Since Taylor Swift released her highly anticipated single and music video, fans have been swirling to uncover the hidden meaning behind the lyrics and the visuals within it. Her new music video titled, "ME!" (subtle, right?), was a collaboration with Panic! At The Disco's Brendon Urie, and the first single since her Reputation album tour. Since Taylor first switched up her Instagram aesthetic in February, fans have been analyzing her photos to figure out what's coming next from the singer. Turns out, fans were right to speculate. And this isn't the first time she has left clues for her loyal Swifties. If we have learned anything from TS, we know that nothing is a coincidence; she always has a plan up her sleeve.
Since the release of "ME!", fans have circulated so many theories that it's hard to keep up with all of them. We can't wait to find out more about TS7 (what fans are referring to her new unreleased album name as) to see which Swifties guessed right.
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It's a new era
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The video opens with a moving snake. Anyone who doesn't live under a rock knows that this has been her motif since the start of Reputation, so this opening scene is particularly important. The slithering snake, however, ends up dissipating and turning into a flock of butterflies. With that, Reputation is over, and a new TS era has officially begun. Wow, so poetic. There are also theories that TS7 was supposed to come *before* the Reputation album, but that it was put on hold from being released due to the feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. In the song "End Game" on Reputation, literally one of the lyrics is, "Reputation precedes me." In the "Look What You Made Me Do" music video, a plane is seen in the background with "TS6" spray painted on the tail, apparently signifying her original TS6 album flying away. If that isn't proof enough, then we don't know what is.
The butterfly seems to be her new symbol. Like how the snake represented her Reputation era, she has blossomed into a new symbol that represents beauty and rebirth. She has actually hinted that butterflies would be her new motif for a while. In one of her Instagram photos posted on March 14th, she mentions the butterfly migration in Southern California, and another post later that day shows her posing alone on a tennis court with a butterfly emoji as the caption. And for the cherry on top, the next day she posted a photo of the heels she wore on the red carpet for the iHeartRadio awards. Guess what was on them? Butterflies. Pretty genius if we say so ourselves. While the snake represented the feud between her and Kim and Kanye, salvaging was left of her 'reputation' after she was caught lying, the butterflies symbolize something a bit more aligned to what we're used to associating TS with pre-Reputation. Maybe she realized people weren't super into that whole dark and vengeful TS look, after all. The old Taylor can come to the phone, now.
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Her new single title is revealed
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Since "Lover" most definitely can't be the name of the new album, it could more possibly be the name of her next single (because it's not there just by accident). For context, this neon sign in the music video is situated within the London skyline just under the House of Parliament and Big Ben. Is her next single an ode to her British boyfriend, Joe Alwyn? We can't wait to see.
Taylor herself has tweeted that the name of this next album is hidden somewhere in the video. Since the only text that appears in the video is "Lover," fans believe the title is revealed through visuals rather than words. She can't make it that easy, right? There are some great guesses out there, including "kaleidoscope," since the music video seems to be set inside a chrysalis and a group of butterflies is called, wait for it, a kaleidoscope. Of course! FWIW, the definition of a kaleidoscope is "a constantly changing pattern."
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The merging of the US and the UK
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In one scene of the video, the skylines of Washington, D.C. and London merge together in a *kaleidoscope*-like visual. Fans think this may allude to her and UK-born boyfriend Joe tying the knot soon, or simply how they have connected cultures in respect to their relationship. There were rumors that she has been home-shopping in London for a while in an effort to "set down roots" there with her bae, but these claims have been since reported as false.
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The Christmas Tree
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If you watched the video, you surely caught a glimpse of the stunning Christmas tree in the background in the French-speaking scene. If you're a true Swiftie, you know that Taylor grew up on a Christmas tree farm in Reading, Penn. (If you didn't know that, then there is your fun fact for the day.) While this is definitely a valid reference, others think there is more to its role in the video. Fans believe this album has a lot to do with nostalgia and her childhood, so that totally makes sense. Others think it speaks more towards the timing of her album release. Ever heard of Christmas in July? You can also spot palm trees outside the window in this same scene, which is further evidence this may be a spot-on theory.
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Her new kitten
Instagram, Taylor Swift
Taylor is most definitely a (crazy?) cat lady, and she's not ashamed of it. Her Scottish Fold cats Meredith and Olivia have become near-household names since their famous mom started posting pictures of their funny antics on Instagram. It seems fitting, then, that she introduce her new kitten in an elaborate way, such as through one of her music videos. Totally casual. Her new kitten, named Benjamin after the character in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, made his debut in the "ME!" video with Brendon handing him over to Taylor (she accepts the kitten after declining his engagement proposal). Fans think this kitten was exactly what she was talking about when she said the video would reveal "a secret that she has been keeping for months." So, apparently she and Joe are *not* engaged. Touche, Tay.
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She may be collaborating with... The Dixie Chicks?
Republic Records
With the opening scene showing a green-walled room decorated with various photos of chicks and a trio of women, it wasn't lost on fans to identify what this means. Because, it is a bit random, which probably means there's a message here. Upon a closer look, the trio of women are none other than the Dixie Chicks. Is this a clue that the iconic country band is collaborating with Taylor on her new album? We think so. And we are pretty pumped about it.
It seems as though Taylor dropped more than a few hints about her new album in her Elle interview that was published on February 28th. In the opening paragraphs, she discusses how music transports her back to certain times of her life, how it is inherently nostalgic. Then, she goes on to say whenever that "whenever I hear 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies’” by Panic! At The Disco, I’m transported back to being sixteen and driving down the streets of Hendersonville, Tennessee, with my best friend Abigail, euphorically screaming the lyrics." She also says how listening to "Cowboy Take Me Away" by the Dixie Chicks (!) reminds her of "being twelve years old, sitting in a little wood-paneled room in my family home in Pennsylvania." We are honestly blown away that her clues are placed right under our noses! Does this mean the other artists she mentioned in the article will also be collaborators on TS7?
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The Seven Dancing Suitcases
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This one may be obvious to some, but the seven suitcases is speculated to represent her (soon to be) seven albums over the course of her career. She had posted a photo of the suitcases (only three, though), on her Instagram feed on April 22nd. This is just true proof that *literally* everything has meaning.
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Did it remind you of Mary Poppins?
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T-Swift was undoubtedly inspired by Mary Poppins (as well as Wizard of Oz, Hairspray, Singing in the Rain, etc.), in making this music video. Mary Poppins references can be found throughout the video, including the imagery of London, the suitcases and Brendon swinging around above the city with an umbrella. This nod to the famous British icon certainly set the mood for the "new Taylor"! Did you notice, though, how Taylor may have hinted at this through her New Years' party this year? She and her closest friends dressed up as their childhood heroes, and her BFF Gigi Hadid dressed up as none other than Mary Poppins (and Blake Lively was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz). Coincidence? So what does it mean that she was dressed as Ariel, we wonder!
