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Swifties Think Taylor Swift’s New Album References Joe Alwyn

Author Laila Abuelhawa
Taylor Swift attends the 66th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Joe Alwyn arrives at the GQ Men Of The Year Awards 2023 at The Royal Opera House on November 15, 2023 in London, England.

Taylor Swift can’t get anything past her diehard fans. Following the singer-songwriter’s announcement of her upcoming 11th studio album, Swifties made a link between the album title and how it connects to her former boyfriend. Swift announced her next album is called The Tortured Poets Department while accepting her 13th Grammy Award for Record of the Year. Fans quickly noted how Swift’s longtime boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, said he was the tortured type himself.

Swift and Alwyn dated for six years, with rumors that the couple secretly got married. As we previously reported in April of last year, the couple announced their split. A source said at the time that the breakup was amicable and “not dramatic.” The “relationship had just run its course.” Now, Swift’s upcoming album will be her first original release since the breakup. Even the album’s release date of April 19 had Swifties making connections with Alwyn. As one fan pointed out, the date signifies “the unfollowing,” which was when Swift’s inner circle unfollowed Alwyn on social media.

RELATED: Taylor Swift Breaks Grammy Record With Her 4th Album Of The Year

Swift is notorious for writing about past relationships in her music, and Alwyn already had a song written about him from her Midnights album. She admitted that the opening track, “Lavender Haze,” was about Alwyn. As a common phrase used in the ’50s, a “lavender haze” would describe being in love. She previously said, “If you were in the lavender haze, that meant you were in that all-encompassing love glow. I thought that was really beautiful.” Of her relationship, Swift said the song is about the act of ignoring other people’s opinions in order “to protect the real stuff.”

Alwyn previously revealed to Variety that he was in a WhatsApp group chat with actors Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott called “the Tortured Man Club.” Swift’s last release, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), came out in October and became her biggest album sales debut ever. Now, Swift is resuming her Eras Tour in Tokyo, Japan, for four nights later this week. She will presumably make her way back to the US after she finishes her last show in order to cheer on her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, in the upcoming Super Bowl LVIII this upcoming Sunday (February 11).

These Songs Turn 5 in 2024

It is quite baffling that 2019 was five years ago! Time really does fly by, and it seems like it wasn’t that long ago that these pop songs dropped. Billie Eilish’s debut studio album, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? released in March of that year, with her gorgeous vocals shining on tracks like “bury a friend,” “ilomilo,” and “i love you.” That same year, Lizzo’s third album, Cuz I Love You, was released the following month. She took radio waves by storm with bangers like “Truth Hurts,” “Tempo,” and “Juice.” Taylor Swift also released new music in 2019 with her seventh studio album, Lover. It was the singer-songwriter’s first album after her departure from Big Machine Records. The album featured such tracks as “Cruel Summer,” “Lover,” and “The Archer.” According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, it was the global best-selling studio album of 2019, with sales of 3.2 million copies.

New Perspectives and Artists

Ariana Grande’s fifth studio album, thank u, next, was released six months after her fourth studio album Sweetener. It was Grande’s most personal album recorded up to this point in her career, following the death of her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller and the end of her engagement to Pete Davidson. Songs like “thank u, next,” “fake smile,” and “7 rings” reflect on the artist’s personal flaws, grief and denial, as well as independence and self-empowerment. A newcomer to the pop music scene this year was Lil Nas X, who had major success the year prior with his collaboration with Billy Ray Cyrus on “Old Town Road.” His EP, 7, featured the award-winning track and the remixed version. The song went 17 times platinum in the US alone, and the music video has over 1.2 billion views on YouTube.

Take a look below at five songs that turn five in 2024:

  • 'bury a friend' -- Billie Eilish

    We love this synth-pop track, with dark and violent lyrics Eilish sings so well from the perspective of a monster under someone’s bed. She said, “Anything could be the monster — it could be someone you love so much that it’s taking over your life. I think love and terror and hatred are all the same thing.” And yeah, we know “bad guy” is on that album and yes, that’s a classic too. Don’t come at us! We just love “bury a friend.” 

  • 'Old Town Road' -- Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus

    Besides Lil Nas X’s 2021 track, “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name),” all his versions of “Old Town Road” continue to have classic status. The song initially gained popularity on TikTok and later that year, was certified diamond by the RIAA for selling ten million units in the US, making it the fastest song to be certified diamond.

  • 'Lover' -- Taylor Swift

    The title track is so timeless and it will surely be played at weddings for years to come. Swift said while recording, she imagined the production to sound like “just the last two people on a dance floor at 3 a.m. swaying.” The music video is just as romantic, but with a playful idea of Swift and her lover living the ups and downs of their life within a dollhouse.

  • 'break up with your girlfriend, i'm bored' -- Ariana Grande

    In this iconic pop R&B track, Ariana sees a guy at a club and is attracted to him, only to realize that he has a girlfriend who looks just like her — high ponytail and all. By lingering as a third wheel to the couple, he keeps looking back at Ariana. But by the end, she pushes him away and goes for his girlfriend. The video’s climax was seen as “queerbating” by some, but her choosing her lookalike insinuates she would rather love herself.

  • 'Juice' -- Lizzo

    Lizzo’s funky pop song was the lead single from Cuz I Love You. The self-esteem empowering track has an equally fun and empowering music video showcasing Lizzo’s self-love. In the video, the singer takes part in an ’80s-style workout program, late-night talk show, and selling products on an infomercial.

Laila Abuelhawa is the Top 40 and Hip-Hop pop culture writer for Beasley Media Group. Being with the company for over three years, Laila's fierce and fabulous red-carpet rankings have earned her a feature on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert!' Her favorite stories are those surrounding the latest in celebrity fashion, television and film rankings, and how the world reacts to major celebrity news. With a background in journalism, Laila's stories ensure accuracy and offer background information on stars that you wouldn't have otherwise known. She prides herself in covering stories that inform the public about what is currently happening and what is to come in the ever-changing, ever-evolving media landscape.

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Author Laila Abuelhawa
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