Entertainment Music Pop Music Taylor Swift Name-Checks Charlie Puth on The Tortured Poets Department — and the Internet Has So Many Thoughts "We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist," the pop superstar sings on her new album's title track By Melody Chiu Melody Chiu Melody Chiu is an Executive Editor at PEOPLE overseeing music, events and emerging content. She has been with the brand since 2009, editing, writing and reporting across all entertainment verticals. She has written cover stories on Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Melissa McCarthy, Blake Shelton, Jordan Turpin and Sandra Oh. The Los Angeles native graduated from the University of Southern California and has appeared on Extra!, The Talk, Access Hollywood and Good Morning America. People Editorial Guidelines and Rachel DeSantis Rachel DeSantis Rachel DeSantis is a senior writer on the music team at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2019, and her work has previously appeared in Entertainment Weekly and the New York Daily News. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on April 19, 2024 11:32AM EDT Swifties were not ready for Taylor Swift to give Charlie Puth a shoutout on her latest album. On The Tortured Poets Department's title track, the Grammy winner, 34, cheekily ribs a paramour in the song about his penchant for old-fashioned typewriters and for likening himself to legendary poets. Swift includes an unexpected name drop, singing, "You smoked then ate seven bars of chocolate/ We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist." After Swift dropped the album, the internet had some thoughts about the lyric, ranging from confusion to gratitude. Everyone Taylor Swift Name-Drops on The Tortured Poets Department, from Charlie Puth to Stevie Nicks Over the years Puth has been open about his admiration for Swift, often covering her songs during his shows. "This is why she's such a genius, man," he said while performing her early hit "Teardrops on My Guitar" in 2021. "These are the chord changes. It's wonderful. I think it's wonderful." When Swift joined TikTok that same year, the singers also had a cute interaction on the platform after Puth welcomed his "fellow Sag." Taylor Swift and Charlie Puth. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty; Taylor Hill/Getty Taylor Swift Sings 'You're Losing Me' for First Time in Moving Performance at Eras Tour in Melbourne, Australia "I've lurked your account for ages! Thanks for the welcome, piano prince," Swift responded, adding a crown emoji. After announcing the upcoming release of The Tortured Poets Department, the pop superstar has been dropping Easter eggs about the album's content over the last two months. Taylor Swift. Beth Garrabrant While performing a tour stop in Melbourne, Swift opened up about how the songwriting process helped her heal during a difficult period in her life. "It was really a lifeline for me — just the things that I was going through, the things that I was writing about, it kind of reminded me why songwriting actually gets me through my life," she said. "I've never had an album that I needed songwriting more than I needed it on Tortured Poets." Read PEOPLE"s review of The Tortured Poets Department and dive deeper into the album's deeply personal lyrics, call-outs and more.