On April 19, at midnight EST, Taylor Swift released her most recent album, titled The Tortured Poets Department. The album was first announced at the 65th Grammy award ceremony during her acceptance speech for Best Pop Vocal Album on Feb. 4. She then released an additional 15 bonus tracks at 2 a.m. EST for the album which originally only had 16 tracks.
Fans speculated that Swift had hinted about the release of the bonus through planting ‘Easter eggs’ in her social media posts, events in different cities, and much more. For example, Swift had been holding up two fingers in many photos and Instagram posts, which led fans to believe she was going to release two albums.
Swift’s album broke many records in the days after its release, becoming the most-streamed album in a single week on April 22. Additionally, it became the fastest album to reach one billion streams, the most streamed single in Spotify history, and the first album to reach over 300 million streams in a single day. Not only did it break records after its release, but before its release the album had garnered achievements such as most pre-saved album Countdown page in Spotify history.
Swift’s album was met with mixed reviews from critics. The New York Times reviewed the record, and said that Swift could have “used an editor,” whereas The Rolling Stone labeled the album as an “instant classic.”
On April 25, Swift posted a video on YouTube Shorts of her getting back into the production for The Eras Tour. In it, fans noticed a sign that looked like the logo for The Tortured Poets Department. Some fans correctly predicted that Swift will add songs from this new album to her set for The Eras Tour, which resumed in May for international performances.
