Taking the stage to claim the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album for Midnights on Sunday evening, Taylor Swift made a surprise announcement that her brand-new album, The Tortured Poets Department, would be released on April 19th, stunning legions of Swifties who’d been positive that she’d use the opportunity to state when Reputation (Taylor’s Version) would drop.
First noting that the Grammy she’d just won was her 13th, her lucky number, Swift went on, “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.” (An odd comment that probably raised some Recording Academy eyebrows.)
“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,” Swift said. “It’s called ‘The Tortured Poets Department.’”
“I’m gonna go and post the cover right now backstage,” Swift giggled, as bedlam ensued. Whether she’ll also take home a record-breaking fourth prize for Album of the Year, and potentially make another insane announcement, remains to be seen.
Photographed by Swift favorite Beth Garrabrant, the black-and-white cover shows the artist reclining on white pillows, dressed in a gauzy black top and black shorts. Her eyes are cut out of the frame, as is also the case with the cover of 1989.
Diehards almost instantly caught the fact that the album’s title sounded oddly familiar: A couple of years ago, reports made the rounds that Swift’s now-ex, Conversations With Friends actor Joe Alwyn, was in a group chat with actors Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott called the “Tortured Man Club.”
Poor Joe. His days are numbered.
