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Joe Alwyn, Matty Healy And... Kim Kardashian?! 10 Biggest Talking Points From Taylor Swift's New Album

The Tortured Poets Department also contains lyrical nods to Travis Kelce, overzealous Swifties and, for some reason, Charlie Puth.
Daniel Welsh
By 

Entertainment Editor

Taylor pictured during her 2021 Grammys performance
Taylor pictured during her 2021 Grammys performance
TAS Rights Management 2021 via Getty Images

Taylor Swift’s new album The Tortured Poets Department has already thrown out a few surprises. And no, we don’t just mean the fact it’s twice as long as any of us could have realised.

On Friday morning, the Grammy-winning musician unveiled her 11th studio album, with fans already poring over her lyrics with a fine-tooth comb for clues about who has really inspired her new material.

And let’s just say… some people come off better than others.

Here are 10 of the biggest early talking points (so far!) from The Tortured Poets Department...

While plenty of us had assumed the new album would centre around Joe Alwyn, the big surprise was how many of the lyrics seem to relate to Matty Healy, who Taylor was briefly linked to last year

this is how it felt to realize that every song i had just listened to was about matty healy btw pic.twitter.com/FscE16HytD

— hannah (@daylightlesbian) April 19, 2024

i was completely unprepared for the fact that this entire album is about matty healy (i think only So Long, London is 100% about Joe), she really called us clowns #TSTTPD pic.twitter.com/WeTGb3Z9Oo

— boleynns (@boleynnns) April 19, 2024

joe alwyn to matty healy tonight pic.twitter.com/bxStyB1dbL

— Claire Kuwana (@clairekuwana) April 19, 2024

the realization that this album is more about matty healy than joe alwyn... pic.twitter.com/5Oi9LMHDFd

— caitlin 🫶 (@swiftantonoffs) April 19, 2024

Still, at least one of the songs (So Long, London) seems to be about Joe – and it’s sparked an emotional reaction

Oh wow So Long, London is about Joe yep.. crying pic.twitter.com/mYTltmWvLP

— 𝙈𝙚𝙡 🍉 (@loonakult) April 19, 2024

Joe’s publicist somewhere after listening to “So, Long London.” #TSTTPD pic.twitter.com/wZVrv6OKFK

— Nathan MacDonald (@nathan_albert) April 19, 2024

"AND I’M PISSED OFF YOU LET ME GIVE YOU ALL THAT YOUTH FOR FREE" - So Long, London pic.twitter.com/MxhHR1upVd

— The Swift Society (@TheSwiftSociety) April 19, 2024

I GAVE YOU ALL THAT YOUTH FOR FREE?!!! uM JOE ?????!!!

— I'm a (@disgrez) April 18, 2024

Swifties probably weren’t expecting that But Daddy I Love Him would resonate in quite they way it did, either…

lmao taylor saw your think pieces about matty healy and wrote but daddy I love him

— ellie schnitt (@holy_schnitt) April 19, 2024

is but daddy i love him about… us swifties???? or am i just overthinking #THETORTUEDPOETSDEPARTMENT pic.twitter.com/y6ORwPyzhQ

— lexa💋 (@fictionistism) April 19, 2024

swifties listening to but daddy i love him pic.twitter.com/bGo4zwxpIs

— b 🤍🪶TTPD (@mytearsrichocet) April 19, 2024

Swifties listening to “But Daddy I Love Him” pic.twitter.com/I4YGZJkLCV

— Nick (@NoNotHappyDays) April 19, 2024

swifties thinking 'but daddy i love him' is about joe asdfghjcbsvc pic.twitter.com/l06vzEzDAn

— amelia (@id_lie13) April 19, 2024

…or that surprise Charlie Puth name-drop on the title track

“We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist” is truly the last thing I thought I’d ever hear Taylor Swift sing in a Taylor Swift song.

— Alex Goldschmidt (@alexandergold) April 19, 2024

Charlie Puth listening to the tortured poets department #TaylorSwift pic.twitter.com/Dwhm3K93Eo

— Kath (@GrapesOf_Kath) April 19, 2024

Charlie Puth’s publicist rn #TaylorSwift #THETORTUEDPOETSDEPARTMENT pic.twitter.com/T1VYgVCY6h

— Bach Rants (@bach_rants) April 19, 2024

Charlie Puth when he wakes up in the morning & sees a ton of streams on his music pic.twitter.com/uJUvfux7fi

— rebecca. (@bigrapputation) April 19, 2024

Charlie Puth rn pic.twitter.com/XZ3ATQIR2m

— Emily (@emilybernay) April 19, 2024

The revelation about what LOML actually stands for wasn’t an easy pill to swallow

hearing ‘loml’ go from ‘love of my life’ to ‘loss of my life’ #TSTTPD pic.twitter.com/aRGF5mKARW

— meg 🤍 eras tour ldn, lpool + vienna (@alltoomegan) April 19, 2024

when loml is not a cutie acronym for love of my life & it actually means loss of my life #TSTTPD pic.twitter.com/XNwQx8aWH6

