Not a Drill: Taylor Swift and Post Malone's "Fortnight" Is the First ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ Single
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After Post Malone dropped his fifth album, Austin, last summer, he serendipitously landed on two of the most highly-anticipated albums of 2024: Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter and Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department. The rapper's involvement in Tortured Poets was revealed at the 2024 Grammys when Taylor announced her 11th album during her acceptance speech and posted the tracklist on her social channels. Posty is featured on one track, "Fortnight," and fans are already spiraling over theories online. An alleged version of the track has been making its rounds on TikTok, and while it's unclear whether it's AI or a leaked snippet, Swifties have been eating it up. Case in point, per one fan: "I don't care if it's AI as long as a full version gets released. 😂"
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So, let's get into the history of Taylor Swift and Post Malone's friendship, from how they met to how they landed on the same Tortured Poets track together.
May 20, 2018
Both artists attended the Billboard Music Awards in 2018, where they first met during a run-in backstage. Posty recounted the moment during an October 2023 interview on The Howard Stern Show, saying, "We were just passing by and she was like, 'Oh my God! Nice to see you. 'Better Now' is fucking amazing!'" He continued, "I was like, 'What?' That's fucking crazy, you're a great fucking songwriter! Thank you so very much.'"
In a clip, Tay praised Posty backstage, saying, "'Better Now' is so insane. I'm so jealous of that song, that hook."
"There's so many beautiful artists in the world and for another artist to acknowledge that is a really, really bitching thing. It's a really special thing," Post said of the interaction. "That was a really cool moment and it was very inspiring."
November 24, 2019
Both Taylor and Posty were up for Artist of the Year at the 2019 American Music Awards, and Tay took home the award as she was also honored as Artist of the Decade. After her win, she ran up to Post Malone and brought him in for a hug. 🥹
Circa 2022
In Post Malone's subreddit, fans speculated that he might have been collaborating with Taylor since he followed her on TikTok. At the time, a fan wrote, "He only follows 31 people and now suddenly Taylor... right before his new album is supposed to come out + there were rumours about this collab a year ago. What do u think?" Little did they know they were onto something that'd happen two years later. 👀
October 27, 2023
Post Malone reflected on Taylor's massive success with the Eras Tour, telling Howard Stern, "It's fucking so cool. It's so cool."
"I recently got to hang out with her and she is genuinely one of the most kind and considerate and a fucking hell of a songwriter. Holy shit, amazing," he continued before he spoke about an impromptu beer pong game with her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and Patrick Mahomes. He jokingly recounted how he lost to the athletes, saying, "I will say this, and I told Taylor to tell him, 'Those elbows were crazy.' And you can't have your elbows crossing over the table. So I'd like a rematch."
February 5, 2024
Taylor announced her 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department, during her acceptance speech for Best Pop Album at the Grammys. She then posted the tracklist, which features a collaboration with Post Malone called "Fortnight." The "Rockstar" rapper then posted a photo of the tracklist alongside some heart emojis.
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February 8, 2024
Ahead of the Super Bowl, Posty sat down for an interview with Apple Music's Zane Lowe and said that Taylor is "amazing." "She's so sweet, and so kind and talented," he continued before he revealed his involvement on The Tortured Poets Department. "She hit me up and said, 'Let's do it' and I'm like 'Hell yeah.'"
February 11, 2024
Taylor and her BFF, Blake Lively, were caught swaying to Posty's performance of "America the Beautiful" at the Super Bowl. Their reaction to being on the jumbotron? Priceless.
February 12, 2024
Tay hung out with Post Malone at a Super Bowl after party, and she was also caught bopping around to "Circles" at the club. Celebs, they're just like us...
April 18, 2024
On The Tortured Poets Department eve, Taylor revealed that "Fortnight" featuring Post Malone would be the first single off the album with a music video (!!!). "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. I got to witness that magic come to life firsthand when we worked together on Fortnight," she wrote on social media.
The first single from The Tortured Poets Department is…………. Fortnight featuring @postmalone 🤍 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. I got to witness that… pic.twitter.com/b6cqrHkbE1
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) April 18, 2024
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