Yesterday, Taylor Swift finally unveiled the name of her new album, its cover art, and the release date. She also revealed that the lead single will drop later today.
1. First up, there's more to the release date than first meets the eye.
We all know that Taylor is obsessed with the number 13. And the album's release date is 11/10/2017. If you add each single digit together, guess what you get.
1+1+1+0+2+0+1+7= 13 11/10/2017 IS THE TAYLOR SWIFT RELEASE DATE HOW DOES SHE DO IT Y'ALL
And if you subtract the release date from the announcement date, the result is 13 there too.
But by far the most insane bit of arithmetic comes when you calculate the number of days between 1989's release date and Reputation's.
It could be coincidence, but then consider the fact that three years is the longest ever duration between Taylor Swift albums. It's likely she would've wanted to mark this in some ~complex~ way.
2. Taylor may have come up with the concept for the artwork three years ago.
During her 1989 world tour, she always gave a speech before her performance of "Clean". The speeches varied in wording, but the premise remained the same: Be strong during hard times.
And just LOOK at one of the lines she delivered during the speech in Sydney.
3. The font choice is interesting to say the least.
It bears more than a passing resemblance to the font Kanye West used for his Saint Pablo tour merchandise, leading to a lot of speculation that she's shading Kanye and Kim Kardashian.
👀
In fact, there is a font in existence called "I Feel Like Pablo" that looks almost identical to the font of Reputation.
Some people think Taylor's use of the font as well as the snake – the word that became synonymous with her in the wake of her feud with Kimye – means that the whole album could contain diss tracks for not just Kimye but also Calvin Harris and Katy Perry.
How much y'all wanna bet Taylor has a diss track for Kimye on her next album 👀
Taylor, please not another diss track for Katy lol
HOWEVER, other people have pointed out that the font also looks very like the one the New York Times uses.
Taylor didn't steal or try to copy kanye's album font, it's the freaking New York Times magazine font. Don't get it twisted #Reputaion
Now, Donald Trump has slated the New York Times repeatedly since his presidency began.
And one of the enduring criticisms of Taylor over the past year was that, unlike many other celebrity feminists, she failed to express any political opinion in the run-up to the election or after the result.
Either that, or she's alluding to his mantra of "fake news" and applying it to herself – suggesting that the portrayal of her in the media is inaccurate.
Can my heart handle a potentially anti-media Taylor Swift album? As long as the words "fake news" aren't used, I'll… https://t.co/j5siqjrEEo
4. As a result, people think the album will be a takedown of the media.
#TaylorSwift coming for the media with her new album #Reputation. Very interested to hear her new single when it drops tomorrow.
People have suggested that the tight choker Taylor's wearing in the image is a visual representation of her being "strangled by the hate".
And that her ripped clothes represent her being "torn apart".
People also think that the fact only half her face is obscured by headlines is indicative of no one really knowing "the truth" about her.
They've also drawn attention to the way in which Taylor is exposing her whole face on the artwork for the first time since her debut release.
Taking it as a sign of defiance.
Add to this the fact that Reputation will be released exactly three years after "Blank Space" – another takedown of the media – came out.
And even if it's not a takedown, people think Taylor is on the verge of "reclaiming the reputation defined for her by the media".
i'm not even taylor's biggest fan but the fact that her whole album/campaign is about reclaiming her image from shi… https://t.co/l3hJv1B9rn
5. However, Perez Hilton then threw a curveball by tweeting this.
@taylorswift13 The message of the song is something along the lines of "Taylor Swift is dead".
Which is very interesting if we interpret the snake not as a symbol of her hitting back at her haters but as an animal that periodically sheds it skin, emerging stronger, larger, and healthier. Some might say they're...reborn. 😎
Could Taylor's social media purge last week have been a way of her deleting the past, shedding her skin for a New Taylor to emerge and build a brand new reputation?
snakes shed their skin ... and come back better than ever !!! Taylor shed her social media skin AND IS COMING BACK !!!📢📢📢
It could make sense given that the final track on 1989 was "Clean", – a song about letting go of the past and moving on. Will Taylor pick up where she left off?
Who knows, but we will be finding out very soon.
