It’s “Fortnight” Friday!
Taylor Swift has officially dropped her first music video off of her 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”
The 34-year-old musician released her new music overnight Friday, with a second batch of songs at 2 a.m., making it a surprise double album.
The track features Post Malone and is rumored to be about Matty Healy, as “Fortnight” means a two-week span. She briefly dated the 1975 frontman following her split from Joe Alwyn after six years.
“I was supposed to be sent away but they forgot to come and get me/I was a functioning alcoholic ‘til nobody noticed my new aesthetic,” she sings.
“All of this to say I hope you’re OK, but you’re the reason/And no one here’s to blame but what about your quiet treason,” she goes on. “And for a fortnight there we were/ Forever running to you.”
The music video kicks off by featuring multiple desks and the sound of typewriters clicking. In an all-white room, Swift — wearing a garter and dressed in a wedding gown reminiscent of her Grammys 2024 dress — lays on a bed with no mattress as it hangs from the ceiling.
The video also features Swift and Malone (with no face tattoos) dressed in black as they type, embracing while surrounded by paper being blown in the air and the “So Long, London” songstress getting tested on in a lab by none other than actors Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles.
Hawke and Charles co-starred in 1989’s “Dead Poets Society,” a clear nod to her album title.
“When I was writing the Fortnight music video, I wanted to show you the worlds I saw in my head that served as the backdrop for making this music. Pretty much everything in it is a metaphor or a reference to one corner of the album or another. For me, this video turned out to be the perfect visual representation of this record and the stories I tell in it,” Swift wrote via Instagram shortly after its release Friday.
“@postmalone blew me away on set as our tortured tragic hero and I’m so grateful to him for everything he put into this collaboration,” she continued. “I’m still laughing from getting to work with the coolest guys on earth, @ethanhawke and @mrjoshcharles (tortured poets, meet your colleagues from down the hall, the dead poets).”
The Grammy-winning artist revealed on April 18 that “Fortnight” would be her first single off the new album.
“I’ve been such a huge fan of Post because of the writer he is, his musical experimentation and those melodies he creates that just stick in your head forever,” Swift wrote on Instagram at the time. “I got to witness that magic come to life firsthand when we worked together on Fortnight.”
Here’s what to know about Taylor Swift’s new album ‘The Tortured Poets Department’:
- The 14-time Grammy winner released her highly anticipated 11th studio album “The Tortured Poets Department” on Friday.
- Swift sent her fans into a frenzy at 2 a.m. after revealing the record is a double album. Titled “The Anthology,” Swift’s late-night surprise includes 15 bonus tracks, bringing the total song count to a whopping 31.
- Swift initially unveiled her 16-song album at midnight, including collaborations with Post Malone and Florence Welch on two tracks. There are also four bonus tracks, “The Manuscript,” “The Bolter,” “The Albatross,” and “The Black Dog” that are featured on various vinyl versions of the album. The four tracks, as well as 11 new songs, are included in “The Anthology.”
- A poem about heartbreak that serves as a prologue for the album was written by Fleetwood Mac alum Stevie Nicks.
- There are several celeb names peppered throughout the album’s lyrics, the mention of singer Charlie Puth’s name took some Swifties by surprise.
- While some of Swift’s exes aren’t spared on “TTPD,” the singer, 34, does seemingly reference her current beau Travis Kelce on the new album’s track “The Alchemy” in a loving way.
- As for her exes, 1975 frontman Matty Healy is reportedly referenced throughout the 31-song-strong record. In fact, Healy — who, before their summer split, was a rebound romance for the pop superstar following her breakup with British actor Joe Alwyn after six years — appears to be the subject of the vicious takedown “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.” Other fans, however, may speculate the “sparkling summer” line is about Alwyn. There are also hints that “I Can Fix Him” (No Really I Can)” — gotta love that title — might be about 35-year-old Healy.
- As for Alwyn, Swift dropped hints at the pair’s ill-fated 6-year romance for a good — or for him, not so good — part of the album. Check out the 10 Alwyn-related references we’ve spotted.
- Read The Post’s review of “The Tortured Poets Department” here.
- Shop special-edition vinyls of Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” at Target.
- Buy “The Tortured Poets Department” Ghosted White 2 LP special edition set now.
Last year, Malone revealed that the pair had recently hung out during an interview with Howard Stern.
“I recently got to hang out with her and she is genuinely one of the most kind and considerate and a f—— hell of a songwriter. Holy s—, amazing. Absolutely amazing,” he said at the time.
And in February, she — along with millions of others — watched on as Malone performed “America the Beautiful” before the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers squared off in Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas. Swift’s boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, would go on to win the championship.
“The Tortured Poets Department” includes 31 tracks in total, and — according to Swifties — includes several Easter eggs about Alwyn, Healy, John Mayer and more.