Taylor Swift had a clever backup plan in store if she didn’t secure a Grammy win, ready to unveil her 11th album, ‘The Tortured Poets Department’. Upon receiving the Best Pop Vocal Album award for “Midnights” at the 66th Grammy Awards, Swift took to the stage to announce that her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, would arrive on April 19.
“Okay, this is my 13th Grammy, which is my lucky number. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you that. I want to say thank you to the members of the Recording Academy for voting this way, but I know that the way that the Recording Academy voted is a direct reflection of the passion of the fans. So I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I have been keeping from you for the last two years, which is that my brand-new album comes out April 19th. It’s called ‘The Tortured Poets Department.’ I’m going to go and post the cover right now backstage. Thank you, I love you! Thank you!” Swift said in her acceptance speech.
Best Pop Vocal Album – Midnights#TaylorSwift pic.twitter.com/DHdn3Q8Gyn
— Meta Resistance #StrongerTogether (@MetaResistance) February 5, 2024
What was Taylor Swift’s backup plan?
However, Swift had a backup plan in place just in case. During a break in her Tokyo concert on Feb. 7, she shared with the audience her behind-the-scenes strategy, as per US Weekly. “Going to the Grammys, going in, I had this plan. I had told my friends, I told Jack [Antonoff], but I hadn’t really told very many other people. I thought, ‘OK, if I’m lucky enough to win one thing tonight, I’m just gonna do it. I’m just gonna announce my album.’ And luckily enough, that ended up happening,” she revealed.
“My backup plan was I was gonna do it tonight in Tokyo,” she continued. “But thanks to you and your support, I was lucky enough to win a Grammy and tell you about it on stage at the Grammys. … We can debrief tonight and talk about it.”
Swift revealed ‘The Tourtured Poets Department’ tracklist on Instagram
Swift took to Instagram to unveil the tracklist and the album artwork for “The Tortured Poets Department,” featuring her in black lingerie on a bed, along with a handwritten poem. The poem read, “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 view of pitch-black ink. All’s fair in love and poetry … Sincerely, The Chairman of the Tortured Poets Department.”
All’s fair in love and poetry… New album THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. Out April 19 🤍https://t.co/WdrCmvLHyA
📷: Beth Garrabrant pic.twitter.com/CCPhmSZ2UD
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) February 5, 2024
She also shared the track list for her 11th album one day before her Tokyo concert. During the concert, Swift revealed that she had been working on “Tortured Poets” since completing “Midnights,” explaining, “You turn in an album months in advance … so I started working on it immediately after that and I’ve been working on it for about two years. I kept working on it throughout the U.S. tour and when it was perfect, in my opinion, when it was good enough for you, I finished it.” She expressed her excitement for fans to hear the new music, saying, “Soon we’ll get to experience that together. I’m over the moon about the fact that you guys care about my music, it still blows my mind. I love doing this.”
🤍 Tracklist #THETORTUREDPOETSDEPARTMENT : pic.twitter.com/X2URxoRJSd
— Taylor Swift FR (@TSwiftFranceFan) February 6, 2024