Taylor Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, isn’t set to officially drop until tomorrow night, but whoever posted a Google Drive leak of audio files bearing the 16 track names from the main album; plus one of the bonus tracks and and screenshots of alleged lyrics, clearly didn’t care too much about official business.
The seemingly authentic leaked tracks dropped Wednesday evening and have officially disseminated into all corners of the internet, defying copyright removals on X and on other platforms.
As such, Swifties have spent all day combing through the illicit offerings rather than doing anything else productive. And opinions among the community of passionate fans who track the pop star’s every utterance are thoroughly divided.
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And the biggest question on everyone’s minds is, are all these songs actually about Matty Healy???
Swift herself has not acknowledged the massive breach the leak represents. At 2 p.m. on Thursday, she made her first Instagram appearance since the leaks, announcing on main that the first single, “Fortnight,” 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,” Swift wrote in her caption. “I got to witness that magic come to life firsthand when we worked together on Fortnight. Honestly can’t wait for you guys to hear this song at Midnight TONIGHT and see the video at 8pm ET TOMORROW.”
Perhaps those all-caps were just a bit pointed?
Swift’s follow-up album to Midnights, the 2022 hit that took home the Grammy for Album of the Year, was always going to be divisive. But the pop star appears to have leaned all the way against expectations and made almost an entire album about Matty Healy, with whom she had a brief fling last year, instead of her actor ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn, whom she dated for six years (and fans had long speculated would take the brunt of the lyrical hits on Tortured Poets).
This is a particularly egregious offense to certain members of her fan base because who couldn’t stomach their fave associating herself with someone who (among other things) openly laughed at someone calling Ice Spice “a chubby Chinese lady” and made cracks about masturbating to “Ghetto Gaggers” pornography.
The ire against Healy grew stronger until Swift eventually dropped him. Now, some of her fan base would prefer that he was left thoroughly in the past.
But with scores of alleged lyrics evidently referring directly to Healy’s taste for typewriters and struggles with drug addiction on the new album, it suddenly seems clear: Swift was super down bad for him, no matter how problematic he was.
Other Swifties who bashed her ex, Joe Alwyn, for months online based on the assumption that he cheated on her, are also now singing a different tune, based on the alleged leaked track “So Long, London.” In the audio, Swift sings about gradually drifting away from a depressed partner—no big betrayal drama here, folks.
“Imagine you’re Joe Alwyn,” one person tweeted. “Your only form of income is residuals from Conversations with Friends. You’re bracing yourself for your lunatic ex to eviscerate you for 16 songs. Then all she calls you is broke and depressed then says she’s gonna khs over a 2 month situationship.”
Still other Swifties, total purists, have resisted entertaining the potential validity of the leaks altogether—plugging their ears and avoiding TikTok lest they hear any unauthorized snippets.
And what about Travis Kelce, Swift’s current beau? Does he get any shine at all? While nothing will be 100 percent certain until the album officially drops, some listeners think that leaked audio purported to be “The Alchemy,” track 15 on the album, refers to the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, including the line, “where’s the trophy he just comes running over to me.”
Swift can’t be thrilled about the alleged leak, so let’s hope at least that Kelce is happy with his apparent shoutout.
