Taylor Swift‘s big news, at least for the moment, has turned out to be a new single, “Patient Zero,” coming out on digital services Friday, with few other details announced.
“I’ve been impatiently waiting to tell you that my brand new single ‘Patient Zero’ will be out on September 25 (!!!!!!!!!!!!) and it’s available to pre-order now on my website for 24 hours,” she wrote on her social media accounts.
Her website is selling three limited edition CDs of the single, which will ship on Oct. 13.
This seems unlikely to be the full extent of what Swift has in store for fans, but it’s a start. The single’s title was teased with clues that included the letter O in her Instagram bio description being changed to the numeral 0 in three spots.
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Swifties are still on edge wondering whether there is more to come, and when. Speculation has run rampant for months that she would be putting out “Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version)” for the 20th anniversary of her self-titled debut album. But every indication is that this new single has nothing to do with that and is instead tied to her “Life of a Showgirl” era, possibly as a foretaste of a fuller project that will continue the life of that 2025 album into 2026.
One clear indication that “Patient Zero” is being tied in to “The Life of a Showgirl,” in some way: When customers in her webstore click to find information on any of the three CD singles (one is the standard song and the other two are acoustic and piano renditions), the logo for “The Life of a Showgirl” appears beneath the “Add to Cart” button. And the glittery spines for the CDs hard back to previous “Showgirl” releases.
There is at least one other clue that leads in that direction, and possibly promises more musicto come: a couple of different Easter eggs that have turned up the word “encore,” which may be an indication that there is some sort of encore edition on the way, possibly with songs recorded by the same team that did “The Life of a Showgirl” — Swift with Max Martin and Shellback — whether or not they were done at the same time.
Swift said when she put out “Showgirl” last fall that there would be no bonus tracks or deluxe editions for this album, because she felt the 12 tracks formed just the collection she wanted. But it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind, and/or go back into the studio to do further exploration in the same vein, for something that could be billed more as a sequel than a deluxe.
Swift participated in a pre-taped Emmys “Law & Order SVU” sketch, which had the singer appearing with her cat, Olivia Benson, and the inspiration for the pet’s name, Emmys host Mariska Hargitay. In the skit, Hargitay said, “In order to crack a Swiftie case, you gotta think like a Swiftie because the Swifties think that everything is a clue to what she’ll do next.”
Swift, in character as a fellow detective, said, “I think what we’re going to be looking for is hiding in plain sight.” She then stared into the camera and uttered several seemingly nonsensical phrases or words: “Saccharide. Aries. From the vineyard. North or south.” Then, questioned by Hargitay about the bizarre conversational detour, she deadpanned: “I didn’t say anything.”
It turns out that when you look at the third letter in each of those phrases, it produces a letter that, put together, spells the word encore. Which, to some Swifties, suggests that the showgirl has not yet hung up her headdress.
But that was not all that Swifties found in the cryptic Emmys messages, or at least thought they found. Hardcore fans were convinced there was an anagram to be made out of the mystery phrases, and eventually found that the letters can be scrambled to spell out: “HI MY FIRST RECORDS RE RECORD IS OUT NOV TEN AHAHAHA” — heightening anticipation that what Swift would be announcing would be the long-awaited “Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version).”
Whether this was a real message from Swift or a linguistic coincidence that fans cobbled together on their own remains to be seen. But this revelation of a “brand new” single is certainly throwing Swifties off that scent… or convincing the more hopeful among them that she has multiple irons in the fire.
Other clues that have popped up include a page on her website being rejiggered that once featured two sheets of paper, a letter about acquiring her master recordings and a “Showgirl” track list. Now, eagle-eyed Swifites — as if there are any other kind — have noticed there is a third sheet of paper on that page… covered up for now, but presumably soon to be containing a new message from Swift.
It appears likely that more revelations about Swift’s release plans are forthcoming, possibly in the lead-up to what is expected to be an appearance on the MTV Video Music Awards Sunday night, when she will be awarded with the inaugural Artist Director Award, which was announced Monday. Reps for CBS and MTV have not revealed whether Swift will appear in person in Los Angeles to accept the award, but she is expected to be on the telecast.
From Variety US