— bella (@a90strend) April 19, 2024

we knew that loml wasn’t gonna be love of my life but didn’t think it was gonna be as painful as loss of my life pic.twitter.com/nDi5QSopKK

— liv 🪩 (@chylerswift) April 19, 2024

TAYLOR SWIFT YOU DID NOT JUST END LOML WITH “YOURE THE LOSS OF MY LIFE” #TSTTPD pic.twitter.com/rDa6U0eDo1

— nani (@iamhaunted13) April 19, 2024

And the contrast between the sound of I Can Do It With A Broken Heart and its lyrics was stark, to say the least

Ok @taylorswift13 I can do it with a broken heart - the beat says dance but the lyrics say cry pic.twitter.com/VKORgN1D11

— Gillie Jacobi (@Gillie1222) April 19, 2024

I CAN DO IT WITH A BROKEN HEART??

the lyrics the beat pic.twitter.com/RvFOLohDg3

— Madison °｡⋆ ♡ (@Ith1nkh3knows) April 19, 2024

I can do it with a broken heart having the most depressing lyrics but also the most ASS shaking beats is so taylor and jack and i’m obsesseddd #TTPD #TaylorSwift pic.twitter.com/kQFKKO9xhs

— Hailey (@haileygl01) April 19, 2024

‘You didn’t measure up. In any measurе of a man’

You didn’t measure up
In any measure of a man
#TTPDBoardMeeting #TSTTPD pic.twitter.com/v9eIqXB7xC

— Christina Matias (@cjohnson_13) April 19, 2024

you didn't measure up, in any measure of a man pic.twitter.com/42cWSLtA62

— leigh danielle saw taylor swift (@lghdanielle) April 19, 2024

‘You didn’t measure up in any measurement of a man’.. 💀 #TTPD pic.twitter.com/HLpZJwFnIG

— Bale’s Bogey Madrid Serotonin (@LRMYSoccerOtter) April 19, 2024

“you didn't measure up to any measurе of a man” pic.twitter.com/KfspZyGSen

— tia witcher extraordinaire (@cursedhive) April 19, 2024

Oh – and who could have predicted a Kim Kardashian diss track on the double album version of The Tortured Poets Department?

kim when north posts a tik tok to thanK you aIMee pic.twitter.com/6Lm9DWXN4u

— amanda ob (@amandaob30) April 19, 2024

thanK you aIMee is DERANGED im crying holy shit, the way she literally said "and so i changed your name and any real defining clues" BUT THE DEFINING CLUES ARE LITERALLY THE CAPITAL LETTERS IN THE TITLE im laughing so hard that's actually so funny

— shayla🔮 (@midnightshayla) April 19, 2024

tuning in to the tortured poets department expecting joe alwyn slander but instead it’s kim kardashian getting dissed
pic.twitter.com/qgEZ2GpHJg

— kadriye (@tayspetsch) April 19, 2024

And while the album is overall a pretty melancholy one, at least there was one glimmer of hope on The Alchemy

Anyways "where's the trophy? He just comes running over to me" pic.twitter.com/s9vfznlQnk

— z-Tiffani 🤍 married to Raine (@TayvisHeaven) April 19, 2024

OH MY GOD ALCHEMY IS ABOUT TRAVIS KELCE

“Shirts off, and your friends lift you up, over their heads
Beer stickin' to the floor, cheers chanted 'cause they said
"There was no chance trying to be the greatest in the league"
Where's the trophy? He just comes, running over to me”

— 💌 shit you should care about 💌 (@SYSCAbout) April 19, 2024

Where's the trophy? He just comes, running over to me - TS, the alchemy pic.twitter.com/24o6qPrt9D

— alexis (@evermorelex) April 19, 2024

The standard edition of the album ended with Taylor name-checking herself – and fans absolutely loved it

there is something SO funny about hearing taylor swift say “you look like taylor swift” pic.twitter.com/Uwx2Vq0VA7

— bethany ♡ tortured poet 🪶 (@corneliastagain) April 19, 2024

when taylor swift said “you look like taylor swift” pic.twitter.com/DJCLZcoJdY

— jessica (@enchantedjess13) April 19, 2024

YOU LOOK LIKE TAYLOR SWIFT pic.twitter.com/SWfvKrDJVk

— jen (@newyorknoshoes) April 19, 2024

lmaoooo this was literally me. i heard the last lyrics “you look like taylor swift in this light we’re loving it, you got edge she never did, the future’s bright - dazzling” for the first time with tears in my eyes. i’m such a loser hahahaha pic.twitter.com/4Z95Gc0p96

— dilly dallie (@basic_d4d) April 19, 2024

YOU😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭LOOK😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭LIKE😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭TAYLOR😭😭😭😭😭SWIFT😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

— swiftie struggle tweets (@swifferstruggle) April 19, 2024

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