Taylor Swift shares studio polaroids with Post Malone and Florence Welch as ‘Tortured Poets Department’ shifts over 2.6million in the US

“I’m completely floored by the love you’ve shown this album”

Post Malone, Taylor Swift and Florence Welch all perform live on stage. CREDIT: Kevin Winter, Christopher Polk and Joseph Okpako/Getty Images

Taylor Swift has celebrated the ongoing success of ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ by sharing a series of photographs of her with collaborators Post Malone and Florence Welch. Check them out below.

The polaroids were shared by the pop icon on Instagram last night (April 28), as she celebrated the new album debuting at Number One on the Billboard 200 chart, and selling over 2.6million units in America.

“My mind is blown. I’m completely floored by the love you’ve shown this album,” she began in the caption. “2.6million ARE YOU ACTUALLY SERIOUS?? Thank you for listening, streaming, and welcoming Tortured Poets into your life. Feeling completely overwhelmed.”

“I was already so fired up to get back to the tour but you doing THIS?? May 9th can’t come soon enough,” she added, referring to her upcoming ‘Eras Tour’ dates, which will resume in Paris next month.

In the post, a variety of photos are shown of the ‘Midnights’ singer during the recording sessions of ‘The Tortured Poets Department’, as well as two pictures of her with guest collaborators Post Malone and Florence Welch. The rapper starred on the opening track, ‘Fortnight’, while the Florence + The Machine frontwoman joined Swift on a song titled ‘Florida!!!’.

With ‘TTDP’ selling 2.61million units since its release on April 19, it has become the highest-selling album since Adele’s 2015 LP, ‘25’.

As highlighted by The Independent, traditional album sales – which include digital downloads, CDs, vinyl LPs and cassettes – accounted for just over 1.9million of the sales.

Other accolades include selling the most sales of a vinyl album in the modern era, racking up over 859,000 units, and surpassing Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ to become the top-selling album of 2024 so far.

Previously, it was confirmed that the LP delivered the UK’s biggest opening week in seven years, and managed to break Spotify’s record for most-streamed album in a day with 300million streams.

In a three-star review of ‘The Tortured Poets Department’, NME said: “Swift seems to be in tireless pursuit for superstardom, yet the negative public opinion it can come with irks her, and it’s a tired theme now plaguing her discography and leaving little room for the poignant lyrical observations she excels at.

“It’s why the pitfalls that mire her 11th studio album are all the more disappointing — she’s proven time and time again she can do better. To a Melbourne audience of her ‘Eras Tour’, Swift said that ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ came from a “need” to write. It’s just that maybe we didn’t need to hear it.”
Taylor Swift ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ album artwork
Following its release, much of the album was speculated to be about The 1975 frontman, Matty Healy, following him and Swift having a brief relationship last year. The songs rumoured to be about him include the title track, ‘The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived’ and others. In recent days, both Healy and his mother Denise Welch have shared their responses to the album.

As aforementioned, the pop star is due to begin the European and UK/Ireland leg of her huge career-spanning tour in Paris next month, and will play eight sold-out concerts in London with Paramore. There’s speculation that ‘Tortured Poets’ could appear on the setlist thanks to a clip of rehearsals being soundtracked by ‘Fortnight’, her collaborative single with Post Malone.

Similarly, in a recent interview, Florence Welch hinted that she could make a surprise appearance on stage in the capital.