Taylor Swift is known for being a “Mastermind” for her use of easter eggs in almost everything she does. From her Instagram posts to her website and even sometimes her outfits, she almost always has some sort of hidden message to decode.
On Feb 4, the 66th annual Grammy Awards were held. Leading up to the event, there was a surge in speculation among the Swifties about whether she would release any new music that night. And, to many people’s surprise, she did.
Though many speculated that Swift would announce reputation (Taylor’s Version), she instead announced The Tortured Poets Department set to release on Apr 19 of this year. The date alone has caused conspiracies and guesses among fans wondering about a hidden meaning of the release date.
A thought about the specific release date comes from an event that happened in 2023 on the same date. Swift and many of her friends, including Gigi Hadid, Blake Lively, and more, all unfollowed Joe Alwyn, Swift’s ex, after a dinner party. This was right after the couple of six years had called it quits.
Among the release date speculations, there have been a plethora of easter eggs Swift has been leaving fans to find leading up to the announcement.
On the Sunday of the Grammys, Swift’s website was replaced with a black screen and a few lines of text. What came up when someone clicked on her website was “Error 321Backend Fetch failed” Error 321 is a communication error that would appear on a fax machine with a poor telephone line connection. This led people to think of “Look What You Made Me Do” of the line “the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now” which was on her reputation album. Underneath that was a line of text, reading “hneriergrd.”, This line unscrambled could be read as “red herring.” leading fans to realize that she was most likely not going to be announcing reputation (TV) at the Grammys. Finally, at the bottom of the screen was “DPT:123” DPT backwards is TPD (Tortured Poets Department) the name of the new album.
Additionally, coders noticed words built into the code of the that related to TPD. Words such as “chairman,” “bruises,” “veins,” “cadence,” “apple cake,” “talisman,” “love bombs,” “muse,” “ink,” “evidence” and “fake.” Once Swift posted her album release on Instagram, she posted a phrase of lyrics, including all the words coded into the website.
Looking at the tracklist, leaked by a TikTok user, further speculation has occurred. The song “But Daddy, I Love Him” on her new album is speculated to be referencing The Little Mermaid, which was released in 1989 (the same year Swift was born). The song could reference how Ariel loses her voice to be with the one she loves and has to stay quiet.
Another song, “Clara Bow,” is suspected to be a reference to the silent film star of the Roaring Twenties bearing the title of the song. Bow starred in a movie called “It” leading people to call her “the It girl” later on. The media focused on her and her dating life. Some have concluded that the silent film star can be a reference to Swift’s life, how the media is all over her dating life, and how she had a period of time when she was silent to the press.
Swift has had a pattern when it comes to re-releasing her albums. So far, it has been two re-releases followed by a brand-new album. Fearless (TV), Red (TV), and then the release of Midnights. Following that, it was Speak Now (TV) and 1989 (TV), and now the announcement of the Tortured Poets Department.
Taylor Swift is notorious for the easter eggs she leaves for her fans, though these are speculations, on April 19, Swifties will know the true meaning of this album.
