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Taylor Swift announced on Tuesday night (April 16) that a new music video will be released shortly after her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, is released later this week. Having announced something, she didn't stop there. The pop star also posted a cryptic video on Instagram filled with Easter eggs about her new era, and Swifties are scrambling to decipher them in time.
The cryptic clip begins with an animated first-person view of a room filled with crumpled paper, colorful vinyl, photos, and other items alluding to Swift's latest album, Midnights. It then simulates the viewer exiting the room, walking down a bleak hallway, and entering another wing labeled “The Tortured Poets Department.” There, a wall calendar reveals that the singer's new visual will be released on Friday (April 19th) at 8pm ET. , 20 hours after Tortured Poets arrived on streaming services.
The calendar doesn't specify which of the 16 songs on Swift's new album will be made into music videos, but it could be a clue. Near the bottom, someone has written down his 14 tally marks, presumably indicating that the song in question is his 14th on the tracklist, aka “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.” There is a possibility.
Or maybe it's a reference to the first song, “Fortnite,” featuring Post Malone. (How many days in two weeks? Yes, 14 days.)
The video comes as Swifties continue to search for clues hidden in pop-ups in Spotify's Tortured Poets library in Los Angeles, which are decorated with text, dried flowers, figurines and more. The most attractive thing is a stationery book, displayed in a transparent case, the pages of which are turned over on an unknown schedule, revealing new lyrics one at a time. More recently, the message has been “The tempter he is one less, the dagger he sharpens he is one less.''
But fans might be remiss not to look for Easter eggs in Swift's new animation as well, especially when it comes to things left behind in a room in the middle of the night. Nimble sleuths online have already begun concocting theories about the sunlight streaming in through the windows, the time displayed on the wall clock, and the gel pens strewn across the table (this is similar to how pop stars once wrote their songs). )).
Check out the clip below and some of the Swiftie theories it inspired.
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The crumpled papers in her room in the middle of the night… whether they were the hundreds of thrown-out speeches she had almost said to him, or the expression of her feelings, unable to express herself the way she wanted to. I can't decide if that's the case. pic.twitter.com/bzyufaHuQS
— Fanny (Taylor version) 🤍✍️ (@repsgrammy) April 17, 2024
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It's interesting that you enter the TTPD room through the keyhole and not through the door itself…why is it locked…why don't you have the key…because the album isn't out yet Or is it because it’s there something more…..or is it just a fun little visual that doesn’t mean anything? pic.twitter.com/2vc2BgDkE8
— Hannah (The Tortured Poet 🪶) (@hantalkstaylor) April 17, 2024
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The tortured poet's room in the department is so bleak and boring because she used her best colors for his portrait and he tolerated it.
I feel like the color and lack of personality in this room means something 🥲 #TSTTPD pic.twitter.com/XYDygHG0Xn
— Morgan⸆⸉ (@morgan13TV) April 17, 2024
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🔍 The new “Tortured Poets Department'' room has two desks and a second timetable on the desk that is not yet visible nearby. pic.twitter.com/8CJ7n7rXW0
— SpotifySwiftie (@SpotifySwiftie) April 17, 2024