When Taylor Swift releases a new album, it's easy to predict that it will be a record-breaking one. She can do this with a broken heart. Still, some of her records get downright ridiculous. Less than 24 hours after The Tortured Poets Department debuted on April 19, Spotify announced that she had broken three major records.
wildest stream
"Tortured Poets" took less than 12 hours to become Spotify's most played album in a single day in 2024. As the first 24 hours passed, traffic continued to increase. By the end of the first day, Swift's 11th studio album became the first album in history to surpass 200 million streams in a single day. Then it went a step further and also exceeded the 300 million mark.
Tortured Poets ' lead single "Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)" is the album's biggest contributor. Swift set another record when the song became the platform's most-streamed song in a single day. If that wasn't impressive enough, these streams combined make Swift the most streamed artist in a single day in Spotify history.
"An idol did this," one fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter) after the streamer announced her record. Another added: "This is a truly worthy legacy."
alchemy
Swift brings her usual magic to the tortured poet ministry . In the wake of Joe Alwyn and Marty Healy's high-profile split in 2023 and his new romance with NFL star Travis Kelce, fans knew her work would reveal the truth. She even promised to take a look back at her life before launch day.
"A Ministry of Tortured Poets. This is an anthology of new work that reflects the events, perspectives, and emotions of a fleeting, fatalistic moment—both shocking and sad," she wrote in part.
Swift delivers even more than she promises. The tortured poet turns out to be a secret stand-in, who she reveals was her "two a.m. surprise". "I've been writing a lot of tortured poetry over the past two years and wanted to share it all with you," she explains as she drops part two.
There are a total of 31 tracks in both parts, with more likely to be streamed and streamed in the future.
