Taylor Swift drops another mysterious countdown and Swifties think they cracked the code
After putting the Swifties on alert last week with an appearance on “New Heights” and a new album announcement, Taylor Swift has got them in a frenzy again.
UPDATE: The countdown has concluded and Swift has released two new versions of her new album “The Life of a Showgirl” - two shiny vinyl editions, one in mint-green and one in purple. The two are available for pre-order on her official website.
Taylor Swift is at it again. The mastermind never stops! She has once again left her fans in suspense after posting a cryptic new countdown on her website, set to end on August 18 at 2 p.m. ET. And of course, the Swifties have already spoken their theories.
Taylor Swift has started a new countdown for 2PM ET. pic.twitter.com/cDdkgYo11d
— Pop Base (@PopBase) August 18, 2025
What’s Taylor planning? Countdown sparks single, doc and merch theories
This countdown comes just days after she announced her upcoming album “The Life of a Showgirl”, set to be released on October 3. Just ahead of the announcement, her boyfriend Travis Kelce and his brother Jason Kelce teased their newest episode of their “New Heights” podcast, with some pretty blatant clues that Swift would be the next guest.
“If there’s one thing male sports fans want to see … it’s more of me!” 😆 Taylor on her upcoming podcast episode of @newheightshow, she’s hilarious 😂 pic.twitter.com/G29zEFZfFX
— Taylor Swift Updates (@SwiftNYC) August 13, 2025
Once that was confirmed, fans had no doubt an album announcement would be coming soon, and they were right. In the teaser for the episode, the announcement was revealed, but Swifties had to wait until the following day to get the scoop on the cover and tracks.
Leading up to the “New Heights” episode premiere, Swift’s official website had a countdown. When it finished and the episode was released, her album became available to pre-order in different variants. Today, another 4-hour countdown suddenly appeared.
Unlike her past album rollouts, Swift hasn’t yet revealed a lead single - something she hasn’t done since “Lover” in 2019 - leaving fans wondering if the countdown could mark its arrival.
Adding to the intrigue, the countdown appears in sparkling purple, a sharp contrast to the album’s orange theme, and Apple Music updated her artist page to match. Fans are speculating wildly: some expect a single drop, others suspect more collectible vinyl editions, and some even point to her unreleased Eras Tour footage or newly updated trademarks like “Female Rage: The Musical”.
Purple glitter now falls on Taylor Swift’s Apple Music page following the start of her new countdown for 2pm EST. pic.twitter.com/DflzlZYwnP
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) August 18, 2025
Whatever the mystery reveal is, Swifties are on edge and convinced Taylor has another major surprise in store.
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