Taylor Swift is at it again. Less than a week after a mysterious countdown went live on her website and ticked down to what would turn out to be an announcement for her upcoming album, The Life of a Showgirl, the pop star has once again unveiled a cryptic timer heralding yet another piece of major news — but what could it be?
Fans began noticing the new countdown on Monday morning (Aug. 18). Whereas the album announcement timer had an orange backdrop, the new countdown is set against a sparkly purple wallpaper.
Giving no clues as to what will happen once the clock reaches 00:00:00, Swift’s latest countdown simply states that it will expire at 2 p.m. ET on Monday.
There’s no telling what the 14-time Grammy winner has in store for fans this time. The musician has already bombarded Swifties with information over the past week, revealing on Aug. 12 that she had a new album titled The Life of a Showgirl on the way before sharing its cover art, release date and tracklist — featuring a Sabrina Carpenter collaboration — the following day. At the same time, four different variants of the LP became available for pre-order on Swift’s site, including the “Sweat and Vanilla Perfume” edition, the “It’s Frightening” edition, the “It’s Rapturous” version and the “It’s Beautiful” edition.
“[The album is] a lot more upbeat, and it’s a lot more fun pop excitement,” Swift said of the project on an Aug. 13 episode of boyfriend Travis Kelce’s New Heights podcast, where she shared more details about her next era. “My main goals were melodies that were so infectious, you’re almost angry at it … This is the record I’ve been wanting to make for a very long time.”
There are still several weeks before Showgirl drops on Oct. 3, so the new countdown could mean anything. Will it lead to a lead single announcement? A music video? More alternate versions of the album? Swifties have theorized about all of the above, but the overwhelming feeling in the fandom is pure excitement at what the Eras Tour headliner could possibly have in store next.
“I AM NOT READY FOR WHATEVER THIS COUNTDOWN LEADS TO,” one Swiftie wrote on X.
Another person pleaded, “WHAT DOES IT MEAN TAYLOR?!”
