Taylor Swift Responds To Critics Who Say She Releases Too Many Albums

8 February 2024, 13:15 | Updated: 5 July 2024, 17:58

Taylor Swift addresses critics who say she released too many albums. Picture: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, via YouTube

By Katie Louise Smith

"I’m having fun, leave me alone."

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Is Taylor Swift putting out too many albums? No, is the actual answer to that question... but some people seem to think she is.

In February 2024, Taylor made history at the Grammys after scooping her fourth Album of the Year award for 'Midnights'. On the night, she also won for Best Pop Album, where she surprised everyone by announcing her eleventh studio album, 'The Tortured Poets Department'.

'TTPD' is her fifth new album since 2019, and her ninth release in five years if you include her four re-recorded albums.

As soon as Taylor announced the news, social media lit up with cries of "Not ANOTHER album" and "WE’VE HAD ENOUGHHHH". Some critics even suggested Taylor needed "a long break like 5 years or something" because "we are tired!!!" (First of all, who is we?! Because it's not us!)

It seems as though Taylor has seen those comments, and has now addressed them with a perfect response.

Travis Kelce carries Taylor Swift on stage at Wembley

During her first Eras Tour show of 2024 in Tokyo, Taylor spoke about her big weekend at the Grammys, and politely addressed the criticism that's been levelled at her following her latest album announcement.

Speaking on stage at her February 7th show, Taylor elaborated on the info she gave about 'The Tortured Poets Department' during her acceptance speech. She revealed that she had been working on it ever since she turned 'Midnights' in, two years ago.

In the speech, which was captured by fans in the stadium, Taylor told the audience: "Soon you’ll get to hear it, soon we’ll get to experience that together. And I’m over the moon about the fact that you guys care about my music, it still blows my mind."

"I love doing this. I know I keep saying that, but that’s because it’s true," she continued, before addressing the criticism about her output. "Everyone’s like, 'Why do you make so many albums?'. Man, because I love it! I love it so much!"

"I’m having fun, leave me alone," she added, as the crowd cheered her on.

actually taylor swift has normal timeline for album release.
evermore (2020)
midnights (2022)
the tortured poets department (2024)

the haters called her chart obsessed with same shit because of rerecording, which is stupid https://t.co/xniVEHNMzv
— alvaro (@scarednostalgic) February 6, 2024

Taylor's actual album output is actually no different than the majority of artists who work towards the traditional two-year album cycle. It's only the fact that Taylor is releasing her re-recorded albums on top of that, that people are now claiming it's becoming "too much".

Taylor has released 5 albums within a 5-year time span – the norm for artists in the 2010s, like Rihanna and One Direction. Two of those ('Folklore' and 'Evermore') were a product of not being able to tour during the pandemic. If the pandemic didn't happen, they might not even exist. Here's the full list of Taylor's new releases since 2019:

Lover (2019)
Folklore (2020)
Evermore (2020)
Midnights (2022)
The Tortured Poets Department (2024)

She's also released 4 re-recorded albums ('Fearless TV' and 'Red TV' in 2022, 'Speak Now TV' and '1989 TV' in 2023). She still has two more to be released, and there's already hints that TS12 could be on the way.

Bring! It! On!