Taylor Swift Almost Didn't Announce Her New Album at the Grammys

We can usually thank Travis Kelce for spilling the Taylor Swift tea on his weekly podcast New Heights, but now that she's back on tour, the pop star is giving us the down low straight from the horse's mouth. During her first Eras Tour show in Tokyo on Feb. 7, Swift told the crowd that she wasn't certain about announcing her upcoming album, The Tortured Poet's Department, during the 2024 Grammy Awards.

"I had this plan in my head, and I told my friends — I told Jack [Antonoff], but I hadn’t really told many other people," she can be seen saying in a video taken by a concertgoer. Of course, the singer-songwriter wasn't 100% sure she would win any trophies on Sunday.

"I thought, 'OK, so if I’m lucky enough to win one thing tonight, I’m just going to do it. I’m just going to announce my new album,'" she explained to the cheering audience. "I told myself if I'm lucky enough to win anything tonight, I'm just gonna do it. I'm just gonna announce it."

She went on to say that if that plan didn't exactly pan out, then she would have made the big reveal during one of the Tokyo shows. "My backup plan was that I was gonna announce tonight in Tokyo!"

Elsewhere during the set, Swift opened up about the writing process of the new album. She revealed that she started writing it immediately after "turning in" her album Midnights, so it's been in the works for about two years.

"I’ve been working on it for about two years, I kept working on it throughout the U.S. tour," she said. "When it was prefect in my opinion — when it was good enough for you — I finished it. I am so, so excited. Soon, you'll get to hear it. Soon, we’ll get to hear it together."

The timing of the process means she was still with her ex Joe Alwyn when she began working on the album. The bonus track on Midnights titled "You're Losing Me" is widely believed to be about the demise of her and Alwyn's relationship. Antonoff revealed that the record was written in 2021, aligning with the work from the upcoming album and further fueling theories that it's about Taylor and Joe's breakup.

At the end of the day, Swift ultimately makes new music for herself.

"Everyone asks, 'Why do you make so many albums?' It's like, 'Man, because I love it so much. I'm having fun," she added. "Leave me alone.'"

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