WHETHER calculated or not, it was a brilliantly timed move by Taylor Swift to announce her impending new album upon accepting the Grammy for best pop vocal album on Feb 5.

“I want to say thank you to the members of the Recording Academy for voting this way, but I know that the way that the Recording Academy voted is a direct reflection of the passion of the fans,” she said.

“So I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I have been keeping from you for the last two years, which is that my brand new album comes out on April 19th. It’s called The Tortured Poets Department.”

Immediately afterwards, a new post appeared on Swift’s Instagram, revealing the album’s possible artwork. The post also included a handwritten note that reads like a lyric excerpt.

In less than 24 hours, the post raked in almost 13.5 million likes. For most fans, the new album was surprising, as many expected her to announce Reputations, one of the last two remaining albums in her Taylor’s Version re-recording project.

The album news capped off a successful year for Swift, who was nominated for six Grammys and won two. The other win was the Grammy for best album of the year, thanks to her 2022 album Midnights.

It was a monumental win, cementing Swift as the first artiste to win in the Grammys’ best album of the year category four times.