"She has often leveraged emotion as an economy – and made literally billions out of it”, writes Martha French. While French mentions no name, there is only one musician whose emotional cache has earned her billionaire status.

The songstress she speaks of is, of course, Taylor Swift.

The reigning pop girl antihero has taken on a new moniker as a tortured poet with the release of The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD), her eleventh studio album and Spotify’s most streamed in a day album to date.

Reviews of the album have ranged from scathing to reverent. It’s a “cringeworthy”, “underwhelming and clunky”, “ego trip” of an album. But it’s also an “irresistible”, “wildly ambitious and gloriously chaotic”, “five-star pleasure”.

Swift herself describes the album as “sensational and sorrowful in equal measure.” But the critics, it seems, have a different opinion.

When it comes down to it, the album is a parody of tortured poetry, where the project relies on intentionally amping up the drama in a truly self-aggrandising confessional.

In fact, with its lengthy tracklist and heightened display of emotions, TTPD leans into the very things that Swift herself has been mocked for – namely criticism around her use of music to openly discuss her relationships while highlighting the rampant misogyny that underpins her icon status.

By knowingly embodying ridiculed characteristics to the point of caricature, the album pokes fun at and satiates fans' desires to constantly know more about the singer's personal life, deepening emotional fandom connections in the process.

Swifties are a force to be reckoned with, and in the US 31% of 18-29 year olds and 33% of 30-44 year olds identify as Taylor Swift fans.

With this self-proclaimed music love and desire for tangible closeness, they have gained a seismic reputation as one of the most powerful fan bases to date.

Unlike many other celebrities who have reached this level of popularity and stardom, Swift’s approach goes big on emotional vulnerability expressed through music. And it's this openness that has built such a strong bridge between her and her fans.

At a time when audiences are becoming increasingly sceptical about authenticity, with 65% of people in the UK and the US agreeing that transparency and honesty are key factors when making brand decisions, how is it that Swift’s personal brand has achieved a cult-like fandom who stand behind her every move?

Swift, and the levels of emotional intensity that TTPD delivers, represent a turning point in audience and celebrity relationships.

Not only are fans gaining access to the parasocial relationships that they crave, the singer is offering her hyper-engaged fandom something that makes them feel rewarded and valued.

The chaos and critique of TTPD is not only a sneak peek into Swift’s psyche and inner sanctum, but it's a permission to be an adult woman daring to scream, cry and unashamedly ask the world, what if everything is in fact about them?

And fans can't get enough.