Known for channeling her romantic struggles and airing grievances through her music, Taylor Swift once again delves into the pain of her relationship breakdowns in her latest hit, with a little assistance from US actors Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles.
The music video for Swift’s song “Fortnight,” the lead single from her new album “The Tortured Poets Department,” sent her millions of fans into a frenzy when it premiered on YouTube early Friday.
This album marks the 34-year-old’s first release since the end of her six-year relationship with British actor Joe Alwyn, who is widely speculated to be the subject of much of her frustration, notably in tracks like “So Long, London.” Even the album’s title—a playful jab at a WhatsApp group Alwyn shares with actors Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott, dubbed the “Tortured Man Club”—hints at Swift’s pointed commentary.
Matty Healy, the rebellious frontman of The 1975, with whom Swift had a brief fling, also finds himself under scrutiny—Swifties (the moniker for the singer’s devoted fanbase) suspect him to be the muse behind the track “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.”
Swift described the album as a collection of new compositions reflecting “events, opinions, and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time—one that was both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure.”
She went on to say that period in her life was over, adding: ‘The chapter closed and boarded up. There is nothing to avenge, no scores to settle once wounds have healed. Once we have spoken our saddest story, we can be free of it.’
Known for her ability to keep fans intrigued with hidden messages, Taylor Swift once again kept fans guessing with the release of the “Fortnight” video, featuring a duet with US rapper Post Malone. The video suggests that Swift has struggled with love to the extent that it has affected her mental health. Depicted in what appears to be an asylum, she is shown lying on a bed devoid of a mattress, chained to the railing.
A doctor enters the scene with a bottle of pills labeled “Forget him,” which Swift consumes, leading to her liberation. Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles portray scientists in scenes reminiscent of Frankenstein as Swift is strapped to a table.
In celebration of the release of the “Fortnight” video, Swift also shared 14 short video clips of her life over the past two weeks on YouTube Shorts.
These clips include moments of her enjoying a cocktail and working out at the gym. She encouraged fans to participate in her #ForAFortnight challenge by emulating her activities.
