Taylor Swift Reveals Why She Announced New Album at the Grammys & What Her ‘Backup Plan’ Was

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Image Credit: Christopher Jue/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

Swifties manifested that Taylor Swift would announce something big at the 2024 Grammys — but not many guessed that it was a brand-new album. Now that the 34-year-old international pop icon has embarked on her Eras Tour in Tokyo, she explained to her audience why she decided to break the news of The Tortured Poets Department at the awards ceremony.

“I had this plan in my head, and I told my friends, I told Jack [Antonoff], but I hadn’t really told many other people,” Taylor recalled during the Evermore set on Wednesday, February 7, in Japan, per USA Today. “I thought, ‘OK, so if I’m lucky enough to win one thing tonight, I’m just going to do it. I’m just going to announce my new album.’”

Since there’s no guarantee of winning a Grammy, the “Cruel Summer” singer explained to the crowd what she was going to do if she hadn’t had the chance to make the announcement in Los Angeles.

Christopher Jue/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

“My backup plan is I was going to do it tonight in Tokyo [sic],” Taylor added. “[Some say] ‘Why do you make so many albums?’ I’m like, ‘Man, because I love it. I love it so much. I’m having fun, leave me alone.’”

As many fans have already guessed, Taylor had been working on the 2024 album since releasing Midnights, she pointed out during the concert.

“I’ve been working on Tortured Poets since right after I turned in Midnights,” she said. “So, you turn in an album months in advance so you can make vinyls. … When it was perfect, in my opinion, when it was good enough for you, I finished it.”

Taylor’s huge album reveal sent the internet into a tizzy last weekend. Fans have been dissecting the clues behind the tracklist of The Tortured Poets Department, which includes songs such as “So Long, London” and “Daddy I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can),” which many believe were inspired by Taylor’s 2023 split from ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn.

Meanwhile, Taylor has been enjoying a blissful romance with her new boyfriend, Travis Kelce, since the summer of 2023. Now that she’s performing in Japan this week, many are wondering if she will can make the trek back to the states to see Travis, 34, play in the 2024 Super Bowl on Sunday, February 11.

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – JANUARY 28: Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates with Taylor Swift after a 17-10 victory against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 28, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)