After posting a new video of her Eras Tour rehearsals, Taylor Swift sent her Swifties into a frenzy.
The 34-year-old diva posted a brief video on YouTube a few days after her most recent album, The Tortured Poets Department, was released. The video showed her preparation for the tour’s upcoming return, which is scheduled to begin in Paris, France on May 9.
Her brand-new smash song Fortnight, starring Post Malone, served as the soundtrack for the montage.
Many of the events from the original Eras Tour were easily recognized by fans, but based on a few strange moments, some conjectured that Taylor would be adding songs from her most recent album to the setlist.
One in particular featured a Swiftie saying, “Taylor Swift you have some explaining to do!” while Swift is positioned in the middle of the stage with her dancers flanking her wearing top hats and holding canes.
‘Since when do background dancers have a top hat and canes?!’ asked the admirer going by the handle armaisacat.1989.
There’s also a brief clip of Taylor sitting with her guitar, which has fans wondering if this means a new performance moment.
Beginning in March 2023, the Eras Tour is a compilation show featuring songs from each of her albums since her self-titled first release in 2006.
Up until her performance in Paris, fans were unsure of whether Taylor would debut a set specifically for The Tortured Poets Department or include the songs in her surprise song segment.
Since the publication of The Tortured Poets Department earlier this week, the Swifties have undoubtedly been working hard—some even tracking down the dates that she recorded songs for the album.
The singer of Bad Blood recently shared her thoughts on the meanings of several songs from the 11th studio album, including Clara Bow and Fortnight.
Earlier in the year, the Grammy winner visited NYC’s Electric Lady Studios in between stops on her sold-out Eras Tour. Fans were unaware at the time that she was recording tracks for her next album.
Jack Antonoff, who was involved in the production of TTPD, recently released some behind-the-scenes photos from the recording process. These allowed fans to compare clothes to determine which takes of particular songs had been recorded.
A social media user on X going by the handle @bigsurlor posted comparison shots taken in the studio with the BTS pictures that Antonoff had uploaded.
He had posted pictures and little videos, each with a statement stating the song they had recorded.
On May 18, of last year, a fan on X first posted a picture of Taylor exiting the recording studio. She was dressed in a white, short-sleeved shirt and pants with a flowery print.
Her bangs fell softly across her forehead and her blond hair was tied back into a modest ponytail at the nape of her head.
While Swift was recording The Black Dog, Jack had also posted a clip of her wearing the same clothes and hairstyle.
On May 24, a later date of the same month, the singer was seen going back to the recording studio dressed in a matching maxi skirt and white crop top.
The day the two recorded Florida!!! was revealed by Polaroid pictures that Antonoff posted of Taylor and Florence Welch from Florence & The Machines wearing similar attire.
The stunning woman chose to wear a black dress with a black leather belt around her waist on May 31 of last year.
The producer posted a picture of Taylor sporting the same hairstyle while recording Fresh Out The Slammer. Taylor’s hair was pushed back from her face.
On June 29, the next month, Taylor wore a black pair of denim shorts and a white and red-patterned floral blouse, perfect for the summer.
She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and put on some comfortable black closed-toe shoes. Notably, she had dressed identically when she recorded the song “Down Bad.”
Finally, the X fan posted a little clip of Post Malone from October of last year’s appearance on The Howard Stern Show.
“I recently got to hang out with her [Taylor], and she is genuinely one of the most, like, kind and considerate and a hell of a songwriter,” the Circles hitmaker said in the video.
The fan on X believed their collaboration on Fortnight happened “between October 4-October 10, 2023” based on his comment during the interview.
Earlier this week, Taylor shared the stories behind a few of the songs on TTPD in a unique, track-by-track audio that can be listened to on Amazon Music.
Regarding Florida!!!, she clarified, “I watch Dateline all the time.” When people commit these acts, where do they go right away after doing them? They travel to Florida.
They attempt to change who they are, adopt a new identity, and fit in. I believe there’s a part of you that says, “I want a new name,” after experiencing heartbreak. A fresh life is what I want. I want no one to be aware of my whereabouts or to know me in any way.”
With more than 300 million streams in a single day, TTPD also set a record for most albums streamed on Spotify.
Swift released the music video for Fortnight earlier this week on April 19, which featured appearances from Josh Charles and Ethan Hawke from Dead Poets Society in addition to Post Malone.
Taylor posted several behind-the-scenes photos on her main Instagram profile shortly after the music video debuted on Friday.
“When I was writing the Fortnight music video, I wanted to show you the worlds I saw in my head that served as the backdrop for making this music,” she wrote in a note to her followers explaining the meaning behind the music video.
“Almost everything in it refers to a different section of the album or is a metaphor.” This video, in my opinion, is the ideal visual depiction of this record and the tales I share in it.