Taylor Swift fans were overjoyed on Sunday night after the singer announced her upcoming album the Tortured Poets Department which is due for release this April 19th.
And in true Swiftie fashion, fans have been on the lookout for any potential easter eggs and one fan in particular believes they have cracked a new theory.
Taking to Twitter on Wednesday to share their evidence, they suggested that The Tortured Poets Department is in fact part of a trilogy and marks the first installment, in what will eventually be three albums.
The devotee posed the theory: ‘THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT IS PART OF A TRILOGY AND THERE ARE TWO MORE ALBUMS/EDITIONS TO COME.
‘read the thread for easter eggs and timelines because this is getting suspiciouSSS and the evidence is INSANE’.
Referring back to one of Taylor’s recent Tweets, which read: ‘How many secretsss do we think are hiding in that hair?’ the fan suggested that the three ‘s’ imply a trilogy.
She wrote: ‘@taylornation13 posts there are “secretSSS” NOTICE THE 3?? Everyone immediately thinks Rep TV because of a snake hiss but that is just a distraction with the intent to trick us’.
Continuing her evidence, she shared a screenshot of when Taylor’s website crashed with the error message DPT: 321.
She explained: ‘Taylor’s website shut downs with fake error messages and coding. People guess “red herring” not really sure what it means and no one knows what DPT: 321 means (DPT later gets solved as Tortured Poets Department) but the 321 is overlooked just like “secretSSS” was’.
Appearing at the Grammy Awards on Sunday evening the star donned a clock necklace with fans assuming the hands were set to midnight in reference to her latest album, for which she won Best Album of The Year.
However the fan suggested the clock hands were also pointed at the number three.
‘@taylorswift13 wears a clock necklace. The clock hands are pointed to midnight, which everyone assumes is for the Midnights album because of it being nominated for the Grammys. The clock hands are in the position of 3 because it’s sideways but we were distracted again.’
Collating more evidence she also hunted for clues in her Grammy winning speech that linked to seemingly random pictures she has been posting recently.
‘@taylorswift13 states in her speech that she’s been keeping a secret for the last two years and puts up the number two then announces #THETORTUEDPOETSDEPARTMENT which takes me back to when she recently put up a 1 and a 3 in photos for posts non related’.
Posting the album cover, on Monday, the star also shared a note with some of one of the song’s lyrics which read ‘Tick tick tick’.
Believing the three ‘tick’s also points to a trilogy she added: ‘@taylorswift13 posts the album cover with this note. Tick, Tick, Tick is stated THREE times. It’s signed by the chairman which leads us to believe there are more people in the department or more of something else? She also mentioned evidence- more on that late’.
Commenting on the logo for the Tortured Poets Department, the fan also suggested the initials TPD look like the Roman numeral for three when blended together.
She also revealed that the limited edition CD shows a file called Artifacts with the File Name: The Manuscript, suggesting there are more files and The Manuscript is just one of three.
After a monumental amount of evidence, other fans jumped on board the new theory as they digested the new information.
One wrote: ‘This was insane and I believe it. Haha’ and a second added: ‘NO BECAUSE I BELIEVE THIS 100%’.
Another penned: ‘This is so impressive. I’m amazed how swifties pick up on these clues.’
Another suggested: ‘Do you think there being three different TIME covers could be anything? Just brainstorming here.’
Another joked: ‘I’ve been in bed sick for a week with lots of time on my hands and I am ALSO GOING INSANE’.
Another went as far as too suggest the braid in her hair on Sunday evening also pointed to a trilogy as it was formed of three strands of hair plaited together.
It comes after Taylor also sent fans wild after she shared the track listing for the record, which includes collaborations with Post Malone and Florence + the Machine.
Overnight fans were going mad for the song names, linking some of them to her former boyfriends Harry Styles and Joe Alwyn.
One eagle-eyed Twitter user pointed out that there is a track called So Long, London – which could refer to British-born Joe, 32.
One penned: ‘Joe alwyn and his publicist seeing ‘so long, london’ just drop on the tracklist…’
Another referring to Joe read: ‘so long, london, the smallest man who ever lived, my boy only breaks his favorite toys, i can fix him (no really i can) BYE JOE ALWYN.’
Another fan wrote: ‘SO LONG LONDON?? I LOVE YOU ITS RUINING MY LIFE?? Joe Alwyn count your days #THETORTUEDPOETSDEPARTMENT.’
Taylor was in a relationship with actor for six years before their shock split in early 2023.
