SALT LAKE CITY — Taylor Swift is at it again.
In the latest edition of Entertainment Weekly, Swift shared that her upcoming seventh album will be “bigger” than the others and feature a mix of old and new collaborators.
She also shared her preferred ways to drop Easter eggs (or hints) about her music—in video, print, on social media and with what she’s wearing.
“Easter eggs can be left on clothing or jewelry. This is one of my favorite ways to do this, because you wear something that foreshadows something else,” Swift said.
Swift features front and center on the cover of EW wearing a denim jacket coated in buttons. According to EW, every one of those buttons is an Easter egg. And since Swift has made it clear that print and clothing are two of her favorite ways to drop Easter eggs, there are a lot of potential hints to uncover.
Speaking of Swift’s next album, she says it contains “a lot of a lot.”
“I’m trying to convey an emotional spectrum,” she said. “You get some joyful songs and you get the bops, as they say.” She also added that there are some “really, really, really, really sad songs” as well.
Here are a few Easter eggs Swift possibly just left us.
Selena Gomez
On the right-side collar of Swift’s jacket, there’s a small pin featuring Selena Gomez. You could write this off as Swift sharing her love for her friend, after all, Swift shared on Instagram that she “wanted to rep as many things/people I love” on the jacket, according to Billboard.
Astute fans, however, have noticed that Gomez’s hair and dress exactly match a look she sported at an interview with KISS FM UK in 2017, where she said she would do a collaboration with Swift “any time, any place.”
We could see a Taylor/Selena collaboration on TS7, especially as Gomez seems very tapped into what’s happening with Swift’s album, according to Elle magazine.
The paint pallet, rainbow heart, and “Awesome”
One of Swift’s pins is a paint pallet that contains seven hearts in pastel rainbow colors. This feels like a more obvious callout to album seven and the pastel vibe she’s already established with her single “Me!” and her current aesthetic.
Swift also has a rainbow heart pin and a pin with the word “Awesome” on it, which call back to lyrics in her “Me!” single. “Awesome” could potentially be the name of a new song as well.
"I tried"
Swift’s jacket has a gravestone with the words “I tried” on it. This could be a reference to the “Old Taylor” who has died, according to her song "Look What You Made Me Do." It could also be the name of a song on her next album.
Drake and Faith Hill
Drake features several times in Swift’s EW cover, first on a button on her jacket that looks like it was pulled straight from Drake’s “Hotline Bling” video and then later in the piece where she shares some of her favorite things. Drake’s “one-liners” features as one of those things.
Swift previously mentioned a Drake line in her March story for Elle, the same story where she mentioned her love for “Panic! At the Disco” which she has since confirmed was an Easter egg about her collaboration with Brendon Urie on “Me!”
Is a Taylor/Drake collaboration also happening? It’s likely. There have been hints about it before.
Swift also has a pin with Faith Hill’s face on it, hinting at another potential collaboration.
Her favorite things
As an aside, Swift’s list of favorite things also has interesting implications about her next album. She mentions King Princess, Lana Del Rey, Tayla Parx, Sally Rooney, Ciara and Britney Spears among other creators and interests.
If album seven is her biggest album, it could be because lots of Swift collaborations are on their way.
Swift also includes some of her favorite things on her jacket: references to “Law & Order,” “Friends,” “Game of Thrones” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”
Swift has noted that “Game of Thrones” is one of her favorite shows and influenced songs from her “Reputation” album.
It’s possible that her “Friends” pins could be referring to a song on her next album as well.
Calm
One of the pins on Swift’s jacket says “Calm.” In her single “Me!” the word "calm" is exchanged multiple times between Swift and Urie. Fans are pretty convinced “Calm” will be the name of one of the tracks on her seventh album.
The Dixie Chicks
The Dixie Chicks also feature in a pin on Swift’s jacket. They were also mentioned in Swift’s Elle story and featured in a painting in Swift’s “Me!” video. It will be surprising if the Dixie Chicks do not feature in Swift’s album in some way, given how much they have been mentioned by Swift.
Track 5
One of the most intriguing buttons on Swift’s jacket is the “Track 5” button. It matches exactly the imagery from her “Delicate” music video. “Delicate” is also the fifth song on “Reputation.”
Track 5 is a bit of an inside joke among Swift fans, as Swift’s fifth tracks on her albums tend to resonate really well with fans.
The button is situated next to the Drake pin on her jacket, which could suggest the fifth track on her upcoming album could be that Drake collab mentioned earlier
Cats
Swift is set to star in the upcoming “Cats” movie, so this pin is likely just referencing that.
Troy Sivane
There’s a pin on Swift’s jacket that has a picture of YouTuber-turned-singer Troy Sivane on it. The two have performed together in the past.
Mister Rogers
The Mister Rogers pin on Swift’s jacket is a little more cryptic than the others. Some have suggested Swift could have a song in the upcoming film “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” starring Tom Hanks.
Others think maybe Rogers message is one that parallels the message of Swift’s next album.
Past Easter eggs
Swift set the seventh album rumor mill churning back in February when she posted this image of seven palm trees on her Instagram account.
In the interview with EW, Swift said, “I posted that the day that I finished the seventh album … I couldn’t expect [my fans] to know that. I figured they’d figure it out later, but a lot of their theories were actually correct.”
Swift said her videos are littered with Easter eggs—”Look What You Made Me Do” has thousands, she says.
“It will be decades before people find them all.”
Of her fans, Swift says she really enjoys leaving Easter eggs behind for them.
“I love that they like the cryptic hint-dropping,” she said. “Because as long as they like it, I’ll keep doing it. It’s fun. It feels mischievous and playful.”