Taylor Swift has announced the first single from her new album, The Tortured Poets Department.
The superstar, 34, revealed that Fortnight featuring Post Malone will be the debut song from the most anticipated album of the year, scheduled for release on Friday, April 19.
Sharing a snap with Malone, he wrote: ‘The first single from The Tortured Poets Department is…………. Fortnight with @postmalone.
‘I have been a big admirer of Post for the writer he is, his musical experimentation and those melodies he creates that stay in your head forever.
‘I was able to witness firsthand how magic comes to life when we worked together on Fortnight.
‘I honestly can’t wait for you guys to hear this song at midnight TONIGHT and watch the video at 8pm ET TOMORROW.
Taylor Swift has announced the first single from her new album, The Tortured Poets Department, which will be Fortnight featuring Post Malone.
The album is the most anticipated album of the year and its release is scheduled for Friday, April 19.
This comes after fans were left in meltdown over claims that their long-awaited album had been leaked online.
Two days before its official debut, snippets of songs credited on the album were posted on social media, with some revealing that they had been taken from a zip file containing the full track listing.
DailyMail.com spotted a screenshot of a Swifties group chat in which a file containing the supposedly leaked album was shared.
Upon hearing these fragments, many have claimed that they are fake and created by artificial intelligence (AI); However, others have been convinced that the songs offer an early access pass to the official album.
The 34-year-old singer’s 11th album is set to be released on Friday, but two days before its official debut, snippets of songs credited on the record were posted on social media.
A zip file circulating online featured 17 different songs, the same number of hits that Taylor confirmed would be included on her next album.
DailyMail.com has contacted Taylor’s representatives for comment.
News of the alleged leak shocked the singer’s fan base, with some rushing to listen to the songs, while others were quick to defend the pop star, urging others to “report” any posts circulating about the clips and insisting that Taylor’s deadliest. Hardcore fans would wait until the official album is released.
‘Tip: COMPLETELY TURN OFF your device’s volume on Twitter for the NEXT 24 HOURS and REPORT EVERY POST that spams album leaks! We’ve got this!’ one person wrote.
Another chimed in: “It’s not a Taylor Swift album release if you don’t have fake ass “Swifties” spreading leaks because they can’t wait a day to hear the project… pathetic.”
A third wrote: “Please don’t spread the leak of Taylor Swift’s new album.” Remember, this is Taylor’s work, respect it, just as you would your favorite artist. ‘Don’t punish the artist for how her fans behave.’
As Taylor revealed in February, The Tortured Poets Department will feature several collaborations with top artists, including Post Malone and Florence + the Machine.
The Anti-Hero singer announced the latest album at the Grammy Awards earlier that month and has now shared the record’s tracklist, which includes collaborations with the 28-year-old rapper and Hunger hitmaker.
On Wednesday afternoon, X, formerly known as Twitter, was inundated with clips of songs supposedly taken from the upcoming record release.
Although this leak has not been verified, it would not be the first time that Taylor has seen one of her albums posted online before its official debut.
In 2017, the singer’s album Reputation, which was also due to be released on a Friday, was leaked online a day before it was officially shared with the world.
However, in the years since that last leak, AI has become increasingly advanced, and a number of different musicians have been targets of fake computer-generated songs posted in their names.
Drake has been incredibly outspoken against these fraudulent recordings, having fallen victim to AI-generated songs on several occasions.
Earlier this month, 200 high-profile artists, including Billie Eilish, Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj, called for a stop to the “predatory” use of AI in the music industry, writing an open letter warning against uncontrolled use of technology “would launch a race to the bottom.”
Using AI to steal artists’ voices, image and sound is an “assault on human creativity,” they said, and would “destroy the music ecosystem.”
Issued by the Artists Rights Alliance (ARA), the letter called for a ban on artificial intelligence tools that undermine or replace human songwriters or their work.
‘This attack on human creativity needs to be stopped. “We must guard against the predatory use of AI to steal voices and likenesses from professional artists, violate creators’ rights, and destroy the music ecosystem,” the letter said.
On Wednesday night, Taylor shared a promotional video for the album on her Instagram. A screenshot is shown in the photo.
The video showed a white board with the date April 19 along with the words “Department of Tortured Poets Liberation Day.”
Taylor’s latest alleged leak comes just hours after she revealed her “schedule” for the Department of Tortured Poets.
On Wednesday night, he shared a promotional video for the album on his Instagram, sending fans into a frenzy.
The clip began in a ’70s-inspired room, reminiscent of the Midnights era, their last released album.
In the room there were pieces of shredded paper on the floor and also a series of records and a clock set to two o’clock.
The camera then takes viewers down a white hallway to a room labeled The Department of Tortured Poets.
Inside are empty white desks with typewriters on and coffee cups, before the camera zooms in on a notice board on the wall.
The date April 19 appeared on the wall along with the words: “Day of liberation from the Department of Tortured Poets.”
Underneath was a note that said: ‘8 pm ET. Music video release!!’ – as well as fourteen bars.
She simply wrote in the caption: “The TTPD calendar.”
It comes just after Taylor hosted a pop-up library in Los Angeles earlier that day while preparing for the new album.
Fans of the Karma hitmaker waited in line for more than five hours to attend a pop-up poetry library.