducing vault tracks to gain back the rights to her work.
Fans believed that the re-release of “reputation” was next for many reasons. Many close friends of Swift had changed their profile pictures on Instagram to black-and-white images in the week leading up to the Grammy Awards. Swift joined them in changing her profile picture to a black-and-white photo of her “Midnights” album color the day of the awards. Given that the “reputation” album color is in black-and-white, fans were certain that these instances were a hint at Swift’s next release.
Next, Swift’s official website was down, displaying the error code “hneriergrd.” Fans were quick to recognize that this was an anagram for “red herring,” which is a term used for a misleading clue or something used to divert attention.
At this point, fans were certain that their theories were correct, especially when Swift appeared on the red carpet wearing black and white.
When Swift approached the stage to accept the award for Best Pop Vocal Album, fans braced themselves for the “reputation” announcement. They were very surprised when Swift instead announced a brand new album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”
She began her speech by stating that this was her 13th Grammy, with fans knowing that 13 is her lucky number.
“So I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I’ve been keeping from you for the last two years,” Swift said, “which is that my brand new album comes out April 19. It’s called ‘The Tortured Poets Department.’”
Immediately following her speech, Swift took to Instagram to share the album cover – a black-and-white photo of her lying on a bed, along with possible lyrics, “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.”
The next day, Swift shared the 17-song tracklist for the album, including yet another black-and-white photo of herself with the words “I love you, it’s ruining my life.” The tracklist includes features from artists Post Malone and Florence + the Machine.
Swift’s website is also back up, now featuring the album cover for “The Tortured Poets Department” as well as vinyls, CDs and more available for preorder.
Since the announcement, Swift has continued her beloved “Eras Tour,” playing four shows in Tokyo immediately following the Grammys. Meanwhile, fans anticipate the release of “The Tortured Poets Department” on April 19.
