Taylor Swift Album Announcement Causes Headache

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Taylor Swift is no stranger to breaking the internet, but that does not mean her fans still were not frustrated at the latest glitch.

Many complained about issues with her website after she announced a surprise new album during her acceptance speech at Sunday's Grammy Awards.

Swift made history at the ceremony by winning Album of the Year for the fourth time for her record-breaking album, Midnights.

taylor swift at grammys
Taylor Swift accepts the Album Of The Year award for “Midnights” onstage during the 66th GRAMMY Awards on February 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. She also announced a new album during her acceptance speech.... Kevin Winter/Getty Images

But it was during her acceptance speech earlier in the night for Best Pop Vocal Performance that she sent her fans into meltdown. She revealed she was dropping a whole new album on April 19.

"Okay this is my 13th Grammy. Which is my lucky number... if I've ever told you that," she began.

"I know that the way the Recording Academy voted is a direct reflection of the passion from the fans. 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 April 19, it's called The Tortured Poets Department, I'm going to go and post the cover right now back stage, thank you I love you."

Much like every other major Swift event online, including trying to buy tickets for The Eras World Tour and subsequent concert movie, her fans rushed to the website to get their hands on the album to encounter major technical glitches.

Those in line to pre-order the album faced long waiting times to checkout, with some even saying they were told it could take up to 90 minutes to make the payment.

"Omg YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME?! A 40 min wait in the checkout?! Wtf" wrote one person on X, formerly Twitter.

Another added: "Dude I'm so upset I missed the drop. I didn't know. And now it's saying my wait time is over half an hour to checkout!"

And a third wrote: "taylor swift the woman you are 23 MINUTE QUEUE TO CHECKOUT?!!!???!"

Prior to Swift's announcement, her website had appeared to crash with fans on X speculating it was done deliberately in anticipation of her big announcement during the Grammys.

The Tortured Poets Department is available to pre-order in a number of different packages from limited edition vinyl to cassettes and CDs.

The limited edition versions of the 16-track album include the bonus song, "The Manuscript," a collectible 24-page book-bound jacket with three handwritten lyrics and never-before-seen photos.

UPDATE: 1:15 a.m ET. This article was updated to include additional information.

About the writer

Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, newspapers and broadcast, specializing in entertainment, politics, LGBTQ+ and health reporting. Shannon has covered high profile celebrity trials along with industry analysis of all the big trends in media, pop culture and the entertainment business generally. Shannon stories have featured on the cover of the Newsweek magazine and has been published in publications such as, The Guardian, Monocle, The Independent, SBS, ABC, Metro and The Sun. You can get in touch with Shannon by email at s.power@newsweek.com and on X @shannonjpower. Languages: English, Greek, Spanish.



Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more