Taylor Swift announces FIRST single from The Tortured Poets Department album will be Fortnight featuring Post Malone – as anticipation builds for hotly-anticipated new record

Taylor Swift has announced the first single from her new album The Tortured Poets Department.

The superstar, 34, revealed that Fortnight featuring Post Malone will be the debut track from the most highly anticipated album of the year, due out on Friday, April 19.

In the snap, she shared with Malone, “The first single from The Tortured Poets Department is…………. Fourteen days with @postmalone.

‘I’m such a big fan of Post because of the writer he is, his musical experiments and the melodies he creates that stick in your head forever.

“I got to experience first-hand how magic came to life when we worked together on Fortnight.

“Honestly, I can’t wait for you guys to hear this song tonight at midnight and see the video at 8PM AND TOMORROW.

This comes after fans panicked over claims her highly anticipated album has been leaked online.

Two days before its official debut, snippets of the songs credited to the record were posted on social media, with some revealing that they were taken from a zip file containing the full track list.

DailyMail.com has seen a screenshot of a Swifties group chat in which a file containing the allegedly leaked album was shared.

Upon hearing these snippets, many have claimed that they are fake and created by artificial intelligence (AI), but others have remained convinced that the songs offer an early access pass to the official album.

A zip file circulating online contained 17 different songs – the same number of hits that Taylor confirmed would be included on her upcoming record.

DailyMail.com has contacted Taylor’s representatives for comment.

News of the alleged leak sent shockwaves through the singer’s fanbase, with some rushing to listen to the songs, while others quickly defended the pop star, urging others to “report” any messages circulating in the clips and insisting that Taylor’s most dying…hard core supporters would wait until the official album comes out.

‘Tip: Turn your device volume COMPLETELY OFF on Twitter for the NEXT 24 HOURS and REPORT ANY POST spamming album leaks! We got this!’ wrote one person.

Another said: ‘It’s not a Taylor Swift album if you don’t have fake ‘Swifties’ spreading leaks because they can’t wait for one day to listen to the project… sad.’

A third wrote: ‘Please don’t spread the leak of Taylor Swift’s new album. Remember, this is Taylor’s work, respect it, just like you would your favorite artist. Don’t punish the artists for the behavior of their fans.’

As Taylor revealed in February, The Tortured Poets Department will feature several collaborations with top artists, including Post Malone and Florence + the Machine.

The Anti-Hero singer announced the latest album at the Grammy Awards earlier that month and now she has shared the tracklist for the record, which includes collaborations with the 28-year-old rapper and the Hunger hitmaker.

While this leak hasn’t been verified, it wouldn’t be the first time Taylor has seen one of her records appear online ahead of its official debut.

In 2017, the singer’s Reputation album, which was also due to be released on Friday, was leaked onto the internet a day before it was officially shared with the world.

However, in the years since that last leak, AI has become increasingly sophisticated, with several musicians being targeted by fake, computer-generated songs released under their names.

Drake has been incredibly outspoken against these fraudulent recordings and has fallen victim to AI-generated songs on a number of occasions.

Earlier this month, 200 high-profile artists, including Billie Eilish, Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj, called for an end to the “predatory” use of AI in the music industry. They wrote an open letter warning about the uncontrolled use of AI. the technology would ‘initiate a race to the bottom’.

Using AI to steal artists’ voices, likenesses and sounds is an “attack on human creativity,” they said, and would “destroy the music ecosystem.”

The letter, issued by the Artists Rights Alliance (ARA), called for a ban on AI tools that undermine or replace human songwriters or their work.

‘This attack on human creativity must be stopped. “We must protect against the predatory use of AI to steal the voices and likenesses of professional artists, violate the rights of creators, and destroy the music ecosystem,” the letter said.

Taylor’s latest alleged leak comes just hours after she revealed her “roster” for The Tortured Poets Department.

On Wednesday night, she shared a promotional video for the album on her Instagram, sending fans wild.

The clip started in a ’70s-inspired room, reminiscent of the Midnights era – her last album released.

Inside the room were pieces of crumbled paper on the floor, as well as a series of records and a clock that read two o’clock.

The camera then leads viewers down a white hallway to a room with the name The Tortured Poets Department on it.

Inside there are empty white desks with typewriters on them and coffee cups, after which the camera zooms in on a notice board on the wall.

On the wall was the date April 19, along with the words: “The Tortured Poets Department Release Day.”

Underneath it was a note that read: “8:00 PM ET. Music video release!!” – as well as fourteen slashes.

She simply wrote in the caption, “The TTPD schedule.”

It comes just after Taylor unveiled a pop-up library in Los Angeles earlier today as she geared up for the new album.

The Karma hitmaker’s fans queued for more than five hours to visit a pop-up poetry library.