Every Easter Egg You May Have Missed For Taylor Swift’s New Album ‘Folklore’

Just when we thought there weren’t any Taylor Swift Folklore Easter eggs, Swifties came through with the tea on every way Taylor Swift has hinted at her new album before her official announcement. Swift confirmed her eighth studio album, Folklore, with a surprise announcement on her Instagram on Thursday, July 23.

In her announcement, Swift explained that her postponed tour for her seventh album, Lover, gave her the time to write and record her new album, which will consist of 16 songs and be released on Friday, July 24. Due to the current health crisis, Swift postponed Lover Fest in April 2020. The tour was set to start with its first date in São Paulo, Brazil, on July 18.

“Most of the things I had planned this summer didn’t end up happening, but there is something I hadn’t planned on that DID happen. And that thing is my 8th studio album, folklore,” Swift captioned an Instagram post of the album cover for Folklore, which showed her in the forest. “Surprise Tonight at midnight I’ll be releasing my entire brand new album of songs I’ve poured all of my whims, dreams, fears, and musings into.”

Swift went on to thank the musicians who collaborated with her for Folklore, who included Aaron Dessner, Bon Iver and Jack Antanoff. The Grammy winner also thanked Beth Garrabant, the photographer for her album’s photoshoot. “I wrote and recorded this music in isolation but got to collaborate with some musical heroes of mine; @aarondessner (who has co-written or produced 11 of the 16 songs), @boniver (who co-wrote and was kind enough to sing on one with me), William Bowery (who co-wrote two with me) and @jackantonoff (who is basically musical family at this point),” she wrote on her Instagram. “Engineered by Laura Sisk and Jon Low, mixed by Serban Ghenea & Jon Low. The album photos were shot by the amazing @bethgarrabrant. Before this year I probably would’ve overthought when to release this music at the ‘perfect’ time, but the times we’re living in keep reminding me that nothing is guaranteed. My gut is telling me that if you make something you love, you should just put it out into the world. That’s the side of uncertainty I can get on board with. Love you guys so much ”

Along with her album announcement, Swift also revealed the first single from Folklore, “Cardigan.” The music video for the song will be released on Thursday, July 23. For the music video, Swift revealed that she had a medical professional on set to keep the crew safe. She also did her own hair, makeup and styling for the shoot.

“The music video for “cardigan” will premiere tonight, which I wrote/directed. A million thank you’s to my brilliant, bad ass video team – cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, producer Jil Hardin, executive producer Rebecca Skinner, AD Joe ‘Oz’ Osbourne, editor Chancler Haynes, special effects wizards David Lebensfeld & Grant Miller, and set designer Ethan Tobman. The entire shoot was overseen by a medical inspector, everyone wore masks, stayed away from each other, and I even did my own hair, makeup, and styling ,” she wrote.

Now onto the fun part: Taylor Swift’s Folklore Easter eggs. From her favorite number 13 to the “buns” she baked on Easter, here are the ways Swift teased her new album before her official announcement. Ahead are Taylor Swift’s Folklore Easter eggs.

The Release Date

Source: Instagram

The first Taylor Swift Folklore Easter egg that fans found was the album’s release date: July 23, which adds up to Swift’s favorite number: 13. (7 + 2 + 3 = 13.)

“No Easter eggs this time but we really overlooked the date… 7+2+4 = Taylor Swift… clowned yet again #folklore,” wrote Twitter user @finalybreathe13.

In an interview with MTV News in 2009, Swift explained why 13 is her favorite number. “I was born on the 13th. I turned 13 on Friday the 13th. My first album went gold in 13 weeks. My first #1 song had a 13-second intro,” she said at the time. “Every time I’ve won an award I’ve been seated in either the 13th seat, the 13th row, the 13th section or row M, which is the 13th letter.” Sounds like a clear Taylor Swift Folklore Easter egg to us.

“Daylight” Lyrics

“Daylight” is the final song in Swift’s most recent album, Lover. In the song, Swift sings the lyric: “I once believed love would be black and white. But it’s golden. Twitter user @MissAmericHANA noted that the lyric has similarities to Swift’s post about Folklore. The photoshoot, including the album cover, is in black and white. In the still that Swift shared from the music video of Folklore‘s first single, “Cardigan,” Swift can be seen looking over something that’s glowing and golden. As the final tracks in many of Swift’s albums mark a transition to her new music era, fans believe that this “Daylight” lyric was Taylor Swift Folklore Easter egg for the color scheme of the new album.

“AND FOLKLORE’S COVER IS BLACK AND WHITE AND MUSIC VIDEO IS GOLDEN… TAYLOR’s MIND #FolkloreIsComing #Folklore @taylorswift13,” the user tweeted.

