Down Bad: Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ Hits Social Media Snag

Despite the anticipation surrounding Taylor Swift’s latest album release a week ago today, research from William Hill Vegas indicates a melody of dissatisfaction echoing across social media platforms in response.

In a comprehensive analysis of X conversations over the past seven days surrounding Swift’s latest musical venture – The Tortured Poets Department – it was discovered that over a third (35%) of reactions garnered a negative sentiment, painting a sobering picture of public cynicism towards the album. Conversely, only 27% of responses expressed positivity towards the album, while 38% adopted a neutral stance, indicating a lack of enthusiasm or engagement from many:

Digging deeper into the discourse, specific tracks from the album emerged as focal points for both praise and critique. Among the list of most mentioned songs is “Fortnight”, featuring Post Malone, with 238,000 mentions. Despite its popularity, the sentiment towards the track remained relatively negative at 34%, following reports of fans being at odds with the rapper’s inclusion.

The album’s title track, “The Tortured Poets Department,” garnered the most significant attention with a colossal 435,000 mentions, encountering the most notable positive reception. While 15% of mentions were negative, a notable 42% expressed content with the song’s content or style.

However, further exacerbating the album’s social media backlash is the track “Down Bad,” which amassed 226,000 mentions but faced a staggering 56% negativity rate, suggesting a substantial disconnect between artist and audience on this ironically named single.

Among the other tracks, “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” and “I Can Do It with a Broken Heart” also elicited polarising reactions, with 39% and 50% negative sentiment respectively despite moderate mention counts.

In light of these findings, it’s evident that “The Tortured Poets Department” has failed to strike a harmonious chord with a significant portion of consumers on social media, though Taylor Swift’s usual acclaim and chart-topping success will likely be unscathed.