Singer Charlie Puth has scored a big social media boost after being name-checked on Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department.
Swift released her much-hyped 11th studio album on Friday, mentioning Puth on the title track.
“You smokŠµd then ate seven bars of chocolate, We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist,” the Grammy winner sings in the track’s second verse.
Kate Green/Stringer/Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images Entertainment/FilmMagic
Puth has gained 30,962 followers on Instagram since Friday, taking his total count to 18.1 million, according to analytics website Social Blade.
Newsweek has reached out to Swift and Puth for comment via email.
Puth, whose most recent album CHARLIE became his third top ten album in the U.S. in 2022, has yet to respond to Swift’s shoutout, but fans are desperate for his thoughts on the matter.
The 32-year-old shared a photo with fiancƩe Brooke Sansone to Instagram on Thursday, and Swifties flooded the comments section.
“How are you doing after the Taylor Swift callout?” asked Claire.
“The tortured poets department declares you should be a bigger artist,” said B.
“Are you losing your mind with this Taylor lyric,” wondered Blake Hanrahan.
“Me waiting for your response about being mentioned on TTPD,” commented Kayla Rose.
“Boy will wake up and see his life is turned upside down for a phrase on a song and that’s so funny,” joked shaw gauthier.
“TAYLOR MENTIONED YOU SLAYYYYY,” wrote Gavin, while @taylorswift.decoding said: “Holy crap. How does it feel to be the chosen one?”
Lyrics from The Tortured Poets Department leaked online on Wednesday, two days ahead of plannedāincluding the title track.
A snippet went viral on X, formerly Twitter, receiving over 1 million views, and fans debated whether the line about Puth was legitimate or an AI replica of Swift’s vocals.
“This cant be real,” wrote one user, while another said: “There’s no way.”
The video was later taken down following “a report by the copyright owner.”
The Puth lyric wasn’t the only surprise Swift had for fans on Friday. Since the pop star announced The Tortured Poets Department at the Grammy awards in February, Swifties had been speculating that the release could be a double album, pointing to Easter eggs in Tortured Poets promo materials.
The fan theory turned out to be true, and the double album is named The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology.
Other famous faces name-checked in Swift’s latest release include singer Patti Smith, poet Dylan Thomas, Fleetwood Mac icon Stevie Nicks and silent movie star Clara Bow.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.