Taylor Swift revealed the title of her fourth variation of her upcoming album “The Tortured Poets Department,” while performing in Singapore on Sunday—though what distinguishes these albums is simply different album art and a single bonus track.
Key facts
- Swift is releasing four versions of her latest album and each one is named after a bonus track appearing only on that variation.
- The fourth variant of the album will be called “The Black Dog,” Swift revealed to fans Sunday and will join “The Manuscript,” “The Bolter” and “The Albatross,” to make up the four versions of Swift’s upcoming album.
- Each version of “The Tortured Poets Department” will include its own bonus track and features different cover art.
- The only clue given is a phrase included on the album: “Old habits die screaming.”
- Swift previously announced the second cover and its track “The Bolter” during a tour stop in Melbourne, and the third cover and its track “The Albatross,” during a tour stop in Sydney.
- The original album includes the track “The Manuscript.”
What to watch for
“The Tortured Poets Department” will be released April 19.
Big number
17. That’s the number of songs that will appear on each version of the album.
All four variations of “The Tortured Poets Department” will have the same 16 songs and the 17th song will be different depending on the version of the album someone purchases. All together Swift will be releasing 20 new songs next month.
Surprising fact
Each variation of the “The Tortured Poets Department” also features a different break-up phrase written on the back cover of the album. For “The Manuscript” the phrase written on the back cover of the album is “I love you, it’s ruining my life.”
The back cover of the second variation, “The Bolter,” features the phrase “You don’t get to tell me about sad.” On the back of the third variation, “The Albatross,” Swift wrote, “Am I allowed to cry.”
The final and fourth variation, “The Black Dog,” features the phrase “Old habits die screaming.”
Key background
Swift surprised fans last month when she announced her latest album while accepting the award of best pop vocal album, “Midnights,” at the 2024 Grammys.
During her acceptance speech for her 13th Grammy, Swift said she wanted to repay fans for their support by announcing her latest album. “The Tortured Poets Department” will be Swift’s 11th studio album.
There’s been much speculation on the album’s content and the potential it surrounds Swift’s previous six-year relationship with actor Joe Alwyn. Fans have been hard at work trying to find references to Alwyn and others in the songs’ titles and the back cover phrases.
Soon after Swift announced her 11th album, fans found a 2022 interview where Alwyn revealed that he, Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott have a WhatsApp group text called “The Tortured Man Club.”
What we don’t know
Swift has a handful of stops left in Singapore before she goes on a two-month break from her record-breaking worldwide “Eras” tour. It remains unclear if when Swift returns to the tour in May she will play any of her new songs from “The Tortured Poets Department” at her shows.
This article was first published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
