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Taylor Swift just released her new album The Tortured Poets Department — but from the looks of a mysterious new countdown hidden on her Instagram profile, the fun is far from over.
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As soon as the pop star’s 16-track project dropped at midnight on Friday (April 19), Swift made her very first post on Threads, Instagram’s text-only counterpart which launched last year. At the same time, a mysterious two-hour countdown went live on her Instagram page, potentially ticking down to a new announcement or surprise coming at 2 a.m. ET.
The new countdown is sure to pique the interests of Swifties, who have noticed that the musician has seemingly been teasing the number 2 for weeks. Her Tortured Poets Spotify library installation in Los Angeles featured a peace-sign statuette, and Swift herself flashed two fingers on camera at the 2024 Grammys when she first announced her new record. The clocks at the library pop-up and in her cryptic “Fortnight” music video announcement from earlier this week have all been set to 2 o’clock, and the star tweeted Wednesday, “✌️days til THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT.”
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✌️days til THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) April 17, 2024
Only time will tell what 2 a.m brings — but in the meantime, Instagram and Threads have several other new features for Swifties to enjoy. Fans can now change their direct messaging backgrounds to visuals inspired by the Tortured Poets album artwork; plus, Threads users who share the singer’s first post will receive a custom “TTPD” badge on their profile, distinguishing them as bona fide Swifties.
In the week leading up to Tortured Poets release day, Instagram launched its original secret countdown, which was only visible when fans pulled down on Swift’s profile to “refresh.” The countdown also prompted viewers to follow the 14-time Grammy winner on Threads.
As this was going on, conversations on Threads tagged #TTPD, #The Tortured Poets Department, #Tortured Poets, #TSTTPD, #Swifties or #Taylor Swift prompted a special shimmer effect to appear, while celebratory hearts appeared onscreen for those who “liked” a post stamped with any of the same tags.
Complete with 16 tracks, four bonus songs spread out across various deluxe versions and collaborations with Post Malone and Florence + The Machine, The Tortured Poets Department was one of the most anticipated releases of 2024. Swift took a break from her global Eras Tour to prepare for the album’s release but will resume the trek in May.
“It kind of reminded me of why songwriting is something that actually gets me through my life,” she said of the project at a February Eras show. “I’ve never had an album where I needed songwriting more than I needed it on Tortured Poets.”
04/19/2024
See how we broke down every track from Taylor Swift’s latest opus.
04/19/2024
Poetry class is in session. Taylor Swift’s long-awaited 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, arrived on Friday (April 19). Swift initially announced the album at the 2024 Grammys, dropping the bombshell news mid-acceptance speech for best pop vocal for her 2022 record Midnights. “This is my 13th Grammy – which is my lucky number, I don’t know […]
One of the constants of Taylor Swift’s storied career has been the chances she’s taken at the precise moment when taking a chance wasn’t necessary. She was a country superstar who didn’t need to go pop; she was less than a year removed from a major pop album and didn’t need to take an indie-folk detour; she was in the middle of a blockbuster run of new albums and didn’t need to re-record her old ones.
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Time and again, Swift has identified artistic opportunities that other stars would have blanched at (or at the very least, set aside for a different time, so as to not muck up any professional momentum), and she has leapt into them fearlessly, always coming out on top.
So right now — in the middle of a mega-selling stadium tour, after a record-breaking fourth album of the year Grammy win, in a high-profile new romance and at the commercial zenith of an already all-time career — is, naturally, the time Swift has chosen to release a knowingly messy, wildly unguarded breakup album.
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She didn’t have to do this! But then again, making an album like The Tortured Poets Department is exactly what separates Swift from her more careful peers. Challenging herself to shape-shift, to accomplish something new at the moment anyone else would rest on their laurels, is what makes her so fascinating.
Swift has written plenty of songs that revel in post-breakup hurt across her catalog, but The Tortured Poets Department is both more mature — the teen slings and arrows naturally evolving into adult entanglements and emotional affairs — and more pissed-off, with unbridled emotion and unkempt drama often taking center stage. There will be a lot of guessing about who each song is about, considering that the album was created in the wake of her six-year relationship with Joe Alwyn ending, a brief romance with The 1975’s Matty Healy, and the start of her relationship with football star Travis Kelce. But the male subjects are besides the point: Swift is a hurricane across the album, blowing the doors off of the agonizing details of her recent reality.
