Taylor Swift attends attends the 66th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Feb. 4, 2024. Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy.

A nation of Swifties knew that something was coming at the Grammys—it was just a matter of what it would be. Conventional wisdom was Taylor Swift would announce the release date for the eventually forthcoming Reputation (Taylor’s Version), though there were plenty of other possibilities. Would she shout out Travis Kelce? Endorse Joe Biden? Take on her critics? Announce she was actually the writer of “Argyle?” No, none of those things. In typical Taylor Swift fashion, she arrived with maybe the greatest misdirection of all.

“This is something I’ve been holding onto for two years,” Swift said as she accepted the award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the podium.

That long-held secret was that her next album, titled The Tortured Poets Department, was on its way.

Not only did she drop the bombshell of the title, but also the release date, and promised she’d post the album art once she got backstage. Well, of course Swift delivered. The album will drop April 19, with the cover is a black and white photo of Swift lying across a bed along with a cryptic poem.

Taylor Swift, “Tortured Poets Department.”

“All’s fair in love and poetry. Sincerely, The Chairman of the Tortured Poets Department,” a hand-written note reads.

As you might expect, Swift’s entrepreneurial side was also prepared for the moment. Pre-orders went live right away, offering the album on vinyl, tape and CD, and the orders seemingly came flying in. At one point, there was a 15-minute wait just to get an item from the cart to purchased through the online store. No singles or track-listing have been announced, only the inclusion that pre-orders will also come with a bonus track: “The Manuscript.”

Swift also didn’t announce who would be producing the record, though she brought along longtime creative partner Jack Antonoff to the Grammys, so it’s certainly within reason that he could again be involved with the project.

So what aesthetic might Swift roll out this time around? Hard to tell, though the drab colors and coded poetic messaging might suggest something darker and more introspective, which would seem like a natural evolution of the Midnights era. The other natural question: Will Taylor Swift bring any of the new material to her international Eras Tour dates coming up this year? These are questions that will be answered with time.

The new album announcement wasn’t Swift’s only news-making at the Grammys. Midnights picked up the award for Album of the Year, which put Swift in the history books as the first artist ever to win the Grammys’ top award four times. Ironically, her next album will be released early enough that we may all be meeting again next year to talk about whether she can break her own record and pull off a fifth win. Whether you’re a fan, it’s really difficult to deny that Taylor Swift is very, very good at surprising even her most dedicated of fans.

Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald.