US singer Taylor Swift has revealed her latest release is a "secret double album" - with 15 more tracks than fans were expecting.
The 34-year-old announced on social media overnight that 'The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology' includes a second instalment.
She wrote: "It's a 2am surprise: The Tortured Poets Department is a secret DOUBLE album. I'd written so much tortured poetry in the past 2 years and wanted to share it all with you, so here's the second instalment of TTPD: The Anthology. 15 extra songs. And now the story isn't mine anymore… it's all yours."
It’s a 2am surprise: The Tortured Poets Department is a secret DOUBLE album. ✌️ I’d written so much tortured poetry in the past 2 years and wanted to share it all with you, so here’s the second installment of TTPD: The Anthology. 15 extra songs. And now the story isn’t mine… pic.twitter.com/y8pyDK8VTd
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) April 19, 2024
It's the superstar's 11th studio album and features a bumper 31 songs spilling over two hours long.
Swift announced details of the record in February this year when she won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album for 'Midnights'.
Swift is believed to have included songs about her break-ups with British actor Joe Alwyn and singer Matty Healy in the album, while a song full of American football references is thought to be inspired by her latest romance with NFL star Travis Kelce.
She began dating the athlete last year and her attendance at the Super Bowl made it to screens around the world.
Taylor Swift poses for a shoot on her new album, The Tortured Poets Department. Image: X/@taylorswift13Irish Independent Features Writer Saoirse Hanley told Newstalk Breakfast the latest release blurs the lines between fiction and reality.
"A critic who had it quite early said it was going to be a mix of 'Midnights' and 'Folklore' - two previous albums that she has," she said.
"'Folklore' and 'Evermore' that came out together were all fictional and similarly story-timey.
"From what I've heard so far there's very much a feeling of that; it does seem to be rooted in a little bit more of what might have happened in the last couple of years.
"But so much of it is so richly imagined anyway, she paints such a nice picture, you can't really decipher which part of it happened or didn't".
Taylor Swift at the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles, 7-1-24. Image: MediaPunch Inc/AlamyMs Hanley said one song particularly grabbed her attention.
"It's the first album that's come out explicitly post-break up since 2012 for her," she said.
"So I think any mention of any past love [is something] everybody wants to know about.
"The only one that I properly gave a listen to there was 'So Long, London' which has to be a goodbye to her London boyfriend.
"Whatever you read into it there's something quite lovely about what she wrote there," she added.
Swift's sold-out Eras tour makes its way to Dublin on June 28th when she kicks off three shows at the Aviva Stadium.
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