In addition some think the album title is a reference to Joe too and could be a savage nod to the group chat Joe shared with pals Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott.
Back in 2022, Joe revealed a mutual friend created a WhatsApp group with him and Paul called The Tortured Man Club.
They later explained to Variety that Andrew ‘started the group,’ with Paul saying: ‘He’s just on it every day. He’s just on it by himself.’
Joe jokingly added: ‘Just messaging himself good mornings.’
Fans went wild, with one penning on X: ‘THIS IS THE BREAKUP ALBUM’
Another wrote: ‘I hope for Joe’s sake that he still has that group chat. I feel like he’s gonna need it’
Others made the connection to singer Harry Styles, 30, after the tracklist was revealed.
One noted a song called ‘loml’ which could be a reference to one of Harry’s songs called Love of My Life.
A fan shared a screenshot of the songs next to each other and wrote on Twitter: ‘No im sorry…’
Another fan pointed out that one of Taylor’s new tracks is called But Daddy I Love Him – after Harry was once seen wearing a T-shirt with the logo But Daddy I Love Him on it.
The fan shared the snap of Harry in the outfit alongside the track name and excitedly wrote: ‘EXCUSE ME ?!?!!!!!!!’
Taylor and Harry dated from late 2012 until early 2013, and the star has penned several songs about him in the past.
Taylor shared the full track list for her brand new album Tortured Poets Department on Monday night which includes collaborations with two top artists.
Post Malone and Florence + the Machine will feature on the record which will be released on April 19.
Taylor took to Instagram to share a photo of some artwork for the record, which featured a black and white photo of herself and ‘I love you, it’s ruining my life’ written over her shoulder as well as the list of songs.
Side A begins with the Post Malone collaboration, Fortnight, and is followed by the album’s title track, My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys and Down Bad.
While Side B has So Long, London, But Daddy I Love Him, Fresh Out the Slammer, and Florida!!!, with the latter song featuring Florence + the Machine.
Side C offers Guilty as Sin?, Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?, I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can), and ‘Ioml’.
The final part of the album, Side D, has I Can Do It With a Broken Heart, The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, The Alchemy, Clara Bow and bonus track The Manuscript.
In reference to the album’s release date, the post was simply captioned: ‘April 19 [white heart emoji].’
The Blank Space songstress announced the release of her album when she picked up the Best Pop Vocal Album for Midnights at the Grammy Awards.
She said in her acceptance speech: ‘I want to say thank you to the members of the Recording Academy for voting this way.
‘But I know that the way that the Recording Academy voted is a direct reflection of the passion of the fans.
‘So I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I’ve been keeping from you for the last two years, which is that my brand new album comes out on April 19.’
It comes after Travis Kelce was full of praise about his girlfriend Taylor’s upcoming album, calling it ‘unbelievable.’
The NFL star, 34, confirmed he has heard bits of the record.
‘I have heard some of it, yes, and it’s unbelievable,’ the Kansas City Chiefs tight end gushed at a press conference in Las Vegas, ahead of the Super Bowl, as per The Kansas City Star.
‘I can’t wait for her to shake up the world when it finally drops,’ Travis — who admitted he hasn’t spoken with Taylor since her night at the Grammys — added.
Kelce played coy about revealing his favorite song off the new album — after Taylor shared the 17-song track list earlier in the day — and replied, ‘I can neither confirm nor deny that.’
Kelce did however reveal his overall favorite Taylor song.
‘Right now, I’d probably say ‘Anti-Hero’ just ’cause I hear it every single day,’ he said.
As for Taylor’s big wins at the Grammys, he said: ‘She’s unbelievable. She’s rewriting the history books herself. I told her I’d have to hold up my end of the bargain and come home with some hardware, too.’
Kelce also noted the influence Swift has had on bringing new fans to football: ‘She’s definitely brought a lot of new faces to the game,’ he said.
‘Taylor has an unbelievable fan base that follows her and supports her throughout her life. It’s been fun to kind of gather the Swifties into Chiefs Kingdom and open them up to the football world and the sports world.’
At one point he was also asked point blank: ‘What’s it like dating Taylor Swift?’
‘Man, I tell you what, it’s a wild experience,’ Kelce answered. ‘But I’m enjoying and loving every bit of it.’
Though he was asked about his Valentine’s Day plans a number of times, Travis did not disclose what he has in store for Taylor.
‘I’ll tell you what, man, I’m not thinking about anything but this football game. There’s nothing in my mind that’s happening until this football game is over with.’
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
