- The haircuts that help traumatised Ukrainian soldiers heal
- Sinner crushes Medvedev to set up potential Alcaraz Shanghai semi
- 7-Eleven owner restructures to fight takeover
- England's Harry Brook blasts triple century against Pakistan
- Chinese electric car companies cope with European tariffs
- Zelensky in London for whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Sri Lanka recovering faster than expected: World Bank
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as most markets track Wall St record
- Record-breaking Root, Brook both pass 200 as England pile up 658-3
- Football mourns Greek defender George Baldock's shock death at 31
- Uniqlo owner reports record annual earnings
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as markets track Wall St record
- Indonesia biomass drive threatens key forests: report
- Home is far away for Madagascar in AFCON qualifying
- Two months on, Donbas soldiers begin to question Kursk offensive
- Rugby Australia to counter-sue in dispute with Melbourne Rebels
- Mumbai mourns Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- Philippines challenges China over South China Sea at ASEAN meet
- Mets advance on Lindor blast, Dodgers stay alive in MLB playoffs
- Injury-ravaged Krygios aiming to return at Australian Open
- Greek international Baldock, dead at 31: family
- EU talks deportation hubs to stem migration
- Deaths and repression sideline Suu Kyi's party ahead of Myanmar vote
- S. Africa offers a lesson on how not to shut down a coal plant
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Mets advance on Lindor grand slam, Yankees and Tigers win
- Taiwan President Lai vows to 'resist annexation' of island
- China's solar goes from supremacy to oversupply
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Zelensky on whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Lindor powers Mets past Phillies into NL Championship Series
- Wildlife populations plunge 73% since 1970: WWF
- 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says
- Death toll rises to 109 after Haiti gang attack, official says
- Tigers beat Guardians and on brink of advancing in MLB playoffs
- Argentina MPs back Milei's veto of university funding
- Man City sink Barca in Women's Champions League as Bayern outgun Arsenal
- Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool: state agency
- Florida seaside haven a ghost town as hurricane nears
- Pharrell Williams to co-chair Met Gala exploring Black dandyism
- Wall Street indices hit fresh records as Chinese shares tumble
- Taiwan's president to deliver key speech for National Day
- Sea row on the menu as ASEAN leaders meet China's Li
- Injured Kane won't start England's Nations League clash with Greece
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
Taylor Swift's 'The Tortured Poets Department' drops
Taylor Swift released her highly anticipated record "The Tortured Poets Department" on Friday -- the 11th studio album from the megastar who is already having a blockbuster year.
"All's fair in love and poetry... New album THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. Out now," she wrote on her Instagram account, ending the announcement with a heart emoji.
Swift had revealed the album's release at the Grammys in February, a night that saw the 34-year-old billionaire win a record-breaking fourth Album of the Year prize.
With the drop of "Tortured Poets" in the United States at midnight Eastern time (0400 GMT Friday), the artist could be on track for a fifth.
Since her bombshell announcement, her loyal legion of Swifties have been working around the clock shelling out fan predictions.
The working theory is that the album centers on her ex, British actor Joe Alwyn, who Swift dated starting in 2016 until they broke up about a year ago.
Alwyn ("The Favourite") and fellow actor Paul Mescal ("Normal People") revealed in 2022 that they had a group chat entitled "The Tortured Man Club," which also included Andrew Scott ("Fleabag," "Ripley").
The Swifties think their queen's album title is a likely reference to that text circle.
Before their breakup, Alwyn had multiple songwriting credits on her albums under a pen name, William Bowery.
Swift already revealed the tracklist, with titles including "So Long, London," "I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)" and "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived."
Florence + The Machine is among those set to make cameos on the album, as is Post Malone, who Swift said Thursday will feature on her first single "Fortnight."
"I've been such a huge fan of Post because of the writer he is, his musical experimentation and those melodies he creates that just stick in your head forever," she wrote on Instagram.
Swift said a video companion for the track will come out late Friday after the album drops.
- 'Shake up the world' -
Swift has repeatedly eviscerated her former lovers in song, including dropping lyrical takedowns of John Mayer and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Her current beau, Super Bowl-winning NFL player Travis Kelce, has already praised her new work.
"I have heard some of it, yes, and it's unbelievable," he told reporters in February.
"I can't wait for her to shake up the world when it finally drops."
Swift has already had an earth-shattering past year or so, staging the first billion-dollar tour with her ongoing series of Eras concerts, breaking myriad chart records and making Grammys history.
- Topping the charts with Beyonce -
Swift -- who was born in Pennsylvania on December 13, 1989 -- began writing songs professionally as a teenager, signing with Nashville's Big Machine Records as a country artist.
After a highly publicized dispute with Big Machine executives regarding ownership of her first six albums, she made the cunning, risky decision to re-record those albums to own their rights.
It paid off, delighting ardent fans, bringing new Swifties into the fold, and earning her renewed respect within the industry.
With "The Tortured Poets Department," she stands to make waves once more, although she'll face stiff competition from the likes of Beyonce and Billie Eilish next awards season.
Beyonce dropped her latest -- the electric, statement-making "Cowboy Carter" -- on March 29.
That offered a charts cushion -- whether intentional or not -- that would allow both her and Swift to notch wins.
The two reigning stars are often pitted against each other as rivals although they've repeatedly taken steps over the years to dismiss the notion.
They will almost certainly be competing for next year's top Grammys, as will Eilish, whose third album "Hit Me Hard and Soft" is due out on May 17.
But these wildly wealthy, supremely talented and conversation-commanding artists have all emphasized that at the end of the day, it's about the music.
Writing her forthcoming album "kind of reminded me of why songwriting is something that actually gets me through my life," Swift told fans at a recent show.
C.Garcia--AMWN