Taylor Swift Reveal How Her Easter Eggs Work
"I have parameters," she said. "There's dos and donts. I don't do an Easter egg that ties to my personal life. It points to my music…it's something you don't know why I'm saying for a specific reason, but then you'll look back and go 'oh my god.'"
Tay went on to give an example: her NYU honorary doctorate speech.
"My favorite one of those was when I was giving an honorary doctorate from NYU and I made the commencement speech," she said. "And I put so many lyrical easter eggs in that speech that when the Midnights album came out after that, the fans were like 'The whole speech was an easter egg.' And that for me is really fun because they find it fun. I love numerology, I love math stuff, I love dates, that stuff I find really fun."
Tay also chatted to Entertainment Weekly a few years back about how she thinks up Easter eggs, saying "I think the best messages are cryptic ones. Easter eggs can be left on clothing or jewelry. This is one of my favorite ways to do this because you wear something that foreshadows something else, and people don't usually find out this one immediately, but they know you're probably sending a message. They'll figure it out in time. Lots of examples of this exist through the history of my career."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
3 minutes ago
- Forbes
Taylor Swift On New Heights Podcast: A Marketing Masterclass For The Ages
Taylor Swift was never sporty. At least, that what she said herself. Yet this week, she dominated one of the most male-coded corners of sports culture. On her record-breaking debut appearance on New Heights, the football podcast hosted by her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and his brother Jason, the global pop phenomenon openly admitted that until recently she didn't know the rules when it came to football. Making an appearance on a podcast by bros, for bros, Swift announced the release of her twelfth studio album, titled The Life of a Showgirl, drawing an audience of 1.3 million live viewers on YouTube, nearly double the audience that tuned in live to Donald Trump's much-hyped appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience during his 2024 election run. Taylor Swift Sets the Price It's hard not to see these numbers as a sweet win for Swift, especially in light of Donald Trump's September 2024 comments on Fox & Friends, where he dismissed her as someone who 'seems to always endorse a Democrat' warning she would 'probably pay a price for it…in the marketplace.' If this week proved anything, it's that when it comes to the cultural zeitgeist that is Swift, far from paying a price, Swift is a woman who sets the price, and the market has shown us time again, it's more than willing to pay. Taylor Swift Proves Women Can Expand Culture Of course, the NFL already knows what Swift means for its bottom line. Stadium shots of her in a red lip did more for ticket sales and broadcast ratings than most quarterbacks could dream of. And yet, much has been made and mocked of her relationship with Kelce and the NFL. She's been booed in stadiums, joked at by mainstream media, and roasted online to the extent that both the NFL and high-profile players have publicly defended her right to attend. Perhaps that's why the impact of this podcast appearance is even more significant. It offered proof that women don't just consume culture, they expand it. This was a two hour podcast episode that shattered decades of siloed marketing assumptions, proving audiences are far more fluid than the old playbook allows. It signaled that women's fandom is not niche. It moves markets, breaks records, and has the power to reshape industries. Whether it's ticket sales, album streams, or podcast viewership, the Swift phenomenon is measurable, massive, and undeniable. The Taylor Swift Effect: Viewership Earthquake The numbers speak for themselves. Swift's appearance didn't just break records, it reshaped the audience. Within 24 hours of the episode's release, female viewership on Spotify increased by over 600%, marking the largest single-day demographic shift in New Heights' history, with Spotify reporting, the episode had become one of this past year's highest-performing podcasts within just one day of its release Taylor Swift Shows Curiosity Is Currency It further demonstrated that curiosity has huge commercial leverage. Swift did not posture as an authority on the NFL, instead admitting she didn't know what a tight end was when her and Kelce first connected, and is now as she describes 'obsessed' with the sport. That admission is more than charming self-deprecation- it's a direct challenge to decades of sports culture that has often patronized or dismissed women's interest whose engagement was rarely seen as influential. Swift's approach flipped that script entirely. By showing that enthusiasm, curiosity, and authenticity can resonate with millions of viewers, she sent a message that influence isn't just about technical mastery and enthusiasm can be as influential in growing viewership as expertise. The opportunity lies in connecting audiences, breaking assumptions, and reshaping who gets to matter in sports culture. Taylor Swift's Masterclass in Modern Influence In an era where media, sports, and politics compete for attention, Taylor Swift has shown us just how cultural influence is evolving. For two hours, Swifties and sports fans shared a moment that made her more than a performer: she became a connector, wielding a form of soft power rarely seen so visibly from women. This wasn't just a record-breaking media moment- it was a masterclass in marketing in the digital age, where shaping culture, connecting communities, and turning curiosity into commerce defines success.
