The month was August; the year, 2017. Taylor Swift’s Instagram had been wiped clean, and suddenly, cryptic snake videos began to pop up. Some wondered if she was merely reclaiming snakes after her social accounts were bombarded by detractors commenting with reptile emojis around the time of her feud with Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West. Others asked if she was teasing new music?
As it turns out, Taylor Swift was doing the latter; the mysterious snake videos were all part of a buildup to the release of her single “Look What You Made Me Do” from her album Reputation. And now, it seems like Swift might be up to her old tricks and is using her Instagram to drop some clues about a new release.
If you have opened Instagram lately and happen to be following Swift, chances are you’ve come across one of the following pictures posted to her account: fancy heart jewelry, colorfully painted finger nails, and pink fabric that may or may not be tulle (who am I to say?) — all with the caption, “4.26.” Or, if you’ve gone so far as to visit www.taylorswift.com you will definitely have seen the literal countdown that has taken over the full screen. (As I write this, the countdown reads “10 days, 12 hours, 55 minutes, and 40 seconds” — which is midnight on April 26.)
We understand why she is doing this — obviously, this tactic has helped her build up hype in the past — but as impatient people who are nosy, we can’t say we appreciate that she’s doing it. So please, Taylor, for the love of God, just tell us what these cryptic posts mean.