Taylor Swift mania took over the Grove shopping center in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
The 34-year-old Karma hitmaker’s fans waited in line for upwards of five hours in order to attend a pop-up poetry library, days before her new album’s release.
Fans were seen lining around the block for the special event, sponsored by Spotify, starting at five in the morning, just to gain some insight into Swift’s upcoming 11th studio album, the Tortured Poets Department.
The singer is known for surprising her fans with Easter Eggs, and she continued on in the tradition, putting up a large bookshelf with clues about her new body of work.
This is the first album from Swift where she has not released a single ahead of the album, which added to fans’ eagerness to learn any new information about what’s to come.
Taylor Swift, 34, mania took over the Grove shopping center in Los Angeles on Tuesday, after the singer launched a pop-up poetry library, days before her new album’s release; seen in 2023
Her fans waited in line for upwards of five hours, starting at five in the morning, to attend the event and gain some insight into Swift’s upcoming record, the Tortured Poets Department
The singer is known for surprising her fans with Easter Eggs, and she continued on in the tradition, putting up a large bookshelf with clues about her new body of work
The album — which was first announced by Taylor at the Grammy‘s two months ago — is set to be released this Friday, April 19.
The display was located right across the street from Cheesecake Factory at the Grove, where Swift’s longtime nemesis Kanye West frequently dines with wife Bianca Censori.
Among the carefully curated items fans sifted through and later discussed on social media was a clock stuck on ‘2:00 PM’, a tambourine, a notebook with the words ‘US’ scribbled on the back, a fountain pen, and a perpetual calendar set to Friday, December 13.
There was also a small statue of Diana of Ephesus (the goddess of childbirth and fertility and the goddess of the moon).
One fan noted that ‘The original statue of Diana crumbled while waiting to be shipped to London in the 6th century due to years of neglect, succumbing to the passage of time and the elements.’
Fans took this to be a dig at Swift’s ex, British actor Joe Alwyn, 33.
In February, Swift dropped the tracklist for the album, which will see her collaborate with Post Malone and Florence & The Machine.
Among the songs listed on the album is one titled ‘So Long, London’ which many believe will details Swift’s breakup with Joe.
The album — which was first announced by Taylor at the Grammy ‘s two months ago — is set to be released this Friday, April 19
One item pictured on the bookshelf was an old-fashioned typewriter with a page featuring Swift’s tracklist
Among the songs listed on the album is one titled ‘So Long, London’ which many believe will details Swift’s breakup with British actor Joe Alwyn, 33
The record will see her collaborate with Post Malone and Florence & The Machine
One part of the bookshelf had a number of books, a jar with puzzle pieces, and an hourglass
There was also a gold birdcage perched among the books
Yet another book was titled ‘Fresh Out The Slammer’
There was also a small filing drawer with Taylor’s name on it
Some half-open drawers had dried flowers sticking out of them
Excited fans were seen taking snaps of the installation
The event offered fans a wealth of clues about the new album
Many Swifties sported colorful beaded bracelets – a hallmark of Swift fandom
Fans posed at the pop-up library
There were plenty of books to look at for clues about the album
Swifties studied the bookshelf intently searching for Easter Eggs
The display was located outside of the Cheesecake Factory at the Grove
Committed fans waited for hours to get a glimpse at the pop-up
They patiently waited their turn
The display was relatively small but fans appeared to have a blast nonetheless
A QR code incentivized Swifties to pre-save the album
One item pictured on the bookshelf at the mall was an old-fashioned typewriter with a page featuring Swift’s tracklist.
One part of the bookshelf had a number of books, a jar with puzzle pieces, and an hourglass.
There was a book titled ‘The Manuscript’, with the author listed as Swift herself, along with another book called ‘The Black Dog.’
There were other tomes which featured the names of some of her songs on the upcoming album.
There was also a gold birdcage perched among the books. Yet another book was titled ‘Fresh Out The Slammer.’
There was also a small filing drawer with Taylor’s name on it. Some half-open drawers had dried flowers sticking out of them.
Many Swifties sported colorful beaded bracelets – a hallmark of Swift fandom.
On Tuesday, Swift also took to Instagram to drop ‘The TTPD Timetable’, revealing that on April 19th she would also be dropping a music video at 8:00PM ET.
The clip started out with a clock that was once again mysteriously set to 2:00 PM.
On Tuesday, Swift also took to Instagram to drop ‘The TTPD Timetable’, revealing that on April 19th she would also be dropping a music video at 8:00PM ET
The clip started out with a clock that was once again mysteriously set to 2:00 PM
The camera then scanned through a room with a yellow floor upon which records and crumpled pieces of paper were scattered
The camera continued on, zooming into the hallway and then a room titled ‘The Tortured Poets Department.’ There, on a school bulletin board was the schedule for Friday, April 19th
The camera then scanned through a room with a yellow floor upon which records and crumpled pieces of paper were scattered.
The camera continued on, zooming into the hallway and then a room titled ‘The Tortured Poets Department.’
There, on a school bulletin board was the schedule for Friday, April 19th, indicating her album release date.
In February Swift took to Instagram to share a photo of some artwork for the record, which featured a black and white photo of herself and ‘I love you, it’s ruining my life’ written over her shoulder as well as the list of songs.
Side A begins with the Post Malone collaboration, Fortnight, and is followed by the album’s title track, My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys and Down Bad.
While Side B has So Long, London, But Daddy I Love Him, Fresh Out the Slammer, and Florida!!!, with the latter song featuring Florence + the Machine.
Side C offers Guilty as Sin?, Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?, I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can), and ‘Ioml’.
The final part of the album, Side D, has I Can Do It With a Broken Heart, The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, The Alchemy, Clara Bow and bonus track The Manuscript.
The Blank Space songstress announced the release of her album when she picked up the Best Pop Vocal Album for Midnights at the Grammy Awards.
The album, featuring a black and white cover of Swift in bed, will hit streaming services this Friday
In February her boyfriend Travis Kelce, 34, confirmed he heard bits of the record, and was full of praise for Swift, calling the album ‘unbelievable’; they are seen in January
She said in her acceptance speech: ‘I want to say thank you to the members of the Recording Academy for voting this way.
‘But I know that the way that the Recording Academy voted is a direct reflection of the passion of the fans.
‘So I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I’ve been keeping from you for the last two years, which is that my brand new album comes out on April 19.’
Meanwhile her boyfriend Travis Kelce, 34, was full of praise about her upcoming album, calling it ‘unbelievable.’
The NFL star confirmed he has heard bits of the record. ‘I have heard some of it, yes, and it’s unbelievable,’ the Kansas City Chiefs tight end gushed at a press conference in Las Vegas, ahead of the Super Bowl, as per The Kansas City Star.
‘I can’t wait for her to shake up the world when it finally drops,’ Travis added.
