Tag: tortured poets department

Earlier this week, Taylor Swift was the guest on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. During a segment where Fallon asked her what the last song she listened to, Swift revealed a surprising ritual she performs before every album release:

“So I have this tradition when the eve before I have a new album that comes out that starts a new musical era, I listen to the entirety of the last album that I made. So I listened to Tortured Poets Department to say goodbye to it. I do it every time.”

It seems like such a small thing, but it’s actually brilliant. Because what Swift described isn’t just a quirky artist habit—it’s emotional intelligence in action.

Humans aren’t great at endings. We’re wired to hold on to the things in our lives—the people, projects, and past successes. We like the familiar because it makes us feel comfortable and safe. The truth, however, is that clinging to all of that is usually what keeps us from creating what’s next.

Swift’s ritual is the opposite of that. Listening to her last album before releasing the next isn’t nostalgia—it’s closure. It’s her way of saying, “Thank you, I have to go do this new thing now.” It’s a small, intentional act that creates space for something new.

Swift cares deeply about what she makes

To be clear, I don’t think the point is that Swift is done with her past music; I mean, she pulled off the most successful concert tour in history by singing through her entire back catalog for three hours a night. This is someone who has deep feelings for the things she makes, and I think that’s the point.

I think this ritual is more about understanding exactly that. Swift cares deeply about the songs and albums she has made, and to “say goodbye” is the most respectful thing she can do. It also frees her to devote that space in her mind and heart to the next thing.

Think about that for a second. Before she hits play on her next era, she stops and honors the one before it. She doesn’t skip ahead or pretend it didn’t happen. She gives it a moment, acknowledges what it meant, and then lets it go.

That’s emotional intelligence—the ability to recognize and regulate emotions instead of being ruled by them. It’s self-awareness, discipline, and empathy all wrapped into one quiet act.

The weight of Tortured Poets Department

In this case, it’s especially useful. If you’ve followed Swift’s career, you know The Tortured Poets Department wasn’t just another album. It was a reflection of one of the most emotionally raw seasons of her life—a breakup, intense public scrutiny, and a level of pressure few humans could possibly understand.

It was also one of the most successful albums of all time. It sold more than 2.6 million units in its first week, broke vinyl sales records, and became one of the most-streamed albums ever. It was a massive creative and commercial high point.

That kind of success can be a trap. When you’ve built something that big, it’s easy to start believing the best thing you’ll ever do is the thing you already did. Most people in that position try to repeat themselves. Swift doesn’t. She listens one last time, says goodbye, and moves on.

That’s what makes this ritual so powerful. It’s a reminder that letting go isn’t weakness—it’s how you make room for whatever’s next.

The next era: ‘The Life of a Showgirl’

And Swift is going to need a lot of room for what comes next. The Life of a Showgirl, released October 3, is already breaking records. It sold more than 2.7 million copies in a single day, outpacing the first-week numbers for Tortured Poets Department. It broke every major streaming record and became Spotify’s most pre-saved album ever.

It also feels, in every way, like the next chapter (or Era, I guess we call them when referring to Taylor Swift). That kind of pivot doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when someone is intentional about closing one chapter before starting the next.

A lesson for us all

Look, the reality is that you don’t have to be a global pop star to learn something from this. In work, in relationships, in leadership—most of us are terrible at endings. We finish one project and immediately start the next without ever pausing to reflect. We hold on to titles, achievements, or mistakes that define us long after they should have.

But endings matter. They give meaning to what came before and make room for what’s next. Swift’s ritual is simple, but it’s an antidote to the human tendency to cling.

So maybe before you start your next big thing, take a page out of her book. Revisit what came before. Sit with it. Acknowledge it. Say goodbye. Because the truth is, you can’t start a new era if you’re still holding on to the last one.

Most of us could use more of that. We’d be less anxious about what’s next if we were more honest about what’s finished.

Swift’s ritual might sound like a superstition. It’s not. It’s an act of emotional discipline. It’s how you stay human in the middle of a machine that never stops moving. It’s how you give yourself permission to feel the full weight of an ending without getting stuck there.

At the end of the day, maybe that’s the real secret behind Taylor Swift’s longevity. She doesn’t just reinvent herself—she releases herself.