Taylor Swift fans in a frenzy
Theories about what happens Friday run wild.
Is it an album? A single and music video? A book? An unveiling of her quest for world domination?
Whatever the nature of the project may be, Taylor Swift is dropping something on Friday, and she has driven her fans into a frenzy trying to figure it out.
Fans have been speculating for months – well, really since the day her album “Reputation” was released on Nov. 10, 2017 – about her storied “TS7,” shorthand for her seventh studio album. Swift started building speculation about new music in February, when she ramped up her social media posts and unveiled a rare cover photo shoot with Elle UK, along with an essay she wrote about her music.
And she confirmed that something big was on its way when she posted a countdown on her website April 13, ticking down the days, minutes and seconds leading up to April 26. Every day since, Swift has shared an Instagram photo with the same pastel color scheme as her countdown announcement, including several bejeweled hearts, some fluffy pink tulle and a very on-brand filtered photo of her two cats. Even a recent post featuring her Time cover for the magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” fit the color scheme, featuring Swift in a baby-blue dress – the same color as her eyes – against a pale pink background.
The meticulously coordinated rollout also has doubled as Swiftie bait, with her fans flooding the internet with their best guesses about exactly what is arriving on “4.26,” the caption that accompanies each of Swift’s posts. And while Swift is certainly aware of the buzz surrounding her new release – posting another
photo of one of her cats with a shocked look on its face, captioned “She just read all the theories” – the wild ideas about TS7 just keep rolling in.
Read on for a selection of the many, many theories about what Swift has up her pastel-colored sleeve.
Swift is releasing a music video on Friday – and performing the song at the Billboard Music Awards
The prevailing theory seems to be that the singer will be releasing a music video, and fan accounts have claimed that the images, outfits and jewelry she has been sharing on her Instagram are taken from the clip.
And while Billboard hasn’t confirmed that Swift will be performing at – or
even attending – the Billboard Music Awards on May 1, she has a long history with the show, winning three trophies for top female artist, more than anyone. Several Twitter accounts dedicated to music rumors have postulated that Swift may premiere her new song at the BBMAs this year.
Swift is getting married – or is revealing details about a ceremony that already happened
From Swift’s many recent awardsseason appearances with her actor boyfriend Joe Alwyn – accompanying him to support “The Favourite,” in which Alwyn had a supporting role – to the heart-shaped jewels and the flowing gowns on her Instagram, many fans believe the singer is either teasing her upcoming nuptials, or that she’s already married and will reveal more details about the ceremony on that date.
Swiftie YouTuber Lauren Lipman, included that take at the top of a recent 36-minute video titled “Every Theory, Rumor, and Detail about the Taylor Swift Countdown,” offering the explanation that a music video may be connected to an April 26 marriage reveal. In that case, Swift would be following the lead of pop’s reigning queen of surprise releases, Beyoncé, who has used unannounced video releases to share never-before-seen footage of her wedding, clips of her children and more personal moments.
“Why would Universal and Republic records be promoting her wedding?” Lipman wondered. “Maybe she’s gonna pull a Beyoncé and release a video on the 26th with video of the wedding that she already had.”
Swift’s new album is somehow connected to ‘The Story of Us’
A few fan accounts have drawn connections between her “Speak Now” track “The Story of Us,” released back in 2011, and her coming announcement. First, and most obvious, is the runtime of “The Story of Us”: four minutes, 26 seconds.
One eagle-eyed fan pointed out the similarities between Swift’s tour outfits during her “Speak Now” album era, which featured multiple gowns with rose-colored ruffles, and her Instagram post of pink tulle. Meanwhile, another fan account revisited Swift’s “The Story of Us” music video from 2011, only to find that she’s wearing a ring in the clip that resembles the heart jewelry she also posted on her IG.