The global superstar has an opening on her Saturday schedule, and some fans think they know where she’ll be.
AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL) is upon us, with Sabrina Carpenter set to headline Saturday night – and some fans think she could be joined by a very special guest.
Speculation is brewing on social media that Taylor Swift might appear during Carpenter’s ACL set. Swift released her twelfth studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” on Friday, and the title track is a duet with Carpenter.
But that’s not where the potential “evidence” ends.
Earlier this week, Taylor Nation – Swift’s official social media team – posted a timeline of her promotional appearances and events scheduled through next Thursday. Notably, Saturday night lists only the word “standby.”
This has led many Swifties to believe Carpenter could bring their idol out at the festival at Zilker Park – but as of Friday morning, there has been no concrete evidence that’s the plan.
Swift and Carpenter have shared a stage before: Swift brought collaborator out for a mashup of Carpenter’s hits “Espresso” and “Please, Please, Please” and Swift’s own “Is It Over Now?” during an Eras Tour stop in New Orleans last October.
And for what it’s worth: ACL isn’t the only possible place Swift could pop up Saturday night. While some Swifties believe she’ll show up in Austin, others think the “standby” message alludes to her stopping by the “Saturday Night Live” Season 51 premiere in New York City, hosted by Bad Bunny.
What about the ‘reputation’ theory?
A possible ACL appearance isn’t the only thing the Swiftie sleuths are buzzing about. Some fans also think Swift may be teasing the release of her “Reputation” vault tracks.
The background: For several years, Swift had been re-recording the first half of her catalog following the sale of her masters in 2019. Since then, she has released the “Taylor’s Version” editions of “Fearless,” “Red,” “1989” and “Speak Now,” leaving only her first, self-titled album – often referred to by fans as “Debut” – and her sixth album, “Reputation.”
But back in May, Swift announced via a letter on her website that she had regained control of her masters. In the letter, she also announced that she hadn’t been able to successfully re-record “Reputation” – while also still leaving the door open to release the so-called “Vault,” or previously unreleased, songs from that album.
“There will be a time (if you’re into the idea) for the unreleased Vault tracks from that album to hatch. I’ve already completely re-recorded my entire debut album, and I really love how it sounds now,” Swift wrote. “Those 2 albums can still have their moments to re-emerge when the time is right, if that would be something you guys would be excited about.”
So, why do some Swifties think the time is now for the “Rep” Valut tracks? A couple of reasons.
The first possible clue: In a post shared to X earlier this week, a fan noted that a display of the album cover for “The Life of a Showgirl” on Apple Music showed sparkly cracks similar to those that appeared on the Eras Tour stage during the “Reputation” portion of the show.
The cracks could also be interpreted as connected to Swift’s use of the word “hatch” in her letter referencing the album’s Vault tracks.
The second possible clue: a coded message. On Apple Music, fans discovered that Swift had capitalized certain letters in the lyrics of “Don’t Blame Me,” a song off “Reputation.” When put together, the letters spelled out the line, “They don’t make loyalty like they used to” – now revealed to be a lyric from “Father Figure,” a song off “The Life of a Showgirl.”
Whether the Swifties are right remains to be seen, but Swift herself previously pushed back on the idea that she’d release more songs beyond the 12 tracks on “The Life of a Showgirl.”
“There’s no other songs coming,” Swift said during her Aug. 13 appearance on the “New Heights” podcast, during which she announced the new album. “With ‘The Tortured Poets Department,’ I was like, ‘Here’s a data dump of everything I thought or felt in two or three years. Here’s 31 songs.’ This is 12. There’s not a 13th. There’s not a 14th. There’s no other ones coming.”