On Aug. 9, 2023, Taylor Swift introduced the discharge date of her re-recorded album “1989 (Taylor’s Model)” through the closing present of the Eras Tour’s first U.S. leg. Many already noticed it coming.
Taylor Swift’s followers are notorious for being Swifties by day and detectives by night time, diligently following the paths of clues that Swift sprinkles to her album bulletins. Her most devoted followers know her all too properly — the worldwide pop star loves to depart Easter eggs for her massive bulletins and, months after Swift’s Might 5 announcement of her final re-recording, “Converse Now,” followers had been getting suspicious that the subsequent re-recording could be simply across the nook. So, as Swifties continued to select up clues concerning the long-anticipated launch of “1989 (Taylor’s Model),” they began to pay attention to all the things.
Swift introduced the discharge date of “1989 (Taylor’s Model)” in Los Angeles on the final night time of the primary U.S. leg of the Eras Tour. (Photograph left: SAM DIZON/The Stanford Day by day and photograph proper: CYNTHIA GE/The Stanford Daily)
Right here’s a crash course on understanding Swift’s Easter eggs: Her favourite quantity is 13, as she defined in an interview with MTV as early as 2009. “I used to be born on the thirteenth. I turned 13 on Friday the thirteenth. My first album went gold in 13 weeks. My first #1 track had a 13-second intro.”
“1989” is the fifth out of her discography of 10 albums, and is related to the colour blue. Leisure journalist Jason Pham writes that not solely does “Swift put on a blue sweater on the unique 1989 cowl,” however “1989” can also be the polar reverse of its previous album, “Crimson.” With songs comparable to “All Too Nicely” and “We’re By no means Ever Getting Again Collectively,” “Crimson” is about heartbreak and angst, whereas “1989” exudes enjoyable, friendship and new beginnings with songs like “Shake It Off” and “New Romantics.”
As a Swiftie myself, I comply with the Eras Tour and her Easter eggs prefer it’s my favourite sport, as Swift joked throughout her Aug. 4 present that I attended. Listed here are 13 of the various Easter eggs for “1989 (Taylor’s Model)” that Swifties, myself included, seen main as much as Swift’s announcement:
1. On July 28, Swift’s administration workforce, @taylornation, posted an Instagram image of Swift sporting a blue costume with a dreamy, Los Angeles background. The caption, “the air is getting fairly salty… ????,” referenced Swift’s track “august” — additionally the month that she in the end introduced “1989 (Taylor’s Model).” The blue tones of the photograph additionally alluded to the album’s related coloration.
2. On July 31, SoFi Stadium posted on Instagram about welcoming Swift to Los Angeles forward of her six bought out exhibits, leaving followers 9 days to place collectively the items of the puzzle. On the second slide of the publish, the pictured lifeguard stand was labeled with “1989” and “Taylor’s Model,” inflicting Swifties to really feel assured about filling on this clean house. At this level, many followers had been sure Swift would announce this album whereas touring in Los Angeles.
3. On Aug. 2, Taylor Nation posted a video of a wall in Los Angeles that includes Spotify’s “My Prime 5 Taylor Swift’s Eras” marketing campaign. As many feedback on this Instagram publish counsel, the intentional number of the quantity “5” felt suspicious, as “1989” is Swift’s fifth album.
4. Within the closing scene of her music video for “Converse Now (Taylor’s Model)” bonus observe “I Can See You,” Taylor drives away from a museum heist in a getaway automotive. Because the automotive passes underneath a bridge, a clearance signal on the high of the bridge could be seen studying “1989 TV.”
5. Equally, at 0:16 in her “Karma” music video from the “Midnights” album, Swift is proven standing on a pedestal engraved on the base with refined Roman numerals for “1989.”
6. On Aug. 8, Swift changed her typical “Midnights” outfit with a brand new bodysuit mirroring the one which she’d worn throughout her “1989” tour in 2015. Swift’s vogue actually by no means goes out of favor.
A side-by-side comparability of Swift’s bodysuit from her “1989” tour, and “Midnights” bodysuit from her Eras Tour. (Pictures: Wikimedia Commons)
7. Swift introduced the massive information on the final day of the primary U.S. leg, which was Aug. 9 — or 8/9, conveniently mirroring the latter half of the album title, “1989.” Aug. 9 additionally occurs to be eight years, 9 months and 13 days from when she initially launched “1989,” and it had additionally been 13 weeks since Swift introduced her earlier re-recorded album, “Converse Now (Taylor’s Model).” As if this doesn’t present that Swift is a mastermind already, Aug. 9, 2023 additionally marks 3,208 days for the reason that unique “1989” was first launched. The 4 numbers in 3,208 sum to 13.
8. Swift additionally performs on the quantity 19, the primary half of the album title: Los Angeles was the nineteenth cease of the primary U.S. leg, with Glendale, Arizona being the very first night time.
9. On Aug. 9, the day of the announcement, Taylor Nation made followers itching for the reply much more with one other cryptic Instagram publish: “53 exhibits, 20 cities, 10 Eras, 5 months, and 1 factor’s for positive…” After all, Swifties had been quick so as to add these numbers up and notice that they summed to 89. At this level, Swifties couldn’t settle down.
10. That very same day, Swift changed her typical Eras Tour outfits for the “1989,” “Converse Now,” “folklore,” “Midnights” and acoustic units with monochromatic blue outfits. As Swift sings in “Delicate,” Oh rattling, by no means seen that coloration blue — which actually was true, as these outfits had beforehand matched the colours of their respective albums as an alternative.
Swift changed her typical outfits with blue variations on the ultimate night time of the tour. (Pictures: Wikimedia Commons)
11. The night time earlier than the announcement, attendees’ light-up bracelets had flashed in blue 5 occasions after the live performance. At this level, many of the stadium knew what was occurring already — 5 occasions for the fifth album, and blue because the album’s symbolic coloration. Her followers may actually see it with the lights out.
12. Moments earlier than Swift introduced the massive information to the attendees on the tour, followers seen that Swift’s web site had been up to date to suit the “1989” aesthetic, with shades of pastel blues and beachy imagery changing the “Midnights” structure from earlier than, seagulls flying throughout the web page to greet web site guests. At this level, it was clear that Swift gave so many indicators.
13. Each night time, Swift performs two shock songs from her discography through the acoustic set of the present. Apart from making the friendship bracelets and tasting the second, Swifties attending and following the tour additionally discover pleasure in monitoring the shock songs that Swift has but to carry out. The day of the announcement, Swift had only one track left unperformed from “1989″: “New Romantics,” which many take into account to be the anthem of the album. At this level, her followers had been satisfied that Swift was saving this track for Aug. 9, the final day of the tour’s first leg. After all, they had been proper, as Swift carried out this track as one of many shock songs that night time. Because the lyrics in “New Romantics” counsel, “The rumors are horrible and merciless / However honey, most of them are true.” On this case, the “1989” rumors actually had been.
Vivian and her buddy attended the second night time of the Los Angeles cease of the tour on Aug. 4. (Pictures: VIVIAN WANG/The Stanford Day by day)
Taylor Swift’s “1989 (Taylor’s Model)” comes out on Oct. 27, 2023, precisely 9 years after her unique launch of “1989” in 2014. Together with hundreds of thousands of different Swifties, I’m already counting down the times till she releases the album, however… who’s counting?
Italicized phrases are references to Taylor Swift’s lyrics and track titles.