Topline
Taylor Swift announced Thursday the first single from her new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” will be “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone, with a music video premiering Friday night—an early detail from the billionaire pop star’s latest album.
Key Facts
Swift made the announcement on social media, saying, “I’ve been such a huge fan of Post because of the writer he is, his musical experimentation and those melodies he creates that just stick in your head forever.”
Swift previously announced she would be premiering a music video Friday at 8 p.m. EDT, but did not confirm which song it would be for—though fan theories suspected it was “Fortnight (feat. Post Malone).”
Surprising Fact
The Swift song marks Post Malone’s second big collaboration of the year. He was featured on Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter” album that was released earlier this month, appearing on the song “Levii’s Jeans.” As of 2:20 p.m. EDT, Post Malone had not posted anything about the song release or video. After it was first announced he would appear on the album earlier this year, he said of Swift: “She’s so sweet and so kind and talented and she hit me up and said, ‘Let’s do it.’ And I was like, ‘Hell yeah.’”
Key Background
Post Malone is one of two featured artists on Swift’s new album, the other being Florence + The Machine on the song, “Florida!!!” “The Tortured Poets Department,” which Swift first announced at the Grammys in February after winning Best Pop Vocal Album for “Midnights,” will be released at 12 a.m. EDT Friday. The album has 16 songs and four bonus tracks, each of which will be released across four variations of the album available on vinyl. Aside from Post Malone and Florence Welch, Swift collaborated with producers Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, who have worked with the popstar on her most recent albums. Swift has dominated pop culture in recent years, with her last new album “Midnights” selling millions of units and her Eras world tour grossing upwards of $1 billion.
What To Watch For
If Swift breaks her own streaming records. She currently holds the record for the biggest first-week debut for an album this decade, with “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” which debuted atop the Billboard charts in October with 1.653 million units based on sales and streaming figures. Prior to that, she previously held the record for her album, “folklore,” which had 846,000 units, and “Midnights,” which beat out “folklore” with 1.578 million units in its first week in 2022.
Forbes Valuation
Forbes estimates Swift to be worth $1.1 billion as of Thursday. She became a billionaire in October, in large part due to the success of her Eras Tour.