Furious rhetorical questions and errors in judgment dot the Tortured Poets Department lyrics, as Swift aims at a target beyond vulnerability, that allows her wide listenership to understand her heart and mind. In a career defined by her songwriting, Swift has never placed so much emphasis on her words — the production, courtesy of Swift and close collaborators Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, seems to evaporate at points, the music almost incidental compared to the lyrics. The warm synth-pop of Midnights serves as the closest reference point, but that album was cleanly orchestrated, while The Tortured Poets Department wants to get in the mud with soft-loud dissonance and tracklist sprawl. Really, the album is in conversation with her entire catalog — a country-pop chorus here, a Folklore folk tale there — while still making time to explore the unknown.
The Tortured Poets Department is extreme in its emotions and uninterested in traditional hits; not everyone will love it, but the ones who get it will adore it fiercely. As Swift continues this current astonishing run of superstardom, she has once again pushed herself to strike a new pose. It’s what makes her special — and what turns The Tortured Poets Department into yet another triumph.
Taylor Swift’s Tortured Poets Department is just hours away from arriving on Friday (April 19), and the pop superstar is building the anticipation by teasing the lead single, “Fortnight,” featuring Post Malone. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Swift took to X to share a preview of the […]
Billie Eilish’s new musical era is upon us, and the superstar unveiled the tracklist for her upcoming album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, on Thursday (April 18). The 10-track album features tracks like “Skinny,” “Lunch,” “L’Amour De Ma Vie,” “Blue,” and “Wildflower,” among others. As of the current announcement, there does not appear to be […]
Mary J. Blige knows a fellow truth teller when she sees one. The R&B superstar opened up to People recently about Flavor Flav’s comments comparing her to Taylor Swift, in the sense that they both write about relatable life experiences. “I mean, I love Taylor Swift. She sings about what’s going on in her life,” […]
Halsey is dropping some new color-shifting makeup products in her About-Face beauty line, and the “Without Me” singer promoted her “Earth Angel” campaign for the company with a fittingly trippy new ad video. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In the clip, the 29-year-old singer is seen […]
Taylor Swift is one of the most acclaimed artists in Billboard‘s history, and we’re celebrating the April 19 release of her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, by strolling down charts memory lane.
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The 33-year-old superstar kicked off her charts journey back in 2006 when her debut single, “Tim McGraw,” arrived on the country charts and peaked at No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. Swift’s career kicked into high gear with the release of her 2008 album, Fearless. The title track peaked at No. 4 on the Hot 100, and “You Belong With Me” made its way up to No. 2.
Overall, Swift has 11 Hot 100 chart-toppers under her belt, tying her with Whitney Houston as the fourth most among women in chart history. She has 232 songs on the Hot 100 in total, more than any other female artist and only second to Drake overall. Swift is also the only woman to replace herself on the Hot 100 — and she’s done it three times.
Watch Billboard Explains: Taylor Swift’s Record-Breaking Chart History in the video above.
After the video, catch up on more Billboard Explains videos and learn about Peso Pluma and the Mexican music boom, the role record labels play, origins of hip-hop, how Beyoncé arrived at Renaissance, the evolution of girl groups, BBMAs, NFTs, SXSW, the magic of boy bands, American Music Awards, the Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Hot 100 chart, how R&B/hip-hop became the biggest genre in the U.S., how festivals book their lineups, Billie Eilish’s formula for success, the history of rap battles, nonbinary awareness in music, the Billboard Music Awards, the Free Britney movement, rise of K-pop in the U.S., why Taylor Swift is re-recording her first six albums, the boom of hit all-female collaborations, how Grammy nominees and winners are chosen, why songwriters are selling their publishing catalogs, how the Super Bowl halftime show is booked and more.
We’re no longer a fortnight away from the release of The Tortured Poets Department, which means it’s the perfect time for Taylor Swift to confirm the set’s lead single. The pop superstar revealed Thursday (April 18) on Instagram that the Post Malone-assisted “Fortnight” will serve as the lead single from her forthcoming album. “The first […]