Taylor Swift shocks fans with "heartbreak" playlists ahead of The Tortured Poets Department

New York, New York - Taylor Swift has launched The Tortured Poets Department era with a look back on her past work – providing some surprising confessions in the process.

Taylor Swift has released five playlists sorting her past music into stages of heartbreak –seemingly spilling some major details about her personal life in the process.
Taylor Swift has released five playlists sorting her past music into stages of heartbreak –seemingly spilling some major details about her personal life in the process.  © IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

The 34-year-old pop star teamed up with Apple Music on Friday to share five playlists meant to represent the five stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

But here, grief is not connected to a loss of life but instead to the loss of a relationship and the challenging process of recovering from heartbreak.

Each playlist title borrows a tagline from one of Swift's variant editions of The Tortured Poets Department, which is due out later this month.

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The first playlist, representing denial, is titled "I Love You, It's Ruining My Life" and includes songs like Wildest Dreams, Lover, and Lavender Haze.

In a message attached to the playlist, Swift said that the songs connect to the experience of "getting so caught up in the idea of something that you have a hard time seeing the red flags."

This compilation – which features plenty of sentimental tracks assumed to be about her ex, Joe Alwyn – has again hinted at the new album's forthcoming revelations about what went wrong in the six-year romance before it came to an end last April.

Taylor Swift reflects on heartbreak after Joe Alwyn split

Taylor Swift (l.) and Joe Alwyn split in April 2023 after six years together.
Taylor Swift (l.) and Joe Alwyn split in April 2023 after six years together.  © Collage: Amy Sussman / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP & Julie SEBADELHA / AFP

Seeing songs like Sweet Nothing – which was co-written by Swift and Alwyn – on the "denial" playlist sent shockwaves through the singer's fandom, to say the very least, and it has sent anticipation for the new album into overdrive.

Further revelations came from the "bargaining" playlist titled "Am I Allowed to Cry?" thanks to the inclusions of Cornelia Street, peace, and The Great War.

The songs are famously connected to the Grammy winner's romance with Alwyn, touching on the many near-ends of the relationship amid the outside pressure her career has brought forth.

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As Swifties attempt to recover from the latest revelations, the countdown to The Tortured Poets Department has entered the final stretch.

With fan theories about a potential lead single falling short once again, Swifties will have to wait until April 19 to finally hear what The Tortured Poets Department has to offer.

Cover photo: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

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