Adding 20 new songs to her discography, American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift announced her upcoming 11th album titled “The Tortured Poets Department” at the 2024 Grammy Awards on Feb. 4. The album has sixteen tracks, plus four bonus tracks, titled “The Manuscript,” “The Bolter,” “The Albatross” and “The Black Dog.” The announcement came after Swift, along with several people associated with her, changed their social media profile pictures to black and white, including Chiefs player Travis Kelce and actress Blake Lively.

Swift made the announcement during her acceptance speech, after her tenth studio album, “Midnights,” was named Album of the Year. Swift is the first person to win this honor four times. 

“I wanna say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I’ve been keeping from you for the last two years,” Swift said. “Which is that my brand new album comes out April 19. It’s called the ‘Tortured Poets Department.’” 

Swift posted the album cover to social media shortly after the announcement was made, along with an image of a note reading, “And so I enter into evidence / My tarnished coat of arms / My muses, acquired like bruises / My talismans and charms / The tick, tick, tick of love bombs / My veins of pitch black ink / All’s fair in love and poetry…” The note is signed, “The Chairman of the Tortured Poets Department.” 

The album appears to have a melancholic aesthetic. The cover features a black and white picture of Swift lying on a bed, the upper part of her face cut out of the frame. The back cover features Swift with her face in her hand, alongside the album’s tracklist. The text on the photo reads, “I love you, it’s ruining my life.” Swift has since released alternate covers for the album with other phrases over new images. 

Swift will release four different editions of “The Tortured Poets Department” on vinyl and CDs, each with a unique cover and bonus track. Swift is no stranger to releasing different editions of records for fans to collect. In October of last year, Swift released five separate versions of “1989 (Taylor’s Version).” Each vinyl was a different color. 

On social media, some fans complained that this was simply a marketing ploy to entice people to buy more records, stating that there is no reason to own multiple copies of the exact same album. Swift has also been criticized for the environmental impact of making these vinyls and overconsumption of them by her fans. 

Last year, it was reported that Swift and British actor Joe Alwyn ended their relationship. Alwyn is rumored to be the main inspiration for the album, as he was reportedly once in a group chat called “The Tortured Man Club” with several other actors. It has been speculated that this may have been the origin of the album’s title. 

“The Tortured Poets Department” is set for release April 19.