She wrote: “It’s a 2am surprise: The Tortured Poets Department is a secret DOUBLE album. I’d written so much tortured poetry in the past 2 years and wanted to share it all with you, so here’s the second instalment of TTPD: The Anthology. 15 extra songs. And now the story isn’t mine anymore… it’s all yours.”
It’s the superstar’s 11th studio album and features a bumper 31 songs spilling over two hours.
Swift announced details of the record in February this year when she won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album for Midnights.
At the time, she revealed the new album includes collaborations with Post Malone and Florence + The Machine who feature respectively on the tracks Fortnight and Florida!!!.
Image: The Tortured Poets Department features songs about Swift’s love life. Pic: AP
Swift is believed to have included songs about her break-ups with British actor Joe Alwyn and The 1975 star Matty Healy in the album, while a song full of American football references is thought to be inspired by her latest romance with NFL star Travis Kelce.
Image: Swift has been travelling the world with her Eras tour. Pic: Reuters
The 15th track, The Alchemy, appears to be a nod to her relationship with the Kansas City Chiefs star with references to American football terms including the team, warm benches, winning streak, and trophy, and also features the line: “So when I touch down, call the amateurs and cut ’em from the team.”
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She began dating the athlete last year and her attendance at the Super Bowl made headlines around the world, including that kiss with Kelce after the Chiefs’ victory.
Kelce, who has recently landed a role as host of the game show Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity?, said he listened to parts of the album and said it’s “unbelievable”.
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Taylor and Travis unite after Chiefs win
So Long, London is number five in the tracklist – the slot reserved for the most meaningful song on each of Swift’s albums – and is thought to offer new insight into her split with The Favourite actor Alwyn after six years together.
In the lyrics, Swift hints at wedding plans, singing: “You swore that you loved me but where were the clues, I died on the altar waiting for the proof” – as well as being upset at having to leave London which she said she “loved”.
The very title of the album may be referring to a WhatsApp group Alwyn previously set up with fellow actors Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal, called The Tortured Man Club.
On Healy – who Swift dated for a few weeks last year after her split with Alwyn – several songs seem to reference him, including on Guilty As Sin, where she sings about having “fatal fantasies” for someone from her past while in a relationship.
Image: Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy.
Pic: AP
Writing songs about past old flames is nothing new for Swift including Joe Jonas (Mr Perfectly Fine), Harry Styles (Style), Jake Gyllenhaal (All Too Well) and John Mayer (Dear John).
The singer posted the significance of the album on X as a flurry of fans commented their love for it.
Swift wrote: “The Tortured Poets Department. An anthology of new works that reflect events, opinions and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time – one that was both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure.
“This period of the author’s life is now over, the chapter closed and boarded up. There is nothing to avenge, no scores to settle once wounds have healed. And upon further reflection, a good number of them turned out to be self-inflicted.
“This writer is of the firm belief that our tears become holy in the form of ink on a page. Once we have spoken our saddest story, we can be free of it. And then all that’s left behind is the tortured poetry.”
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Austria has won Eurovision 2025, with Austrian-Filipino singer-songwriter JJ taking the glass microphone.
The 24-year-old singer, who originally trained as a countertenor, represented his country with his operatic ballad Wasted Love, staged on a storm-tossed ship.
The song, which was not dissimilar to that of last year’s winner Nemo, told the story of unrequited love, with a techno breakdown near the end. Austria has won Eurovision twice before, the last time in 2014 with Conchita Wurst’s pop hit Rise Like A Phoenix.
Image: JJ singing Wasted Love for Austria. Pic: Reuters
Israel’s Yuval Raphael, who survived the October 7, 2023, attacks which were the catalyst for Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza, was the runner-up with piano ballad New Day Will Rise, performed in Hebrew, French and English.
The singer was left “shaken and upset,” after two pro-Palestinian protesters rushed towards her during her grand final performance.
Organisers confirmed a backstage crew member was hit with paint but was not hurt.
A spokesman for SRG SSR said: “At the end of the Israeli performance, a man and a woman tried to get over a barrier onto the stage.
