I Went to 'The Tortured Poets Department' And Everyone Knew You
Grammys morning after.
Some personal news: I started watching The Traitors this weekend. There will be a live chat when I watch the episode on Thursday!
When Taylor Swift took the Grammy stage to accept the award for Best Pop Vocal Album, she said it was her 13th Grammy — her lucky number. “I know that the way that the Recording Academy voted is a direct reflection of the passion of the fans,1 so I want to 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 19th. It’s called ‘The Tortured Poets Department.’”2 Swift fled the stage to post the album’s cover on Instagram.
When Swift changed her profile photos on her social media to a black and white image on Sunday afternoon, there was speculation that she’d announce the release date for the “Taylor’s Version” re-release of Reputation. Instead: lace up your saddle shoes and repost a Cleo Wade graphic on Pinterest. Taylor Swift is taking you into the Chamber of Secrets of your nearest Brandy Melville for some breakup (I’m assuming?) songs. This Emma Watson-hiding-books-in-tube-stations-in-20163-ass album title, lmao.
Announcing an album like that — on the Grammys stage, in the middle of the show — was in poor taste.4 There are so many awards to give out, the giddiness of so many first-time winners, but it seemed like the entire room deflated. Swift had eclipsed the Grammys; this was an award show that happened to coincide with her album announcement. But maybe it’s an indicator that Swift truly wasn’t anticipating winning the night’s top award (Album of the Year, for ‘Midnights’), and wasn’t sure she’d be onstage again.
It was the most surprising moment of the night, until
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Hung Up to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.