The Tartan

By Luke Erbsen

Like many devoted Swifties, I was disappointed, but not surprised by the Grammys this year. Taylor Swift’s newest album, “The Tortured Poets Department” was nominated for five Grammys: Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Record of the Year for “Fortnight” (featuring Post Malone), Song of the Year for “Fortnight” (featuring Post Malone), and Best Music Video for “Fortnight” (featuring Post Malone). Unfortunately, Swift left the 67th annual Grammys empty handed. 

This, unfortunately, is not a first for Swift. Her 2017 album, “reputation,” was also nominated for multiple Grammys and won none. “reputation” is another of Swift’s more emotionally vulnerable albums, as the songs chronicle the period in time when she was viewed as a snake due to lies Kim Kardashian and Kanye West spread about her. Swift used heavy snake imagery in the visuals and marketing for the album, effectively taking back her power. At the same time, the album offers a peek into the budding romance between Taylor Swift and now ex-boyfriend British actor Joe Alywn.

“The Tortured Poets Department” is arguably Swift’s most emotionally vulnerable album to date. The songs chronicle her breakup with Joe Alwyn, her brief fling with The 1975’s lead singer Matty Healy, and her current relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

Songs such as “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys” and “So Long London” describe the devastating end of Swift and Alywn’s relationship. “So Long London,” while emotionally devastating on its own, is more heartbreaking when paired with “London Boy” on Swift’s 2019 record “Lover.” Songs such as “But Daddy I Love Him” and “I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)” chronicle the songwriter’s brief but messy relationship with Matty Healy. While Healy was not a fan-favorite boyfriend, the songs struck a deep chord with many listeners. Many fans were able to relate to Swift’s desire to fix many of Healy’s poor attributes, to relationships of their own with less-than-savory men. Track 15, “The Alchemy,” is a classic Taylor Swift love song. It’s hard not to root for Swift and Kelce’s love.

I’m not the only one who loved Swift’s newest album. The album was already breaking records before release, becoming the most pre-saved album on Spotify. The album was released on April 19, 2024, and in only 12 hours, it became the most streamed single-day album. It became the first album to ever get 300 million streams in a single day. The record was previously held by Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter,” the recipient of the current Album of the Year award. The album broke numerous other records for streaming milestones and units sold, many of which were set by Swift herself.

Swift also claimed the top 14 spots on the Billboard’s Hot 100. “The Tortured Poets Departement” is the second album to ever simultaneously occupy all top 10 spots on the Hot 100 — the first album to do it was Swift’s “Midnights.” 

“The Tortured Poets Departement” exists as a stand-alone album. However, two hours after its release, Swift dropped an additional 15 tracks. While the main 16 songs on “The Tortured Poets Department” serve as the meatier part of the album, Swift is able to take more risks with “The Anthology.” Songs such as “So High School” and “imgonnagetyouback” act as traditional Swift pop classics, while “How Did It End?” and “The Prophecy” further explore Swift’s emotions about her past relationships. 

With a total of 31 songs, Swift serves up a bit of something for everyone. It’s hard to understand how the album did not win any of the Grammys it was nominated for. Unfortunately, it seems that the Grammys has a pattern of not awarding Taylor Swift’s most emotionally vulnerable and raw albums. Ultimately my album of the year is “The Tortured Poets Departement.”