How Taylor Swift Planned Tortured Poets Department Announcement

2024 GRAMMYs: Taylor Swift Reveals New Album ‘The Tortured Poets Department’

Checkmate. Taylor Swift couldn’t lose. 

While on stage at her latest Eras Tour show in Tokyo, the “Karma” singer revealed the chain reaction of countermoves that went into her Tortured Poets Department announcement at the Feb. 4 Grammys ceremony. It turns out, only her close friends, including producer Jack Antonoff, were aware of the tricks up her sleeve. 

“I thought, ‘If I’m lucky enough to get up there and win one thing tonight, I’m just gonna do it—I’m just gonna announce my new album, The Tortured Poets Department,'” she told the crowd Feb. 7. “Luckily enough that ended up happening. My backup plan was that I was going to do it tonight in Tokyo, but thanks to you and your support I was lucky enough to win a Grammy and tell you about it on the stage at the Grammys.”

In the days following her wins, Taylor has given more insight into her upcoming album.

I’ve been working on Tortured Poets since right after I turned in Midnights,” she continued. “You turn in albums months in advance so you can make finals, which are the best, and so I started working on it immediately after that.”

On her social media, Taylor revealed The Tortured Poets Department will have 16 tracks, including “Florida!!!” featuring Florence + the Machine, and “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone. Some songs even seemingly hint at the Miss Americana star’s old London boy Joe Alwyn—such as its fifth track, “So Long, London.” 

And Taylor’s strategy for this record rollout sets the scene for the tale. After winning the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album, the 34-year-old dropped the news. 

(Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images for The Recording Academy )

“This is my 13th Grammy, which is my lucky number, I don’t know if I’ve ever told you that,” she said on Feb. 4 while accepting the award. “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, which is that my brand new album comes out April 19.”

The “Bejeweled” singer went on to receive another historic win—her fourth Album of the Year title for Midnights—but she wasn’t the only one to walk away with some serious hardware. Read on to see all the 66th Grammy Award winners.

Album of the Year

World Music Radio – Jon Batiste
The Record – boygenius
Endless Summer Vacation – Miley Cyrus
Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd – Lana Del Rey
The Age of Pleasure – Janelle Monáe
Guts – Olivia Rodrigo
WINNER: Midnights- Taylor Swift
SOS- SZA

Record of the Year

“Worship”– Jon Batiste”
“Not Strong Enough”– boygenius
WINNER: “Flowers” – Miley Cyrus
“What Was I Made For?” – Billie Eilish
“On My Mama” – Victoria Monét
“Vampire”– Olivia Rodrigo
“Anti-Hero” – Taylor Swift”Kill Bill” – SZA

Best New Artist

Gracie Abrams
Fred again..
Ice Spice
Jelly Roll
Coco Jones
Noah Kahan
WINNER: Victoria Monét
The War and Treaty

Song of the Year

Lana Del Rey – “A&W”
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
Jon Batiste – “Butterfly”
Dua Lipa – “Dance the Night”
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”
SZA – “Kill Bill”
Olivia Rodrigo – “Vampire”
WINNER: Billie Eilish – “What Was I Made For

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

“Thousand Miles” – Miley Cyrus featuring Brandi Carlile
“Candy Necklace” – Lana Del Rey featuring Jon Baptiste
“Never Felt So Alone” – Labrinth featuring Billie Eilish
“Karma” – Taylor Swift featuring Ice Spice
WINNER: “Ghost in the Machine” – SZA featuring Phoebe Bridgers

Best Pop Vocal Album

Kelly Clarkson – Chemistry
Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation
Olivia Rodrigo – Guts
Ed Sheeran – (Subtract)
WINNER: Taylor Swift – Midnights

Best Music Video

WINNER: The Beatles – “I’m Only Sleeping” 
Tyler Childers – “In Your Love”
Billie Eilish – “What Was I Made For?” 
Kendrick Lamar – “Count Me Out”
Troye Sivan – “Rush”

Best Rap Album

Drake & 21 Savage – Her Loss
WINNER: Killer Mike – Michael
Metro Boomin – Heroes & Villains
Nas – King’s Disease III
Travis Scott – Utopia

Best Rap Song

Doja Cat – “Attention”
Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice ft. Aqua – “Barbie World”
Lil Uzi Vert – “Just Wanna Rock”
Drake & 21 Savage – “Rich Flex”
WINNER: Killer Mike ft. André 3000, Future, and Eryn Allen Kane – “Scientists & Engineers”

Best Song Written For Visual Media

Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice featuring Aqua – “Barbie World”
Dua Lipa – “Dance the Night”
Ryan Gosling – “I’m Just Ken”
Rihanna – “Lift Me Up”
WINNER: Billie Eilish – “What Was I Made For?”

Best Latin Pop Album

Pablo Alborán – La Cuarta Hoja
AleMor – Beautiful Humans, Vol. 1
Paula Arenas – A Ciegas
Pedro Capó – La Neta
Maluma – Don Juan
WINNER: Gaby Moreno – X Mí (Vol. 1)

Best Rock Album

Foo Fighters – But Here We Are
Greta Van Fleet – Starcatcher
Metallica – 72 Seasons
WINNER: Paramore – This Is Why
Queens of the Stone Age – In Times New Roman…

Best Rock Song

WINNER: Boygenius – “Not Strong Enough”
Foo Fighters – “Rescued”
Olivia Rodrigo – “Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl”
Queens of the Stone Age – “Emotion Sickness”
The Rolling Stones – “Angry”

Best Country Album

Kelsea Ballerini – Rolling Up the Welcome Mat
Brothers Osborne – Brothers Osborne
Zach Bryan – Zach Bryan
Tyler Childers – Rustin’ In the Rain
WINNER: Lainey Wilson – Bell Bottom Country

Best Country Song

Brandy Clark & Jessie Jo Dillon, songwriters, Brandy Clark – “Buried”
WINNER: Chris Stapleton & Dan Wilson, songwriters, Chris Stapleton – “White Horse”
John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin & Ryan Vojtesak, songwriters, Morgan Wallen – “Last Night”
Tyler Childers & Geno Seale, songwriters, Tyler Childers – “In Your Love”
Zach Bryan & Kacey Musgraves, songwriters, Zach Bryan ft. Kacey Musgraves – “I Remember Everything”

Best R&B Album

Babyface – Girls Night Out
Coco Jones – What I Didn’t Tell You (Deluxe)
Emily King – Special Occasion
WINNER: Victoria Monét – Jaguar II
Summer Walker – Clear 2: Soft Life EP

Best R&B Song

Coco Jones – “ICU”
Halle – “Angel”
Robert Glasper ft. SiR & Alex Isley – “Back to Love”
WINNER: SZA – “Snooze”
Victoria Monét – “On My Mama”