Taylor Swift hints at once having a drinking problem in her highly anticipated new album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”
“I was supposed to be sent away / But they forgot to come and get me,” she sings in the album’s opening track, “Fortnight.” “I was a functioning alcoholic ’til nobody noticed my new aesthetic.”
While Swift sings in first person, it’s unclear whether the line is completely anecdotal or if she took some creative liberties.
The songstress revealed in December 2023 that she had stopped drinking months before embarking on her rigorous Eras Tour.
Taylor Swift hinted at past alcohol issues in one of her new songs.T.JACKSON / BACKGRID00:2103:46
“I was a functioning alcoholic ’til nobody noticed my new aesthetic,” she sings in “Fortnight.”
Despite admittedly touring “like a frat guy” in the past, Swift ultimately decided to keep her sober lifestyle going while on the road.
“Doing that show with a hangover … I don’t want to know that world,” she told Time.
However, the 14-time Grammy winner has loosened her reins and has been spotted indulging in a drink or two while hanging out with boyfriend Travis Kelce.
While it’s unclear if Swift’s “Fortnight” lyrics were about herself, fans might get a better understanding of the meaning behind the Post Malone duet in the upcoming music video, which is set to drop at 8 p.m. ET.
Swift gave up alcohol while training for her Eras Tour.Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
However, she seemingly slowly added it back into her lifestyle while on break from tour.Mike Kirschbaum/Wynn Las Vegas / MEGA
Swift, 34, announced that “Fortnight” was the record’s lead single and getting a video on Thursday afternoon.
“I’ve been such a huge fan of Post because of the writer he is, his musical experimentation and those melodies he creates that just stick in your head forever,” the songstress wrote on Instagram. “I got to witness that magic come to life firsthand when we worked together on Fortnight.”
Swift also teased a potential fan interactive challenge called the “For a Fortnight Challenge.” However, she did not reveal any other details about it.
Malone has also spoken candidly about his struggles with alcohol in the past, telling Howard Stern in 2022 that he was “bodying fifths” of vodka regularly while just “trying to hang in there.”