Taylor Swift Made A Shady Change To 1 Of Her TTPD Song Titles
This is so Reputation-coded.
Taylor Swift knows how to send a message. On Aug. 15, Swift released two new versions of The Tortured Poets Department digital albums — and on the new version, she updated one of her song titles, seemingly to shade Kanye West.
The digital album featured the bonus track “thank You aimEe (Mean - Live from London).” Swift has a habit of using capital letters to leave codes in her music and lyrics. This time around, “thank You aimEe” seems to call out West, who now goes by “Ye.”
Initially, the song — which chronicles how a bully mistreated Swift — seemed to be about West’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian. The original title, “thanK you aIMee” spelled out “Kim” in capital letters, after all.
Swift’s song title change comes only days after TTPD topped the Billboard 200 chart for its 14th week. The achievement blocked Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s joint album Vultures 2 from going No. 1, per People. (BTW, Ye’s past 11 albums debuted at the top of the chart. The last time he didn’t was back in 2004.)
Swift has been reflecting on her feud with West and Kardashian much more recently. During her Time Person of the Year interview in December 2023, she said, “Make no mistake — my career was taken from me.”
Specifically, Swift was talking about Kardashian releasing an edited recording of Swift seemingly agreeing to West’s “Famous” lyrics, which referred to her as a “b*tch.” She added at the time, “You have a fully manufactured frame job, in an illegally recorded phone call, which Kim Kardashian edited and then put out to say to everyone that I was a liar. That took me down psychologically to a place I’ve never been before.”
While Swift didn’t get into specifics in “thanK you aIMee,” she does reference being hurt by someone manipulating the public’s perception. “And it wasn’t a fair fight, or a clean kill / Each time that Aimee stomped across my grave / And then she wrote headlines in the local paper / Laughing at each baby step I’d take,” Swift sang in the track.
The latest version of the song, which is mashed up with her Speak Now track “Mean,” underscores that message. Plus, it seems like a poignant reminder of her current level of success, as she continues her record-breaking tour: “Someday, I’ll be living in a big old city / And all you’re ever gonna be is mean / Someday, I’ll be big enough, so you can’t hit me / And all you’re ever gonna be is mean.”