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
Conservatives mock Comey over Taylor Swift video
Conservatives are mocking former FBI Director James Comey over a post he made on his Substack on Sunday in which he discussed his admiration for pop superstar Taylor Swift. The post features a video of Comey calling Swift 'a truly inspirational public figure' and noting her recent appearance on NFL stars' Jason and Travis Kelce's podcast 'New Heights.' 'Taylor Swift and I go way back. I went to my first concert of hers 15 years ago. I've been to a second and I have helped financially support the attendance of a lot of family members and others. I'm in a family's Swiftie group chat. I know all her music, and I listen to it in my headphones when I cut the grass,' Comey said in the video. In response to Comey's video, conservative personality Benny Johnson said that 'A new James Comey hostage video just dropped.' 'This time he calls himself a 'Swiftie' and says Taylor Swift helps him cope with Donald Trump. You really can't make this up,' Johnson added in a Sunday post on the social platform X. In the Comey video, the former FBI director also states that 'we need to stand up to jerks and defend what matters, but I think we have to try to do that without becoming like them, which is what makes me think about Taylor Swift.' 'She's made clear that she sees Donald Trump for what he is, and last year, she urged Americans not to make the serious mistake of electing him,' Comey added. 'Of course, we're now living with the consequences of that mistake, but while our elderly makeup- covered president is posting about whether Taylor Swift is still hot and declaring that he can't stand her, what's she doing? Living her best life.' Conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza also said on X Sunday that Comey was attempting 'now to come across as a normal guy, a Taylor Swift fan, and a champion of civility and decorum' in the wake of 'using his power for years to entrap Trump, Flynn and others.' The Hill has reached out to a representative for Comey and the White House for comment. Comey was fired as FBI director by Trump during his first term, and the two have feuded for years. Earlier this year, Comey made waves when he posted an image of shells on a seashore spelling out '86 47.' He deleted the post after criticism, saying he did not recognize it as something that could be seen as promoting violence toward the president. Comey's daughter, Maureen Comey, was fired in July from her job as a prosecutor for the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY). The firing was largely seen as politically motivated given Trump's feelings for Comey and his desire for loyalists throughout his administration.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ian McKellen reveals Gandalf and Frodo to return for 'The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum'
The new installment in the sprawling fantasy franchise, to be directed by original Gollum actor Andy Serkis, will commence production in May, McKellen says. Back to Middle-earth, post haste! Old friends are waiting. Ian McKellen, the legendary actor behind Gandalf the Grey in the original Lord of the Rings film trilogy, dropped a bombshell bit of casting news over the weekend. "I hear there's going to be another movie based in Middle-earth, and it's going to start filming in May. It's going to be directed by Gollum, and it's all about Gollum," McKellen teased at the For the Love of Fantasy fan event in London on Sunday. Last year, original LOTR helmer Peter Jackson was announced as producing a new live-action installment in The Lord of the Rings franchise with Gollum actor Andy Serkis directing and starring in the new film that was slated for a 2026 release at the time. The film is now expected in December 2027. McKellen then shocked the audience with new details. "I'll tell you two secrets about the casting: There's a character in the movie called Frodo, and there's a character in the movie called Gandalf," he said. Smiling to himself as the crowd gasped in amazement, McKellen joked, "Apart from that, my lips are sealed!" Entertainment Weekly has reached out to a representative for Warner Bros. for in the day, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO and President David Zaslav discussed Serkis' film during the company's quarterly earnings call. Zaslav noted that The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum joins the likes of upcoming Batman, Superman, and Harry Potter projects at the top of the studio's priority list. Though McKellen did not specifically say whether he and original Frodo Baggins star Elijah Wood would reprise their roles in the film, Wood was present at the fan event, smiling conspiratorially as McKellen spoke alongside fellow LOTR alums Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, and John Rhys-Davies. Since the original Lord of the Rings film trilogy wrapped up in 2003 with the Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, McKellen, Wood, and Jackson all returned to Middle-earth with the Hobbit trilogy, which unspooled between 2012 and 2014. Jackson was not involved in Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series, but last year he produced the franchise's first animated foray into the works of J.R.R. Tolkein, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. Jackson was joined on the project by Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, both producers on the original film trilogy who are also on board The Hunt for Gollum. In June, Serkis told Collider, "We're very early on in the process. We've been talking about the film over the course of the last year. We're about to start a period of prep in the next few months or so. We will be shooting in the early to mid-part of next year, I guess, and then it'll be as long as it takes to shoot, which — it's a sizable movie — all ready for a December 2027 release." Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
