The opening chapter to "The Tortured Poets Department" is the lead single.
Taylor Swift shared the news on Instagram at 2 p.m. ET that her collaboration with Post Malone will hit radio stations. "Fortnight" will also be the music video that airs Friday night at 8 p.m. ET.
"The first single from The Tortured Poets Department is…………. Fortnight featuring @postmalone 🤍," Swift said on Instagram. "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. I got to witness that magic come to life firsthand when we worked together on Fortnight. Honestly can’t wait for you guys to hear this song at Midnight TONIGHT and see the video at 8pm ET TOMORROW."
Swift loves numerology and uses numbers often in her songs. A fortnight is 14 days.
In an interview with Apple Music's Zane Lowe (ahead of the Super Bowl), Post Malone said, "She's so sweet and so kind and talented and she hit me up and said, 'Let's do it.' And I was like, ‘Hell yeah.’”
Post Malone didn't discuss any other details but said he couldn't wait to hear the song.
If you didn't get the memo from the department's Chairman, "Tortured Poets" is Swift's 11th era album with 16 tracks and four bonus songs (four versions of the album each have a different bonus track).
Swift announced the project at the Grammys, when she won her 13th career Grammy for pop album of the year. Post Malone and Florence and The Machine are two contributors on the pop album.
Its track titles are brutal. Fans speculated the album was about Swift’s six-year relationship with English actor Joe Alwyn and their breakup. Both stars kept the relationship out of the public eye. The back of the first version of the album reads, “I love you, it’s ruining me,” serving as a dagger-to-the-chest harbinger.
The album was released during Swift's two-month break from her massively popular and economically fruitful Eras Tour. "Tortured Poets" serves as an exclamation point to the behemoth success the billionaire has seen over the past year since the three-plus-hour show launched in Glendale, Arizona. Swift will return to the stage in Paris, France, on May 9. Fans anticipate that her newest era will be added to the show.
Don't miss any Taylor Swift news; sign up for the free, weekly newsletter "This Swift Beat."
Follow Taylor Swift reporter Bryan West on Instagram, TikTok and X as @BryanWestTV.
