HOLLYWOOD—How many of us can relate? So many of us have been strung along in relationships, and many of us turn to comfort food eating, chocolates and delicious desserts after a breakup. We have all been there and done that! That’s why the success of Taylor Swift is huge, because so many people can relate to her songs. Swift has turned to songwriting about personal affairs for a very long time.
She sings of heartbreak, sorrow and pain. Her latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” pinpoints the anxieties that so many of us have encountered when dating. On one of her songs on her new album, “So Long, London,” is the real puncher. She sings about what seems to be her ex-partner, Joe Alwyn. Swift has a massive billion-dollar fortune, yet behind all of that wealth, she’s just a 34-year-old woman, who understands all about time running out and finding “The One,” settling down and starting a family.
Another track, “Take Down Bad,” Swift sings: “Now, I’m down bad, crying at the gym.” The lyrics strike a nerve with many, who have experienced the depression of a breakup, which leaves many of us in tears as you try to go about in your everyday routine. Other lyrics see her too depressed to get out of bed, while in “Manuscripts,” Swift writes about comfort-eating children’s cereal. So many of us resonate with her songs. In telling the story of modern dating, Swift has never held back in writing about her exes.
Many suspect that her latest album is a dig at Alwyn and the 1975’s Matty Healy while touching on her current sweetie, NFL superstar Travis Kelce. Swift and Alwyn, an actor, split up in April 2023. When she later announced the arrival of a new album, fans immediately began to speculate it would deal with the fall-out. Her choice of album title echoed a WhatsApp group chat that Alwyn and “Normal People” star Paul Mescal had, called ‘The Tortured Man Club,’ adding to the speculation.
In “So Long, London,” she hints at wedding plans, singing;” You swore that you loved me, but where were the clues, I died on the altar waiting for the proof.” She also revealed she was upset at having to leave London, where she’d lived with Alwyn, adding that she’d “loved” the city. Another track, “But Daddy I Love Him,” is also thought to address the reported but never confirmed romance with the 1975’s lead singer Healy, last year.
Some fans, didn’t like her choice of partner, saying that Healy was an inappropriate choice of partner. Swift doesn’t name anyone in her songs, she’s a storyteller, and calls out men that show bad behavior. On April 19, Taylor Swift dropped her 11th studio album. We don’t have to tell you how successful it is. The record was broken for Spotify’s most-streamed single in a day. It contains 31 tracks in which the megastar bares her heartbreak and appears to direct anger at former partners.
Swift said the album was an anthology of new works reflecting “events, opinions and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time-one that was both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure.” According to published reports, she went on to declare that period in her life “now over.” Swift actually announced the arrival of her 11th studio album live on stage at the Grammy Awards in February. The record follows the hugely successful “Midnights,” which sold 1.6 million copies in its first week in the US two years ago. It featured the singles “Anti-Hero,” “Bejeweled” and “Karma,” and went on to win Album of the Year at the Grammys, making Swift the first person to win the award four times.
So many fans celebrated Swift’s midnight release of “The Tortured Poets Department” with listening parties and themed gatherings. Many critics praised Swift in their reviews. Swift surprised fans at 2 a.m ET with news of 15 extra songs. The album features collaborations with Malone and Florence+ the Machine. Swift described writing the album as deeply personal. “Once we have spoken our saddest story, we can be free of it,” she said.
Rose’s Scoop: Taylor Swift’s album comes hot on the heels of a busy year for the megastar, who was also declared a billionaire by Forbes magazine earlier this month. Not only did she break records on Spotify, she did the same on Apple Music and Amazon Music. “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone became Spotify’s most-streamed song in a single day.
