Taylor Swift fans are gearing up to decode a raft of her new music when her 11th studio album The Tortured Poets Department is released on Friday.
The tracklist for the record has already offered hints on whether songs will refer to her English ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn and a new video has dropped further easter eggs for Swifties to pore over.
A post on Instagram, captioned “The TTPD Timetable”, reveals a music video will be released on Friday night and includes a host of other clues.
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The video opens on a clock showing the time 2pm, before the camera pans over a room littered with a guitar and Swift’s vinyl albums and screwed up paper.
The camera then moves down a white corridor and through the keyhole of a door labelled The Tortured Poets Department.
The white room on the other side features another clock showing 2pm, as well as two white desks with black typewriters and black and white coffee cups on them, before the camera pans to the noticeboard with the timetable on it reading “The Tortured Poets Department Release Day” and “8 p.m. ET music video release!!”
A tally below adds up to 14.
The US superstar parted ways with The Favourite actor Alwyn last year after six years together and speculation has been rife that she will offer an insight into their split in her new music.
She has since begun a high-profile romance with NFL star Travis Kelce, with whom she recently attended the Coachella music festival.
A song called So Long, London appears at number five in the tracklist – the slot reserved by Swift for the most meaningful song on each of her albums.
This could be a reference to a previous song, London Boy, from her album Lover, about spending time in the capital with Alwyn and his friends.
Fans have also speculated whether the album title is a reference to Alwyn.
In December 2022, Alwyn and Normal People star Paul Mescal revealed they had a WhatsApp group chat with Fleabag actor Andrew Scott called The Tortured Man Club.
Joe Alwyn and Paul Mescal have a WhatsApp group with Andrew Scott called "The Tortured Man Club."
"It hasn't had much use recently," Alwyn says.
"I feel like we're less tortured now," Mescal quips. https://t.co/CSai4ScQpz pic.twitter.com/veCp1ZdFsD— Variety (@Variety) December 15, 2022
At the time they joked they were not using it as much any more because they were less tortured.
News of Alwyn and Swift’s split emerged less than four months later.
Fans have also speculated that tracks such as Down Bad, But Daddy I Love Him, I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can), and I Can Do It With A Broken Heart could also be inspired by Alwyn.
Swift is known for writing songs about her ex-boyfriends, with previous flames Joe Jonas, Harry Styles, Jake Gyllenhaal and John Mayer among those who have been linked to some of her biggest hits.
The album also includes a song titled Florida!!! featuring UK-based band Florence + The Machine, and a track named Fortnight featuring Circles singer Post Malone.
Other song titles include Guilty As Sin?, The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, and Clara Bow, while the bonus song is titled The Manuscript.
Swift will bring her Eras tour to the UK from June 7, when she kicks off with three shows in Edinburgh.
The run of London shows begins on June 21.
