Taylor Swift’s new album features 2 high-profile guest stars — and they both stand to reap major rewards

Taylor Swift’s album “The Tortured Poets Department” is here, and it features two heavy-hitting collaborations.

Swift’s eleventh studio album includes two guest vocalists, rapper Post Malone (“Fortnight”) and English indie rock band Florence + The Machine (“Florida!!!”). This is the first time Swift has worked with either artist.

“I’ve been such a huge fan of Post because of the writer he is, his musical experimentation and those melodies he creates that just stick in your head forever,” Swift said of the rapper in an X post on Thursday.

Their song, “Fortnight,” serves as the album’s lead single. Its music video is set to be released on Friday night.

The first single from The Tortured Poets Department is. Fortnight featuring @postmalone Ive been such a huge fan of Post because of the writer he is, his musical experimentation and those melodies he creates that just stick in your head forever. I got to witness that pic.twitter.com/b6cqrHkbE1

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) April 18, 2024

And with “Florida!!!,” Swift has finally gotten the chance to work with an artist that she has long been gushing about.

“What sets Florence apart? Everything,” Swift said of Florence Welch, the lead vocalist of Florence + The Machine, in a Billboard interview published in May 2015. “Every time I’ve been around her, she is the most magnetic person in the room — surrounded by people who are fascinated by the idea of being near her.”

There are very few people I’ve met in my life who are truly electric, and Florence is one of them,” she added.

While both Post and Welch are famous in their own right, both stand to reap major exposure gains from their collaborations. Consider the sizes of their Spotify followings. Post Malone has 63.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify, while Florence + The Machine has 19.5 million. Swift has 98.4 million monthly listeners.

The pop star has come a long way from her earlier days when she partnered with Boys Like Girls (“Two Is Better Than One”) in 2009 and John Mayer (“Half of My Heart”) in 2010.

When it comes to collaborations, Swift has demonstrated an eclectic taste in who she picks to join her in the recording studio.

The songstress has gone from duetting with Colbie Caillat (“Breathe”) in her sophomore album, “Fearless” to singing with indie folk band Bon Iver (“Exile”) in 2020’s “Folklore.

In fact, Post Malone isn’t even the first rapper Swift has worked with. Back in 2012, she made an appearance on B.o.b’s second studio album, “Strange Clouds.” The duo also blended their vocals in their anti-bullying anthem “Both of Us.”

For most artists, collaborating with Swift would deliver a huge boost in terms of fame and name recognition. The pop star has become an economic force of her own following the immense success of her billion-dollar grossing Eras Tour.

Swift sold nearly 4.35 million tickets across 60 concert tour dates in 2023, netting her a whopping $1.04 billion, per the concert trade publication Pollstar’s year-end charts

Swift’s longtime collaborator Ed Sheeran said that working with Swift helped launch his career in the US.

The pair first worked together on Swift’s 2012 album “Red” (“Everything Has Changed”) before reuniting on 2017’s “Reputation” (“Endgame”). Sheeran was also one of the opening acts for Swift’s “Red” tour in 2013.

Swift would return the favor in 2022 when she made an appearance on Sheeran’s fifth album “=” (“The Joker and the Queen”).

“Having an endorsement like Taylor Swift in America will help anyone. I think she’s like, Miss America. There’s no one really bigger than her in America, and if she says she likes anything, people kind of take notice of it,” Sheeran said in a 2015 interview.

Representatives for Swift did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.