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Pop singer is known to delve into themes of love and heartbreak with her songwriting
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Taylor Swift fans were left reeling after it became apparent that her new album, The Tortured Poets Department, seems to spend more time reflecting on her short-lived romance with The 1975 frontman Matty Healy than it does her former boyfriend of six years, actor Joe Alwyn.
The pop titan released her 11th studio album at midnight ET on Friday 19 April. Only a few hours later, she announced that a surprise “2am version” extended the record to a further 15 songs.
One of the tracks on the first part of the album is “The Alchemy”, which appears to be the first song Swift has released about her boyfriend Travis Kelce, tight-end for the Kansas City Chiefs.
The song has plenty of references to American football, including the lines: “So when I touch down/ Call the amateurs and cut ‘em from the team/ Ditch the clowns, get the crown/ Baby, I’m the one to beat.”
She also seems to refer to her British ex-boyfriends, singing: “These blokes warm the benches/ We’ve been on a winning streak.”
There is also, possibly, a reference to the triumphant moment the Chiefs won the Super Bowl in February, during which Kelce made sure to celebrate with Swift before accepting the trophy.
“Shirts off, and your friends lift you up, over their heads/ Beer stickin’ to the floor, cheers chanted ‘cause they said/ ‘There was no chance trying to be the greatest in the league’/ Where’s the trophy? He just comes, running over to me,” Swift sings.
She and Kelce, both 34, were first linked in July 2023, when the American football player admitted he had tried and failed to send Swift a handmade friendship bracelet, and that he had been hoping to meet her in person.
“I was disappointed that she doesn’t talk before or after her shows, because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs that she sings,” he explained to his older brother, Jason Kelce, on their podcast, New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce.
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“So I was a little butthurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her.”
Swift was clearly impressed with his efforts, however, and the couple were rumoured to be dating just two months later. Swift was spotted at her first Chiefs game on 24 September, then a second game with some of her celebrity friends in tow, including Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Sabrina Carpenter, Sophie Turner, and Queer Eye star Antoni Porowski.
The singer was also seen hugging Kelce’s mother, Donna Kelce, and posed for a selfie with Lively, Reynolds, and Jackman.
In October, she and Kelce were spotted kissing after Swift finished an Eras show in November; she spoke about the relationship publicly when she was interviewed as Time’s Person of the Year 2023.
At the 2024 Super Bowl in February, Swift was seen cheering Kelce on from a box full of his family and their friends. She was seen rushing onto the field after the Chiefs won the game in a tense finish, with Kelce telling her “I love you” in full view of the cameras.
You can read The Independent’s five-star review of Swift’s album here.
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Swift and Kelce celebrate at the Super Bowl 2024
Getty Images
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