Taylor Swift has responded to some of the positive reviews on her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department.
The Karma hitmaker, 34, took to her Instagram Stories on Sunday and reposted a number of reviews on her latest body of work, captioning each one with her own lyrics.
She shared a glowing review from Rolling Stone which summed up Swift on the album as ‘confused, bitter, raging, vulnerable, yet more gloriously chaotic than we’ve ever heard her before.’
The singer wrote on the post, ‘And that’s the closest I’ve come to my heart exploding.’ The line comes from track two, which bears the same name as the album, and Swift added two white heart emojis to it.
It comes after one magazine excluded a critic’s byline on a less-than-favorable review of the hitmaker’s new album over fears of harassment from Swift’s loyal fans.
Taylor Swift has responded to some of the positive reviews on her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department; seen in 2023
The superstar also shared a five-star review from The Times, adding ‘These Chemicals hit me like white whine’ from her song The Alchemy.
Another positive review came from The Independent, with critic Helen Brown writing, ‘The whole album is a terrific reminder of the intense, personal connection Swift can conjure in song.’
‘She fills arenas and dominates the news agenda because listeners can relate to her starry dramas – her tales endow their own experiences with new electricity.’
Taylor re-posted it to her Stories adding the line, ‘Everyone we know understands why it’s meant to be’ — another one of her lyrics.
She also shared a five-star review from iNews, which called her new album a ‘unique record – and one of the star’s most emotionally poised.’
Swift added the lyrics, ‘I feel like laughing in the middle of practice’ to the review, from her love anthem to boyfriend Travis Kelce, 34, titled High School.
Meanwhile earlier in the day Paste Magazine cited safety reasons as the need for their review to be anonymous.
Writing on X (formerly known as Twitter) in an editor’s note, the publication stated, ‘There is no byline on this review due to how, in 2019 when Paste reviewed Lover, the writer was sent threats of violence from readers who disagree with the work.’
They ended the statement with, ‘We care more about the safety of our staff than a name attached to an article.’
The Karma hitmaker, 34, took to her Instagram Stories on Sunday and reposted a number of reviews from magazines about her latest body of work
She shared a five-star review from The Times, adding ‘These Chemicals hit me like white whine’ from her song The Alchemy
Another positive review came from The Independent, and Taylor re-posted it to her Stories adding the line, ‘Everyone we know understands why it’s meant to be’, another one of her lyrics
She also shared a five-star review from iNews, which called her new album a ‘unique record – and one of the star’s most emotionally poised’
Although the negative review was not likely to dissuade any of the millions of people who have already listened to the album since it dropped early Friday morning, it does offer up a hefty dose of criticism and accuses the Grammy winner of being unable to not ‘infantilize the very people who buy into her music and drive her successes upwards in the first place.’
The review also asserts that TTPD’s ‘title track features some of Swift’s worst lyricism to date.’
The writer had praise for But Daddy I Love Him, saying it ‘really lends its hand to the knack for awe-striking, stand-still melodies that Swift has long shown she has a finesse for.’
Much of the article seemed to take issue with whether Swift could be tortured while living a billionaire’s lifestyle.
‘If Swift can return to one of her dozen beach houses across the world, kick up her feet and say “I’m a poet of struggle,” then who is to say that millions — maybe billions — of people with access to a notes app and a social media account won’t dream that dream, too?’ they asked.
Fans were furious that the writer would not stand behind their words.
‘Where is the alleged “review” of the actual album? This is just pure ragebait vomit lol,’ wrote one angry fans.
‘The opening line about Sylvia Plath taking her life isn’t quirky and is extra tasteless when you add the moral digs at Taylor’s jet usage considering the writer clearly does not care to be empathetic unless it’s time to tear down Taylor in a “music review.”‘ penned another.
‘We want real journalist back not this gossip article,’ declared a fan.
At least one reader seemed to appreciate the controversial column.
‘Amazing article, paste magazine!!! So glad true journalists are telling the truth and not being afraid of denouncing the devil,’ the wrote.
It comes after one magazine excluded a critic’s byline on a less-than-favorable review of the hitmaker’s new album over fears of harassment from Swift’s fans
Paste magazine cited safety concerns as the reason for not revealing the reviewer’s name, explaining some Swifties had threatened violence following a bad review of 2019’s Lover
Angry fans left their own review of the review
At least one reader appreciated the anonymous author’s take on the new LP
The Tortured Poets Department was an immediate hit with consumrs. It sold some 1.4 million copies on Friday and was as streamed on Spotify more than 300 million times in a single day. The single, Fortnight, featuring Post Malone also broke records
Despite scoring somewhat less-positive reviews than her last three albums, according to Metacritic, The Tortured Poets Department was an immediate hit with consumers.
It sold around 1.4 million copies on Friday and surpassed the record set by 1989 (Taylor’s version) to become her biggest US album to date.
The LP was streamed on Spotify more than 300 million times in a single day.
It became the first album to cross the 200 million and 300 million stream mark, according to the platform.
Fortnight, the first single featuring Post Malone, also broke records for the most streamed song in a single day.
Swift wrote ‘All’s Fair in Love and Poetry,’ but topping the charts while hanging out at one of her beach houses may be the best revenge after a bad review.