These Clues Point To "Vigilante Sh*t" As Taylor's 2nd Midnights Single
We need to discuss the upside down phone, too.
The Midnights era is upon us. With just a few days to go until Taylor Swift releases her highly-anticipated 10th studio album Midnights on Oct. 21, the Grammy-winning singer has yet to preview any full-length songs from the project. Still, sleuthy Swifties have searched for clues as to what she might release as the second single following “Anti-Hero.” The answer? Track 8: “Vigilante Sh*t.”
It all stems from Swift’s popular Midnights Mayhem With Me TikTok series, where she revealed the names of each track on the album one by one in random order. “Vigilante Sh*t” was one of the first titles unveiled, and fans in the comments promptly lost their sh*t at Swift releasing her first-ever song with a curse word in the title.
Eagle-eyed fans also noticed a trend throughout the Midnights Mayhem series. Every time Swift would reveal a track title, she picked up a red phone and held it to her ear. But for “Vigilante Sh*t,” she’s holding the phone upside down. The only other song reveal where she “accidentally” did this was for track 3, “Anti-Hero,” the album’s lead single that will be released with its own music video on Oct. 21. Considering Swift is known for her brilliant Easter eggs, plus her confirmation that the second, unconfirmed single will be released with an accompanying music video on Oct. 25, signs point toward “Vigilante Sh*t.” One Twitter user called out the coincidence in the two songs being the only ones with an upside down phone in their reveal videos.
The Spotify pre-save page for Midnights similarly might contain clues for the lyrics to “Vigilante Sh*t.” Swift is teasing the album by revealing five things that inspired its creation. She’s revealed two so far: “self-loathing” and “fantasizing about revenge.” Self-loathing seems to fall in line with the theme of “Anti-Hero,” which she described in an IG video as a “guided tour throughout all of the things I tend to hate about myself.” Given the provocative title of “Vigilante Sh*t,” it wouldn’t be a surprise if this was the revenge she was talking about. Interestingly enough, it’s the only song on the album with Swift as the only writer credited.
If you need me, I’ll be busy counting down the hours until midnight on Oct. 21 so I can get on my “Vigilante Sh*t.”