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“They were stopped. One of the two agitators threw paint and a crew member was hit. The crew member is fine and nobody was injured. The man and the woman were taken out of the venue and handed over to the police.”
Israel has won Eurovision four times, and last year finished in fifth place with Eden Golan’s Hurricane.
Image: Yuval Raphael performs New Day Will Rise for Israel. Pic:AP
Just as the grand final began broadcasting, Spanish broadcaster shared a message of Palestinian support which read: “When human rights are at stake, silence is not an option. Peace and justice for Palestine.”
The broadcaster had already received a warning from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) over political statements reported by Israeli broadcaster Kan.
The EBU said in response to the latter incident: “We can confirm that we have spoken to RTVE regarding this matter and made it clear that commentators are expected to maintain neutrality within the broadcasts of the Eurovision Song Contest.”
During the evening, there were also pro-Palestinian protests near the centre of Basel, as well as a small group nearby protesting with Israeli flags.
Israeli National Security Council had issued a warning to Israeli civilians in the city to keep a low profile during the competition.
In a change from last year’s contest in Malmo, Sweden, the ban on certain flags being waved by the audience was relaxed which meant Palestinian symbols could be seen in the arena.
Image: Remember Monday perform What The Hell Just Happened for the UK. Pic: AP
The UK’s act – country pop trio Remember Monday – who performed in colourful Bridgerton-style outfits – avoided the dreaded “nul points”, coming in at 19th place with song What The Hell Just Happened?
However, for the second year running, the UK received no points in the public score.
The UK has had five wins at Eurovision, but in recent years have struggled to rank, with the exception being Sam Ryder with Space Man in 2022, who came second.
Last year, Olly Alexander placed 18th at Malmo, and Mae Muller was second to last the previous year in Liverpool.
The Eurovision grand final took place in the St Jakobshalle arena in Basel, Switzerland, with the winner from among the 26 performing nations decided by a mix of public voting and points from national juries.
The four-hour-long show was presented by an all-female team – stand-up comedian Hazel Brugger, TV presenter Michelle Hunziker and Eurovision veteran Sandra Studer.
There were performances by previous Eurovision runners-up Croatia’s Baby Lasagna and Finland’s Kaarija, as well as last year’s winner Nemo during the night.
Image: KAJ perform Bara Bada Bastu for Sweden. Pic: AP
Sweden had been widely tipped to win with their sauna-themed entry Bara Bada Bastu (Just Sauna), but ended up coming fourth.
Ukraine, who have made a strong showing each since they first entered the competition in 2003, and who won in 2023, came ninth.
Last year protests and politics overshadowed the singing event amid the outbreak of war in Gaza, with some calling for Israel to be kicked out of the contest.
Last year also saw Dutch singer Joost Klein kicked out of the competition by the EBU over alleged verbal threats to a female production worker, which he denied.
Next year’s competition, Eurovision’s 70th, will be held in Austria.
A second man has been charged with grievous bodily harm with intent after an incident at a London nightclub that allegedly involved US singer Chris Brown.
The Metropolitan Police said Omololu Akinlolu, 38, will appear at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.
Better known by his stage name HoodyBaby, the American rapper has been charged in connection with an alleged assault at the Tape nightclub in central London in February 2023.
Brown, 36, was charged on Thursday with grievous bodily harm with intent and was remanded in custody by judge in Manchester until 13 June.
He is accused of attacking music producer Abraham Diaw with a bottle during the incident in February.
During a hearing at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Friday, Brown watched intently as brief details of the case against him were outlined by prosecutor Hannah Nicholls.
She accused Brown of committing “an unprovoked attack with a weapon in a nightclub full of people”.
Brown spoke to confirm his name and date of birth, but did not enter a plea.
He will appear for a plea and trial preparation hearing in London on 13 June.
Brown – known for hits such as “Loyal”, “Run It” and “Under the Influence” – was arrested at a hotel in Manchester in the early hours of Thursday by detectives from the Metropolitan Police.
The Grammy Award-winning singer was due to tour the UK in June and July, with dates in Manchester, Cardiff, London, Glasgow and Birmingham.