Taylor Swift announces brand new album as she wins 13th Grammy

The Tortured Poets Department will be released on 19 April

Taylor Swift has announced that her new album The Tortured Poets Department will be released on 19 April.

After picking up the Grammy award for Best Pop Vocal Album for Midnights, Swift said: “Okay this is my 13th Grammy. Which is my lucky number... if I’ve ever told you that.

“I know that the way the Recording Academy voted is a direct reflection of the passion from the fans.

“So 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 19, it’s called The Tortured Poets Department, I’m going to go and post the cover right now back stage, thank you I love you.”

Speculation that Swift was set to release a new album began earlier in the night when her website displayed a black screen error message.

The message read: “Error 321 Backend fetch failed Backend fetch failed. hneriergrd: DPT: 321”

However, eagle-eyed fans took to social media to point out that the site wasn’t actually crashed, and it’s more likely the page is being scrubbed ahead of a major announcement regarding new music.

Swift is nominated for five further awards at tonight’s Grammys and will compete in each of the major categories: Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

The “Cruel Summer” singer made headlines with her latest Song of the Year nomination, which made her the only person to ever receive seven nods in that category. Additionally, she could make more Grammys history if she wins Album of the Year for her 10th album, Midnights.

At the moment, she’s tied with Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon and Frank Sinatra with three Album of the Year trophies. If she beats the other nominees in the category – Boygenius, Janelle Monaé, Jon Batiste, Lana Del Rey, Miley Cyrus, SZA and Olivia Rodrigo – Swift would become the first and only person to win Album of the Year four times.

Leading this year’s Grammy nominees is R&B singer-songwriter SZA with nine nods, including Album of the Year, Best Record and Best Song. Victoria Monét, Phoebe Bridgers and producer Serban Ghenea follow closely behind with seven a piece.

If SZA manages to win at least seven of the categories she’s nominated in, she would become the female artist with the most ever wins in a single night. Currently, Adele and Beyoncé jointly hold that record with six wins in one ceremony.

The 66th annual Grammys ceremony is taking place at the Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles tonight, with the main ceremony presented by Trevor Noah. This marks the comedian’s fourth consecutive year of hosting duties.

A number of artists will perform live during the ceremony, with legendary singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, 80, scheduled to sing live from the Grammys stage for the first time in her career.

Billie Eilish and British pop star Kylie Minogue were among the stars to scoop early Grammys during the pre-telecast ceremony.

Follow all the updates and winners from this year’s Grammy Awards on The Independent’s live blog.