Taylor Swift made a historic debut on the Billboard 200 with Department of Tormented Poetsthe ambitious 31-song collection he apparently wrote, recorded and released while preparing for and embarking on The Eras Tour (and, to mention track 13, he did it “with a broken heart”).
“What do you mean,” she wrote in her immediate reaction to the headline she posted Advertising signwhich he reposted on Sunday (April 28).
As mentioned earlier, Swift not only has the 14th No. 1 album of her career; TTPDand the best-selling album of 2024 so far, year-over-year — but also the biggest streaming week ever, the second-biggest week for any album by units earned, the third-biggest sales week in the modern era, and the biggest sales week for vinyl in the modern age.
Department of Tormented Poets debuted with 2.61 million equivalent albums earned in the US in its first week.
“My mind is blown,” Swift posted on her various social media platforms (X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook) on Sunday afternoon. “I am completely satisfied by the love you have shown on this album. 2.6 million ARE YOU REALLY SERIOUS?? Thank you for listening, streaming and welcoming Tortured Poets into your lives. I feel completely devastated.”
“I was already so excited to get back on tour, but you're doing THIS?? May 9th can't come soon enough,” wrote Swift, who took the opportunity to upload some behind-the-scenes photos from the making of the album, including snaps with Post Malone and Florence Welch.
Of TTPDAmounting to 2.61 million, traditional album sales (purchases of digital downloads, CDs, vinyl LPs and cassettes) totaled 1.914 million, SEA units accounted for 683,000 (equivalent to 891.37 million official on-demand streams) and TEA units included 4,0001 units. See the full breakdown of the numbers and why it's a historic release for Swift, here.
Swift's shout out on May 9 is about her return to the tour after a two-month hiatus. Some guess it will work on at least some kind of a Tormented Poets era, tracing the evidence in a tour rehearsal clip released on “Fortnight” that Swift shared on Friday. (Looking at you, the railing is designed like this TTPD logo and dancers practicing an unknown top-hat number.)
She will bring The Eras Tour to Paris for a run of four back-to-back concerts at La Défense Arena from May 9-12 as she kicks off the European leg of her career, with Paramore opening the show.
Eras will also make its way to Sweden, Portugal, Spain, the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Poland and Austria by the end of the summer. All of Swift's upcoming tour dates are listed on her official website.
