Taylor Swift Says the ‘Sensational and Sorrowful’ Chapter of Her Life Is ‘Closed’ as She Releases Tortured Poets
Taylor Swift is looking ahead to her future after the release of her new record.
On Friday, April 19, the pop megastar, 34, shared an Instagram post celebrating the release of her 11th studio album The Tortured Poets Department.
“The Tortured Poets Department. An anthology of new works that reflect events, opinions and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time – one that was both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure. This period of the author’s life is now over, the chapter closed and boarded up,” she wrote.
“There is nothing to avenge, no scores to settle once wounds have healed. And upon further reflection, a good number of them turned out to be self-inflicted. This writer is of the firm belief that our tears become holy in the form of ink on a page. Once we have spoken our saddest story, we can be free of it. And then all that’s left behind is the tortured poetry.”
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On Thursday, April 18, Swift announced on Instagram that the lead single of The Tortured Poets Department would be “Fortnight,” which features Post Malone.
“I’ve been such a huge fan of Post because of the writer he is, his musical experimentation and those melodies he creates that just stick in your head forever,” she wrote alongside a black and white image of her and Malone. “I got to witness that magic come to life firsthand when we worked together on Fortnight.”
Swift also announced that the duo would be releasing a music video for “Fortnight” at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, April 19, the same day of the album’s release.
“Honestly can’t wait for you guys to hear this song at Midnight TONIGHT and see the video at 8pm ET TOMORROW,” the “Maroon” artist wrote.
“Fortnight” is the opening track on Tortured Poets, and only one of two songs to feature another artist; “Florida!!!” features Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine.
In February, Swift announced the album during her acceptance speech for best pop vocal album at the Grammy Awards.
The 14-time Grammy winner also recently teased that heartbreak would be a major theme of the LP, sharing five exclusive playlists with Apple Music and sharing some snippets of lyrics.
In the lead-up to the release of Swift’s album, Spotify hosted a pop-up exhibit in Los Angeles where Swifties could explore a library-themed room filled with subtle clues about the record, featuring new lyrics and imagery that hinted at possible themes within the music.
The Tortured Poets Department was written with Swift’s frequent collaborators Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, and Post Malone is listed as a co-writer on “Fortnight.”
