Taylor Swift’s new album, The Tortured Poets Department became Spotify’s most-streamed debut album ever.
The Tortured Poets Department, released on April 19, exceeded 300 million streams in a single day. The album broke previous records held by Taylor’s Midnights and 1989 (Taylor’s Version).
Her song “Fortnight (featuring Post Malone),” became Spotify’s most-streamed song in a single day.
Taylor also released the music video for “Fortnight (featuring Post Malone),” in which she sings that she’s a “functioning alcoholic.” See the music video below.
FYI: “Fortnight” is a British term that means 2 weeks.
The Tortured Poets Department contains 16 tracks. A second album, The Tortured Poets Department: Anthology, also released on April 19, features 15 additional tracks.
The double album is projected to sell over 2 million units in the first week, surpassing Midnights (2022), which sold 1.6 million.
But some people criticized Taylor’s new project.
Her new song, “I Hate It Here” drew backlash for its lyrics.
On the track, she sings about the era she wished she lived in. “I’d say the 1830s but without all the racists and getting married off for the highest bid.”
She continued: “Everyone would look down ’cause it wasn’t fun now / Seems like it was never even fun back then / Nostalgia is a mind’s trick / If I’d been there, I’d hate it.”
Fans were troubled by the lyrics. “Y’all.. there are so many wrong things about this,” one fan wrote.
“‘I’d say the 1830s but without all the racists’ now Taylor,” another user commented.
“It’s an interesting commentary on how we sometimes idealize certain eras without fully considering the realities of living in them,” a third person wrote.
