Hot Take: Swifties Need To Calm Down In The Re-Release Era

2023 was a good year to be a Swiftie. Not only were we blessed with The Eras Tour but we also had the Eras Tour movie, two re-recorded albums, tons of merch, three new music videos, and a brand new relationship with Travis Kelce to fixate over. There was never a dull day in the Swiftdom, especially for those of us on X, formerly Twitter, and the Swiftie conspiracy theory side of TikTok.

As quickly as Swift gave fans tons of content to consume throughout the year, they were on the hunt for what was next. And while I love a good Easter egg puzzle to solve, finding myself clowning multiple times this year (I *really* thought a double 1989 album was going to happen) has made me realize that it’s time for Swifties to calm down and hang up our magnifying glasses and detective hats for some AirPods.

In this re-recording era, we’ve gotten so excited about the back-to-back releases and looking for what’s next that we’ve forgotten to stop and smell the roses — or in this case, listen to the album she just gave us a few weeks ago. (“Is It Over Now?” really deserves more attention.) Just as much as our girl deserves rest and relaxation with her man after touring most of 2023, Swifties also should take a break from the sleuthing and scheming. Between the inaccurate reputation conspiracy theories, pressure to keep producing, and internal fights between new and old Swifties, it’s time to get a grip.

Not Everything Taylor Does Is An Easter Egg

As fans, we’re known for being able to find hidden clues and decipher word scrambles faster than some Guinness World Record holders. Even though she’s a self-proclaimed mastermind, not everything Swift does is as calculated as we think. Sometimes, an emoji is just millennial cringe behavior, and a dinner with friends is to catch up on relationship statuses and not necessarily the start of a musical collab. But we can’t let our wrong theories affect how we feel about her. It’s on us if we start clowning — not on her for leading us on.

In what has jokingly become known as the “biggest clown fest” in the fandom’s history, fans believed that Swift would announce reputation (Taylor’s Version) on Nov. 26. Swifties have been theorizing about release dates throughout the year, and they truly believed that Swift would announce the next re-recorded album at the final Eras Tour show in São Paulo, Brazil. Just a reminder, the woman’s already dropped seven albums in the last three years. She’s given us plenty.

Some of the alleged reputation TV announcement Easter eggs were pretty convincing, though, like her backup dancers posting black hearts (the color most associated with the album) on IG along with Swift performing a callback dance move from her Reputation Stadium Tour choreography the night before. It was also the 66th show in total — and reputation is Swift’s sixth studio album.

As fun as it was to speculate that something might happen, Swifties in attendance took it a tad too far when they started chanting “reputation” during her surprise songs set. Even if she was going to announce it, don’t you think Swift would want to be the one to bring it up? It’s not fun putting together a surprise party for someone, and they’re the ones to show up yelling, “Surprise!”

It’s one thing to get excited that Swift might make an announcement, but getting mad at her over a conspiracy theory kind of sucks all of the fun out of hunting for Easter eggs.

Instead of announcing anything, the “Shake It Off” star went straight into an acoustic version of “Better Than Revenge” from Speak Now. Israel Mendoza, 32, who’s been a Swiftie since 2007, watched the awkward moment unfold over a livestream, and believes Swift had mixed emotions when she realized what the crowd was saying. “You could tell from the videos that she was honored that the fans were excited for reputation, but she also felt a little bad because that wasn't the plan,” they say.

Once fans realized that reputation (TV) wasn’t happening, some Swifties turned on the “Midnights” singer. It’s one thing to get excited that Swift might make an announcement, but getting mad at her over a conspiracy theory kind of sucks all of the fun out of hunting for Easter eggs.

Give The Busiest Woman In The World A Break

Swift’s 2023 was a major one. She started off the year preparing for the Eras Tour, which she revealed in her Time Person of The Year interview involved running on the treadmill while singing her entire setlist, which is over three hours long. As one fan tweeted after seeing the show, “Every time Taylor sits during the Eras Tour, I’m like good, give that girl a break.”

Not only was she working out and touring from March to November, but on her days off, she was often spotted out to dinner with friends, supporting her besties at movie premieres, and cheering on her boyfriend at Kansas City Chiefs games. Fitting in days just to go to the studio to record new music must have been near-impossible, but she still managed to give us Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) in July and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) in October. When does this woman sleep?

Mendoza says that it’s probably difficult for Swift to keep up with her fans’ expectations and rampant conspiracy theories. It’s hard enough for me to keep up with every little Easter egg. If I miss just one day of SwiftTok, I’m behind on several memes and theories.

Searching for clues that Swift hasn’t even put out there is extra work Swifties are just assigning themselves because they want a constant stream of new music. One fan tweeted, “Please blondie, I beg, just tell us what you’re up to like a normal person for once, I am so tired of doing anagrams.” But, are the anagrams in the room with us now?

The Re-Recorded Era Has Made Fans Spoiled

I love that since the folklore era, the Swiftie fandom has grown immensely, but at the same time, new fans are getting spoiled with how much content there’s been since 2020. We’ve been “fed,” as Mendoza says, with Swift releasing more than one album a year.

Do all those friendship bracelets we exchanged at the Eras Tour mean nothing to you all?

Once this re-recorded era is over, it’s OK for her to go back to a normal album release schedule. It’s been working great for other artists like Beyoncé and Ariana Grande, who wait years before releasing new music. However, if Swift does decide to go back to releasing an album every few years, some of the more recent Swifties might not be patient enough to wait.

One fan, who doesn’t care about demanding more, shared on X, “If she wants to be a capitalist she could at least BE a capitalist in a way that benefits me personally!” And some older Swifties have even started calling out newer fans, saying, “A lot of you new Swifties would not have survived the pre-folklore era.” This has only led to internal fights, which is just embarrassing. Do all those friendship bracelets we exchanged at the Eras Tour mean nothing to you all?

I’m Along For Whatever Ride Taylor Swift Has Planned

At the end of the day, it’s Taylor Swift’s world (literally, she’s keeping the economy alive) and Swifties are just living it — while doing the most.

Thaddeus Yan, a 23-year-old content creator handpicked by Swift to attend the Eras Tour movie premiere, says that Swift is smart and consistent with her Easter eggs — which is why he didn’t fall for the Nov. 26 reputation theory. “There are certain signs that will lead up to a re-recording release, such as Taylor rebranding her social media pages back to the Midnights era,” he tells Elite Daily.

At the time of writing, Swift has changed her layout back to the Midnights era with her profile pic and IG story highlights, which Yan believes is a sign that something might be coming.

“Taylor Swift really has us doing math to figure out her album release schedule and zooming into her fingernails to see if she's wearing a certain color,” Yan says. “Being a Swiftie is so exhilarating, and I love it.”