Taylor Swift has been hinting at the release of Reputation (Taylor's Version) for several weeks now - but it was all a "red herring" as she instead announced her 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department, after winning her 13th Grammy.
"All’s fair in love and poetry... New album THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. Out April 19," she captioned the post on Instagram. You can watch her announcement below:
The cover art sees the singer posing in a sheer black vest and black shorts on an unmade bed. Her face is only half visible, and it was taken by her longtime collaborator Beth Garrabant.
The album will feature 16 tracks plus one bonus track called 'The Manuscript'.
Earlier on Sunday February 4, 2024, the 34-year-old had given her most obvious clue yet that Reputation (TV) may be the next album as her website went down for an hour before her appearance at the 2024 Grammys, with an error message that read: “Error 321 Backend fetch failed Backend fetch failed. hneriergrd: DPT: 321”.
Meaning behind website error
However, "hneriergrd" is an anagram for "red herring," and the code 321 is a "communication error that would appear on a fax machine with a poor telephone line connection".
The lead single from the Reputation album, 'Look What You Made Me Do' features the iconic line: "The old Taylor can't come the phone right now."
Fans have long wondered if Taylor would use the Grammys to announce Reputation (Taylor's Version).
The "red herring" clue, however, had others wondering if she would instead drop a new album, and it appears that was indeed what the code stood for.
Taylor is nominated for six Grammy awards
Taylor was nominated for six awards including Album of the Year for her 2022 album Midnights and could now become the first person ever to win the accolade four times. The singer has won the major awards three times previously; for Fearless (2009), 1989 (2015), and Folklore (2021).
She is the only female artist to have won the award three times. Taylor also holds the record as being the most nominated songwriter in the Song of the Year category, with the inclusion of 'Anti-Hero' by voting members marking her seventh nod. (Taylor, however, has never won the award.)
'Glitch' singer is rerecording her albums
Taylor is re-recording her first six albums because she does not own the masters. The singer-songwriter signed a contract at 16 that did not give her ownership under her label Big Machine, and negotiations on acquiring them fell through, hence her decision to switch labels. In June 2019, it was then announced that famed artist manager Scooter Braun had purchased the label for an estimated $330 million through his holdings company Ithaca Holdings.
Taylor retaliated immediately to the news with a long and emotional Tumblr post, decrying Scott's "betrayal" and branding Scooter's behavior "incessant, manipulative bullying".
She then announced that she would be re-recording and releasing all six of her previous albums, through the publishing rights she held over her work given she is the primary songwriter for every single one of her songs.
Taylor already owns the masters of her 2019 album Lover and the albums that followed (folklore, evermore, and Midnights) due to them being under the Republic contract.