“RESULTS MAY VARY.”:Taylor Swift Addressed the Five Stages of Heartbreak and They’re Very Emotional-HO

It’s time to take a deep dive into Swift’s oeuvre.

Taylor Swift 2022 Toronto International Film Festival

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Today, both Apple Music aficionados and Swifties are in for a delightful surprise as Taylor Swift unveils a fresh array of playlists. True to her distinctive approach, each playlist bears a profound emotional significance, offering listeners a glimpse into the depths of human experiences. Swift’s latest project, released on Friday, encompasses five distinct playlists on the streaming platform, each meticulously crafted to capture various stages of heartbreak.

In a heartfelt moment, Swift expressed her emotions while introducing each playlist, underscoring the poignant narrative woven into the selection. Through these playlists, listeners embark on a journey through the intricacies of heartache, resonating with Swift’s signature blend of introspection and vulnerability.

As fans immerse themselves in the curated musical journeys, they not only experience the raw emotions conveyed by Swift’s compositions but also find solace and understanding in the universal themes of love and loss. With each playlist serving as a poignant ode to the complexities of human connections, Swift once again demonstrates her prowess in crafting narratives that deeply resonate with her audience.

Taylor Swift’s latest playlists offer a profound exploration of the emotional stages associated with heartbreak, encapsulating denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and ultimately, acceptance. These collections not only serve as a retrospective journey through her cherished catalog but also serve as tantalizing previews for her forthcoming album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” slated for release on April 19th.

As reported by Entertainment Tonight, each playlist draws its name from a track featured on “TPD,” hinting at the thematic coherence between Swift’s musical repertoire and her upcoming album. Through this meticulous curation, Swift invites listeners to immerse themselves not only in her past hits but also in the thematic essence of her upcoming project.

With “The Tortured Poets Department” on the horizon, these playlists serve as poignant reflections of Swift’s artistic evolution, offering a glimpse into the emotional depth and narrative complexity that define her musical journey. As anticipation mounts for the album’s release, fans are treated to a multifaceted experience that intertwines past and present, culminating in a captivating musical narrative crafted by one of pop music’s most revered storytellers.

In the denial playlist, aptly titled “I Love You, It’s Ruining My Life Songs,” Taylor Swift curates a selection of tracks that delve into the complexities of love and denial. Among the featured songs are “Lavender Haze,” “Style (Taylor’s Version),” and “Treacherous (Taylor’s Version).” These tracks offer a poignant exploration of the initial stages of heartbreak, where conflicting emotions intertwine as one grapples with the realization that love may be both intoxicating and detrimental.

“Lavender Haze” sets the tone with its dreamy atmosphere, capturing the allure of love even amidst uncertainty. Swift’s re-recordings of “Style” and “Treacherous” add layers of depth to the playlist, offering fresh perspectives on classic tracks that resonate with themes of desire and risk.

Through these selections, listeners are transported into a world where love and denial intersect, each song serving as a poignant reminder of the complexities inherent in matters of the heart. As Swift navigates the tumultuous waters of love and loss, her music becomes a beacon of solace for those grappling with similar emotions, inviting them to explore the intricacies of denial through her evocative melodies and heartfelt lyrics.

“This is a list of songs about getting so caught up in the idea of something that you have a hard time seeing the red flags, possibly resulting in moments of denial and maybe a little bit of delusion,” Swift shared in a statement. “Results may vary.”

Anger, a.k.a. You Don’t Get to Tell Me About Sad Songs, has the tracks “Vigilante Shit,” “Bad Blood (Taylor’s Version),” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (Taylor’s Version).”

Opening up about that collection, Swift said, “These songs all have one thing in common, I wrote them while feeling anger. Over the years, I’ve learned that anger can manifest itself in a lot of different ways, but the healthiest way that it manifests itself in my life is when I can write a song about it, and then oftentimes, that helps me get past it.”

Taylor Swift 2024 Grammys

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Am I Allowed to Cry? Songs, which is Taylor’s exploration of the bargaining stage of heartbreak, features her songs “Soon You’ll Get Better,” “Say Don’t Go (Taylor’s Version)(From The Vault),” and Folklore‘s “This Is Me Trying.”

Reflecting on the thoughtful curation of the playlist, Taylor Swift shared insights into its thematic essence, stating, “This playlist takes you through the songs that I’ve written when I was in the bargaining stage.” She elaborated on this pivotal stage in the emotional journey, describing it as a time when individuals attempt to negotiate with themselves or their loved ones in a bid to salvage what remains of a relationship. Swift emphasized the intensity of these moments, characterized by a sense of desperation fueled by a deep-seated intuition that things may not unfold as desired.

In this phase, marked by a delicate balance between hope and resignation, Swift’s songwriting captures the raw vulnerability and profound longing that accompany the process of bargaining. Through her evocative lyrics and emotive melodies, listeners are invited to immerse themselves in the turbulent emotions that define this stage of heartbreak.

As Swift navigates the complexities of bargaining, her music becomes a testament to the human experience of grappling with uncertainty and striving for reconciliation against all odds. With each song serving as a poignant reminder of the tumultuous journey toward acceptance, Swift offers solace and understanding to those traversing similar emotional landscapes.

Depression is the next stage and Swifties are well aware that the singer has explored sadness before — and made it one of her trademark motifs.

“We’re going to be exploring the feelings of depression that often lace their way through my songs. In times like these, I’ll write a song because I feel lonely or hopeless. And writing a song feels like the only way to process that intensity of an emotion,” Swift said of her process in choosing the songs for the Old Habits Die Screaming Songs list. “And while these things are really, really hard to go through, I often feel like when I’m either listening to songs or writing songs that deal with this intensity of loss and hopelessness, usually that’s in the phase where I’m close to getting past that feeling.”

“We Were Happy (Taylor’s Version),” “Forever Winter (Taylor’s Version),” and “Champagne Problems” feature on the list.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce

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I Can Do It With a Broken Heart Songs close out Swift’s lists and mark the fifth and final stage of heartbreak, acceptance. “You’re On Your Own, Kid” and “Closure” join “Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version)(From The Vault)” and “Long Story Short” for her deep dive into the last chapter of heartache.

“Here, we finally find acceptance and can start moving forward from loss or heartbreak,” she said. “These songs represent making room for more good in your life, making that choice because a lot of time when we lose things, we gain things, too.”

Earlier this week, Swift’s beau Travis Kelce shared that he’s been deeply engrossed in Swift’s tastes in music, though he didn’t share exactly what she’s been exposing him to. Of course, with these new playlists, her boyfriend can get a taste of how she approaches love and make sure he’s in line with her M.O. — after all, if he’s in it for the long run and the two are planning to cohabitate soon, he may need a roadmap.