Taylor Swift Marks ‘Tortured Poets Department’ Release With Number 13

Taylor Swift’s title as the queen of Easter eggs remains unchallenged. The singer will drop her much-anticipated 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, on April 19, and Swift has been teasing the forthcoming release with her favorite number 13.

The number 13 has been a big deal for the singer from an early age. As Swift previously explained, she was born on Dec. 13, 1989, she turned 13 on Friday the 13th, her debut album (Taylor Swift) went gold in 13 weeks, and her first Billboard Hot 100 number-one “Our Song” has a 13-second intro.

As many Swifties had anticipated, the Grammy winner marked 13 days until The Tortured Poets Department on April 6 with her lucky number. In an Instagram Story, Swift shared a video of a typewriter typing, “13 days until THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT,” along with an album preorder link.

Meanwhile, SiriusXM launched the dedicated Swift radio channel on April 7, titled Channel 13 (Taylor’s Version), referencing the singer’s lucky number and recent album re-releases. The channel will broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week across North America, and play songs from Swift’s entire music catalog — including “From the Vault” tracks and live recordings.

“The 13th day of the channel, Friday, April 19, coincides with the release of Taylor Swift’s new album The Tortured Poets Department,” a SiriusXM press release read. “Channel 13 (Taylor’s Version) will be playing the full album beginning to end continuously throughout the weekend.”

Swift’s latest string of Easter eggs has not gone unnoticed by eagle-eyed fans. “Taylor will never let the number 13 go,” one Swiftie joked on X (formerly Twitter). “Taylor got her own Sirius station on April 7 and its number 13. We Won,” another wrote.

Swift first announced The Tortured Poets Department after winning Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2024 Grammy Awards on Feb. 4.

Noting that she’d just won her 13th Grammy, Swift said in her acceptance speech, “I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I have been keeping from you for the last two years, which is that my brand new album comes out April 19th. It’s called The Tortured Poets Department. I’m going to go and post the cover right now backstage. Thank you, I love you! Thank you!”