On Feb. 4, Taylor Swift dropped a bombshell during her acceptance speech at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. After winning Best Pop Vocal Album for her album ‘Midnights’, Swift announced the arrival of a new album: ‘The Tortured Poet’s Department. Swift explained that she had been developing the album for around two years, and that it would be released on April 19th, 2024. 

   Fans of Taylor Swift called “Swifties”, immediately began speculating about the topics of the songs. They focused specifically on a recent ex-boyfriend of Swift, English actor Joe Alwyn. 

   According to Teen Vogue, “Taylor Swift

and Joe Alwyn broke up in early 2023, after six years together, right around the time Swift began the Eras Tour.”

   Some “Swifties” speculate that the songs may be about their breakup, especially due to Swift’s reputation for writing about her relationships. Cassandra Grubbs (’24) is a fan of Taylor Swift, especially her albums ‘Red’, ‘Reputation’, and ‘1989’.

   “I definitely think it’ll be about Joe [Alwyn] because they dated within that two year period. I’m hoping for some Travis [Kelce] songs but it’s probably unlikely.” Grubbs said.

   Travis Kelce, a tight end on the Kansas City Chiefs football team, is Swift’s current boyfriend. The two have been seen together in public many times, captured through various paparazzi pictures. Some speculate that certain songs, such as ‘So Long London’ may relate to tracks from previous albums. Celeste Chiappone (’26) enjoys Swift’s ‘Folklore’ album, and is looking forward to the release of the new album.

   “I think it’ll [‘The Tortured Poet’s Department’] be about Joe [Alwyn] because of ‘So Long London’, that one is just hinting at it, especially after ‘London Boy’,” Chiappone said.

   ‘London Boy’ is a popular song on Swift’s ‘Lover’ album from 2019, with 1,244,210,414 listens on Spotify. Fans speculate that it is about Joe Alwyn, because he is English and the two were dating during that time.

   The announcement of the new album also raised questions about how Swift will go about adding it to her current project, The Era’s Tour. This tour features songs from every one of her albums, or “Eras”. The tour is already very long, sometimes exceeding three hours. Adding another era altogether may lengthen it considerably, so fans wonder what Swift will do with the new album. Bella Rodriguez (’24) is a longtime fan of Swift, and was extremely excited for the new album.

   “I think ‘Midnights’ is the perfect way to close and ‘Karma’ is just the perfect closing song so I’m thinking she’ll stick it [songs from ‘The Tortured Poet’s Department’] before the surprise songs after ‘1989’.” Rodriguez said. 

   With the tour being as long as it is, it’s entirely possible that Swift could add songs in as her “surprise songs” or as a separate tour altogether. 

   Taylor Swift is also known for the vast genres of her albums. She began with country music with her debut album ‘Taylor Swift’, slowly changed to pop as her career continued, then switched to folk with her albums ‘Folklore’ and ‘Evermore’. Her newest album, ‘Midnights’, was more of a techno-pop style, leaving fans intrigued as to where the next album will go. 

   “I’m hoping it’s folk, and just a little depressing like ‘Folklore’ and ‘Evermore’ because those two are my favorite albums, but I’ve heard rumors of synth-pop so we’ll see.” Rodriguez said.

   Other fans believe it may take a more pop-like path, similar to that of previous albums.

   “I’m thinking of a mixture of “Midnights” and “Folklore”, so not exactly indie, but not exactly pop either.” Chiappone said.

   If one thing is for certain, Taylor Swift always knows how to leave her fans intrigued and wanting more. The new album’s release will eventually answer any questions they may have, with a touch of her signature artistic flair.