Taylor Swift took her fans by surprise when she released not one, but two versions of her new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” within hours of each other. The standard edition was unveiled at midnight ET on Friday, featuring a 16-song tracklist announced back in February. But just two hours later, Swift dropped a deluxe edition titled “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” with a total of 31 songs.
Rumors of a double album release had been circulating earlier in the week as fans picked up on clues from Swift’s social media posts. A countdown on her website to 2 a.m. ET added to the speculation. This surprise move by Swift shocked many of her devoted fans online.
The additional songs on the deluxe edition were all written by Swift herself and coproduced with either Jack Antonoff or Aaron Dessner, with the exception of “I Look in People’s Windows,” which was coproduced with Patrik Berger. Some of these extra tracks had been hinted at before, while others were a complete surprise to fans.
As a newly minted billionaire, Swift has been flexing her economic power over the past 18 months. Her worldwide Eras Tour and concert movie have helped solidify her status as the first musician to achieve billionaire status solely through songs and performances. In a bold move to promote tourism, Singapore reportedly paid nearly $3 million per show for exclusivity to the Southeast Asian leg of her Eras Tour. Both versions of the album are now available for streaming on all major platforms for fans to enjoy.
Swift’s unexpected move was met with excitement and gratitude from her fans who appreciated the extra content and effort put into creating such an impressive collection of tracks.
Overall, Taylor Swift’s double album release was a masterful move that showcased her talent and creativity while also providing fans with more music to enjoy than they ever could have anticipated.
