Taylor Swift Reveals 'Tortured Poets' Timeline During Tokyo Eras Tour Stop

The singer also jokes about the breakneck speed at which she's turning out new albums these days.

Days after announcing the news of her forthcoming 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, Taylor Swift is dropping new breadcrumbs about the timeline behind it. 

The 34-year-old songstress resumed her Eras Tour in Tokyo, Japan on Feb. 7, revealing when she started working on Tortured Poets and how she's been able to turn around an eye-popping number of albums in such a short period of time. 

"I've been working on Tortured Poets since right after I turned in Midnights," she told the audience at the Tokyo Dome, clarifying that albums are submitted "months in advance" so they can be finalized. 

Midnights was released in October 2022 and, on Sunday, won Album of the Year at the 66th GRAMMY Awards. The feat made Swift the first artist to ever receive the honor four times, after she previously won for Fearless, 1989 and Folklore. In the time since Midnights dropped, Swift has also notably released two rerecorded albums: Speak Now (Taylor's Version) and the record-breaking 1989 (Taylor's Version)

"I've been working on it for about two years," she said of Tortured Poets. "I kept working on it throughout the U.S. tour and when it was perfect, in my opinion, when it was good enough for you, I finished it." 

She continued, "I am so, so excited that soon you'll get to hear it, soon we'll get to experience that together, and I'm just like, I'm over the moon about the fact that you guys care about my music. It still blows my mind. I love doing this, I know I keep saying that, but that's because it's true.'" 

Swift joked that she's been asked on numerous occasions, "Why do you make so many albums?" She replies, "Man, because I love it. I love it so much." 

She added, "I'm having fun, leave me alone." 

Taylor Swift performs onstage during "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour" at Tokyo Dome on February 7, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan. - Christopher Jue/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
Taylor Swift performs onstage during "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour" at Tokyo Dome on February 7, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan. - Christopher Jue/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

In the afterglow of her big GRAMMYs night, Swift again thanked her fans for their passionate support of her music -- which she says had a "direct reflection" on the Recording Academy's decision to honor her with awards. 

"This is just the craziest, most joyful experience," she gushed. "And then getting to come here and then get to thank you and see you right after that happened, I'm just, I'm in a really good mood." 

While many fans expected Swift to announce a release date for Reputation (Taylor's Version) at the GRAMMYs, news that Swift had already finished a completely original album took many by surprise -- and sent Swiftie sleuths into overdrive to uncover clues about its origin and inspiration.

Quickly, a 2022 video of Swift's ex-boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, resurfaced in which he revealed that he was in a group chat with friends called "The Tortured Mans Club."  The former couple was in a relationship for six years before ET broke the news of their split in April 2023

On Monday, Swift revealed a track list of 17 songs that included "Fortnight," featuring Post Malone, and "Florida!!!," including Florence + the Machine. But it was the track "So Long, London" that caught many eyes, with Swifties wondering if it might also be a reference to Alwyn, who is English. 

One fan went so far as to map out an exhaustive timeline of publicly available knowledge surrounding their romance and split. 

In an Instagram post on Sunday, Swift showed off the album's cover art, which is a black-and-white pic of her lying on a bed surrounded by pillows.

The second slide of the post featured a handwritten page of what appeared to be lyrics, which read, "And so I enter into evidence / My tarnished coat of arms / My muses, acquired like bruises / My talismans and charms / The tick, tick, tick of love bombs / My veins of pitch black ink."

Wednesday's Eras show marks Swift's first tour date after a two month hiatus. She's scheduled to perform four nights in Tokyo, wrapping up on Feb. 10. Then, Swift will presumably head back to the United States to attend Super Bowl LVIII,, where her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and his Kansas City Chiefs will take on the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Feb. 11. 

A source told ET on Monday, "Travis has never felt more supported by a significant other ever. This is just the beginning for them as a couple and many milestones are coming their way. Taylor and Travis make time for each other because they want to. They both take so much pride in the importance of family and love bringing their families and close-knit circles together. They are genuine, honest, loving and forthright with each other across the board. They both continually encourage one another to be the best that they can be."

Another source added, "Travis is in love with Taylor and he's never been happier. Taylor's feelings are mutual and she is so happy and feels comfortable with Travis. She loves that she can be open with their relationship, live her life, and enjoy this special time together." 

The Tortured Poets Department will be released worldwide on April 19. 

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