Everything to Know About Taylor Swift's New Album 'The Tortured Poets Department'

New era incoming! The release of Taylor Swift's new album is only hours away. The Tortured Poets Department is slated to be released at midnight on Friday April 19th.

Swift is no stranger to making big announcements at award ceremonies. On February 4, she celebrated her Grammy win for Best Pop Vocal Album for Midnights by announcing her newest album, The Tortured Poets Department. Ever since then, the singer has been teasing fans on social media with the album's cover and bonus tracks to keep an eye out for. The album is now available for presale on Swift's website—the standard edition will consist of 16 tracks, with "The Manuscript" as the bonus track on the deluxe edition.

The announcement came after months of speculation of a Reputation (Taylor's Version) debut, with Swifties occupying their time with theories and easter eggs they gathered on social media. However, Swift is known for her surprises. As she said, "All's fair in love and poetry." 

This will be her 11th studio album, and one that Swift has kept a secret for some time. "I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret I've been keeping from you for the last two years," Taylor teased in her acceptance speech. "Which is that my brand new album that comes out April 19, called The Tortured Poets Department." 

The album is already officially approved by Swift's boyfriend Travis Kelce. In an interview, the NFL player revealed he was one of the first listeners, saying “I have heard some of it, yes, and it’s unbelievable. I can’t wait for her to shake up the world when it finally drops.”

Timed perfectly with the solar eclipse, she teased fans with a sneak peek into her upcoming 11th album through an Instagram story. The video, set against a typewriter's rhythmic keys, unveiled a glimpse of her April 19 release with three lines, one cleverly referencing the celestial event: "Crowd goes wild at her fingertips / Half moonshine, Full eclipse," leaving fans wondering which song they're from. 

With just days before the album's release, leaks for all 17 songs have supposedly been spreading since Wednesday evening via a Google Drive link, which was then circulated on TikTok and X, formerly known as Twitter. Though some think the leaks are fake, claiming it is A.I. generated and doesn't reflect Swift's usual lyricism, many do believe it is real. Some Swifties are more excited after hearing the new records, listening to as little as possible until the entire album officially drops, while others have been shocked and even a bit disappointed.  

Based on the lyrics, the leak has led many to believe that the album is not completely about Swift's break up with Alwyn like expected. Instead, many fans suspect the album may actually focus on Swift's rumored relationship with singer Matty Healy. Though Swift had been linked to The 1975 star as early as 2014, the two were rumored to be in a romantic relationship in the spring of 2023. Given Swift has been working on The Tortured Poet's Department for the past two years, the timelines do overlap, making it very possible that Healy will be the subject of numerous songs.

If the album does indeed cover her relationship with both Healy and Alwyn like the leak suggests, some fans say the tracklist could go in chronological order, detailing her breakup with Alwyn in the first half of the album and then her time with Healy from last year in the latter half. With Swift not addressing the leak and less than 24 hours to official release, only time will tell if the rumors are real.