- By Noor Nanji
- Cultural journalist
Image source, Getty Images
Taylor Swift’s new album, The Tortured Poets Department, appears to have leaked online a day before its release, sending fans into a frenzy.
Many people shared the tracks on social media, with some claiming they came from a Google Drive link containing the full list of 17 songs.
While some Swifties jumped straight in, others insisted that true fans would wait until the official release on Friday.
The BBC has contacted Swift’s representatives for comment.
The singer announced the existence of her 11th studio album during the Grammy Awards in February. This is his first collection of entirely new material since October 2022’s Midnights.
On while others flooded the site with fake links to “bury” the leak and prevent people from finding it.
“Raise your hand if you’re a REAL Taylor Swift fan and don’t listen,” one social media user wrote.
“People need to understand that it’s not just about being a fan. It’s about respecting others for their hard work!” wrote another.
“She and her team [have] planned and worked so meticulously for the release of this album, please don’t be disrespectful and ruin this for others as well. »
Another said he wanted to wait to listen to the album in full on Friday “and really have the first listening experience.”
Other fans speculated that the tracks could be artificial intelligence-generated knockoffs, although some “AI” tracks shared online turned out to be older, lesser-known Swift songs.
It wouldn’t be the first time the star came up against AI. In January, X blocked searches for “Taylor Swift” after explicit AI-generated images of the singer began circulating on the site.
The arrival of a new album has been highly anticipated by his fan base as it means there will be new material to add to the star’s blockbuster Eras tour, which arrives in Europe this summer.
Midnights, which featured the singles Anti-Hero, Bejeweled and Karma, was also leaked online ahead of its release date. But the leak did not harm Swift’s commercial prospects, and the album sold 1.6 million copies in its first week in the United States.
It went on to win Album of the Year at the Grammys, making Swift the first person to win the award four times.
Earlier this month, Swift joined Elon Musk among the world’s richest people, according to a new rich list.
The pop star entered Forbes’ global billionaires list for the first time with $1.1 billion (£877 million), alongside Sam Altman, creator of AI chatbot ChatGPT, with $1 billion ( 800 million pounds sterling).