“Not a lot going on at the moment”

https://twitter.com/taylorswift13/status/1254880164447760385?s=20

In April 2020, Swift shared a photo of her with the caption: “Not a lot going on at the moment,” which quoted the T-shirt she wore in her 2012 music video for her song “22.” What seemed like a simple bored selfie in quarantine could’ve been an Easter egg. Twitter user @dontstartswift noted that there were eight words in Swift’s caption, which could’ve been a nod to her eighth album. Likewise, the date that Swift posted her selfie—4/27—is the release date of Folklore—7/24—once the number is flipped. For many fans, it seemed like a clear Taylor Swift Folklore Easter egg.

“BYE THIS WAS A FUCKING EASTEREGG THERE ARE 8 WORDS IN THE CAPTION AND IT WAS POSTED ON 4/27 WHICH FLIPS TO 7/24 WHICH IS JULY 24TH AKA FOLKORE.” the user tweeted.

Lover Music Video

Another Taylor Swift Folklore Easter egg was from the Lover music video.  At the 3:40 mark of the music video, the camera panned out to show seven rooms of different colors that correlate to the colors of Swift’s first seven albums: Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, Reputation and Lover. However, fans pointed out that a small room in the middle of the house could’ve been a Taylor Swift Folklore Easter egg. The room, sandwiched between two rooms and underneath the attic, looked like a closet with racks of clothes. The room was flowing with a single lightbulb, which some fans believe was a nod to the still that Swift shared for her first single “Cardigan,” which showed her looking over something glowing.

“Y’all remember how Taylor Swift put an easter egg in Lover MV? Her mind, and when she said “some easter egg won’t be found till they happen” she really meant it ,” Twitter user @Jose_Tohidi tweeted.

The Buns

Source: Instagram

Many of Swift’s Folklore photoshoot pictures show her with two pigtail buns on the side of her fun. Some fans believe that a picture Swift posted of cinnamon buns she baked in May 2020 was a nod to the hairstyle she would later wear for her new album’s photoshoot.

“When you’re proud of your buns so you post them on the internet,” Swift wrote in the caption at the time. Though it could’ve just been a photo of cinnamon buns, some fans are convinced it’s a Taylor Swift Folklore Easter egg.

Selena Gomez

Source: Instagram

Gomez is known as Swift’s best friend. But could she also be involved in a Taylor Swift Folklore Easter egg. Before Swift’s Folklore announcement, Gomez was photographed in a pink tie-dye sweatshirt, which fans later discovered was merch for Swift’s new album. The front of the sweatshirt reads, “The Folklore Album,” while the back reads “Taylor Swift.” “Did you see Selena today? She was wearing taylor’s new merch omgg,” Twitter user @weird9irl tweeted.

Fans noted that when Gomez wore the sweatshirt, she wore it inside out, so it wouldn’t reveal any of the text. (See the photo here.)

“Betty”

Source: Instagram

Though not necessarily a Taylor Swift Folklore Easter egg, fans believe they’ve decoded the title of one of the songs. The 14th track on Folklore is a song titled “Betty. Given that “Betty” is a nickname for “Elizabeth” (Riverdale‘s Betty Cooper’s full name is Elizabeth Cooper), some fans believe may be about Swift’s boyfriend Joe Alwyn’s mom, Elizabeth Alwyn. Some also theorize that the song could refer to Swift’s former best friend Karlie Kloss, whose middle name is Elizabeth.

“William Bowery”

Swift revealed that a writer named William Bowery cowrote two of her songs from Folklore. Some fans believe that “William Bowery” may be a pseudonym for Swift’s boyfriend, Joe Alwyn. The theory is that the “William” comes from the first name of Alwyn’s great-grandfather, William Alwyn, who was a composer, conductor and a music teacher.

The “Bowery” may refer to one of Swift and Alwyn’s first-ever hangouts in 2016. On October 12, 2016, Swift and her friends, Dakota Johnson, Cara Delevingne, Lorde, Zoe Kravitz, Suki Waterhouse, Lily Donaldson and Martha Hunt, attended a Kings of Leon Concert. After the show, they attended a party at the Bowery Hotel, where Alwyn was also photographed at that same night. While also not your typical Taylor Swift Folklore Easter egg, Swift is known for using pseudonyms in her music. For her ex-boyfriend Calvin Harris’ 2016 song “This Is What You Came For,” Swift used the pseudonym Nils Sjoberg. Fans also believe that her brother Austin Swift used the pseudonym Jack Leopards & The Dolphin Club for a 2020 cover of Swift’s 2017 song “Look What You Made Me Do” that the Grammy winner tweeted about.

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