By Steven J. Horowitz
Senior Music Writer
The 1975’s Matty Healy has weighed in — sort of — on Taylor Swift’s new album “The Tortured Poets Department,” which many speculated includes songs that are written about the singer.
In a brief on-the-street interview, Healy is asked to rate Swift’s diss track on the album compared to the 30 other songs. “My diss track?” he responds in a clip posted by Entertainment Tonight. “I haven’t really listened to that much of it, but I’m sure it’s good.”
Matty Healy admits he hasn't listened to all of Taylor Swift's new album 'The Tortured Poets Department' but is "sure it's good." pic.twitter.com/pKNaSwaYRA
Fans have been poring over the lyrics to “The Tortured Poets Department” since its release on April 19, and like with many prior Swift albums, some have pointed to a few lyrics that could very well reference their short-lived fling following her split from actor Joe Alwyn. While the paparazzo refers to a single diss track, many think that there are numerous songs about their romance.
Popular on Variety
On the title track, for instance, Swift notes the subject’s love of typewriters, something that Healy has said he can’t live without. She also sings, “We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist,” a musician that Healy has praised in the past. Elsewhere, on “But Daddy I Love Him,” she states that “scandal does funny things to pride, but brings lovers closer,” which could be a hat-tip to the blowback she received for dating him.
Regardless of all the hypothesizing and conjecturing, “The Tortured Poets Department” is on track to be one of the biggest albums in recent memory. It just became the first album in Spotify history to get a billion streams in less than a week, and some are projecting that it could sell north of two million copies in its first week.
A Variety and iHeartRadio Podcast
The Business of Entertainment