Taylor Swift released her newest album on April 19, The Tortured Poets Department. She first announced the release of this album at the 2024 Grammys when she won Pop Album of the Year for Midnights. This 31-song album is labeled as a synth-pop or folk-pop genre. The album has two features, Post Malone and Florence + The Machine, which shocked me. I had a feeling this album may have more features than two. These are my top 5 songs from The Tortured Poets Department.
1. I Can Do It With a Broken Heart
“I cry a lot but I am so productive, It’s an art”
— Taylor Swift
This is not only my favorite TTPD song, but one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs of all time. The beat change in the middle of the song distracted me from how sad the lyrics of the song are. This song is about persevering through the hardest times of your life and having a smile on your face during that. I think she wrote this song about having to perform on tour while going through her breakup publicly. I have listened to this song many times since it came out and I don’t plan on stopping. My favorite lyric from the song is…
2. So High School
“You know how to ball, I know Aristotle”
— Taylor Swift
I LOVE this song so much. It’s so happy and lover vibes. This is the song I want to dance in the rain to. Anyway, there has been a lot of talk about if this song is about Travis Kelce, and I do think it is. I think it is about how she feels young and happy again being with him and not that she thinks their love is immature or short-lived. And now for the best lyric of the song…
This lyric is so High School Musical and I think this would be Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez’s song.
3. Down Bad
I think this song is very underrated. I haven’t heard many people say they like this song from the album but this is one of my favorites. The upbeat melody and the depressed lyrics work in my opinion. She uses the popular phrase “Down Bad” but puts a unique spin on it. In this context “down bad” describes how she is feeling post-breakup and loss, rather than being infatuated with someone else.
4. The Alchemy
“These blokes warm the benches, We been on a winning streak”
— Taylor Swift
This song is 100% about Travis Kelce and we all know as a huge Chiefs fan, I love this song. This song is filled with football references and she isn’t hiding it. This song is a very love song to me and the soft melody made me really like this one. This song had flooded my for you page on Tik Tok so I think I am going to get tired of it soon. But for now, I am loving this song. My favorite lyric…
5. Guilty as Sin?
This song is starting to be really popular on Tik Tok and I understand why. It is becoming a trend that many girls are getting a tattoo of “mine” on their thigh in their boyfriend’s handwriting, coming from the line, “What if he’s written ‘mine’ on my upper thigh.” Nonetheless, I like this song a lot. The song has a very catchy melody but with unexpected sad and spicy lyrics. I like this song right now but I think the more I go on Tik Tok I am going to like it less and less because it will be overplayed.
What were your favorite songs from The Tortured Poets Department?
