After Tortured Poets Department was released in April to fan love and record-breaking success, it’s been quiet on the Taylor Swift music front. However, this hasn’t stopped fans from theorizing about Swift’s upcoming projects and looking for Easter Eggs wherever they can, especially while they (not so) patiently wait for the re-recorded versions of Reputation and her debut self-titled album. Now, Swifties are predicting both of these releases will drop at once, and are using her most recent surprise song choices as a sign.
For those unfamiliar, Swift is currently in the process of re-recording her master discography in order to have rights to her music pre-2019. She has successfully re-recorded all but two of her albums, and these releases often include new unreleased music. Swifties have been awaiting Reputation and Taylor Swift for a while, and now seem to think they may have a joint release. This is all because the pop star has been singing mash-ups that are made up of songs from both albums during the surprise song portion of the Eras Tour.
This theory first started brewing when she played a mash-up of ”Should’ve Said No,” a song from her debut album, and “I Did Something Bad,” a Reputation song, during her second night in Miami. You can see a clip of the performance from X below:
🚨| Taylor Swift performing a mashup of “Should’ve Said No” and “I Did Something Bad” at today’s show! #MiamiTSTheErasTour pic.twitter.com/4C7HkwHd72October 20, 2024
It could’ve just been a coincidence that the mash-up included songs from albums that Swift has yet to re-record, but this didn’t stop fans from brewing their own theories that it could potentially be a sign.
Swifties then started analyzing her hand movements during “22” where she flashed “double 5s” while she performed wearing a shirt that read “This is not Taylor’s Version.” One person thought this could mean that both albums might be released on her birthday, December 13th. You can see her theory from X below:
🚨Taylor Swift held up 5 5 while wearing a “This is Not Taylor’s Version” shirt during “22.” In 55 days, it will be her birthday—Friday, December 13th. She also just performed songs from Debut and Reputation…DEBUTATION on December 13th? pic.twitter.com/3rMAHL6OT6October 20, 2024
This seemingly far-fetched prediction gained more supporters when Swift performed a mash-up of debut single “Our Song” and Reputation favorite “Call It What You Want,” last night in New Orleans. The whole thing conjured up memories of her second Madrid show where she also played a song from each of the albums during the surprise song set.
One fan on X felt like this should make Swifties suspicious:
Three debutation mashups over four shows seems rather suspicious?? pic.twitter.com/TFbbdE80wbOctober 26, 2024
The whole thing is just ramping up excitement for and clowning about the possibility of Rep and Debut dropping soon. Some have even called this theory “Debutation,” mashing up the two albums as Swift has the songs. A fan on X shared their excitement saying:
DEBUTATION ONCE AGAIN AT THE ERAS TOUR pic.twitter.com/FLCCP0nN3EOctober 26, 2024
The snake wearing a cowboy hat seemingly has become the symbol for this duel-release theory, as fans on X ramp up to celebrate Swift’s country roots, and the snake metaphor that represents her 2017 pop album:
me whenever taylor plays a debutation mashup pic.twitter.com/L2ZIP6tiKtOctober 26, 2024
Whether or not you’re on board with this theory, it’s a fun idea. The two albums are so different in style and theme, but Swift has shown in these mash-ups that something magical happens when they come together.
On one hand, it would be fun to have separate releases so both eras within the Grammy winner’s career can have their own moments. On the other hand, a duel release could represent something else about Swift’s career, and how both of those albums symbolize how she’s evolved as a musician.
We’ll have to wait and see how she actually handles her final “Taylor’s Version” releases, but no matter what happens, fans are waiting with bated breath.
In the meantime, Swifties can check out Taylor Swift’s other iconic tour performances in her concert film, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, which is streaming now with a Disney+ subscription.