Is Taylor Swift about to release her seventh album? Here’s everything you need to know about ‘4.26’

Now, surely we’re due a new track or two from Taylor Swift. Lord knows we haven’t had much to make do — her latest album Reputation hit in October 2017, and since then we’ve been waiting with bated breath for the pop princess to grace us with new material. That time of thumb-twiddling (and listening to Look What You Made Me Do on repeat), is, it seems, drawing to a close: all roads point to April 26th, or ‘4.26’ as Swift has been posting over Instagram and streaming services.

Most notably, TaylorSwift.com has been given over to a countdown and, predictably, the internet is awash with theories and elaborate calculations involving palm trees, Arbour Day and numerology (to name but a few running themes). In short: we’re all crossing our fingers for what would be Swift’s 7th album – TS7, amongst online groupies.

Dedicated Swifties have been speculating about its release for a while now, following the release late last year of the TS 2019 calendar featuring stamps on particular days. The number 13 has long been a favourite of Taylor’s (her birthday is December 13th, after all), and the motifs appear on the 13th of April (when the countdown started), May, July, August and December. Could the dates signify staggered releases, or announcements?

April 26th isn’t marked on the official calendar, but sleuths have connected Swift’s mention of being excited for ‘the next chapter’ at the American Music Awards with her song The Story of Us in which the same phrase is a lyric. Coupled with the revelation that The Story of Us has a 4:26 run time, and is the 7th song on its 2011 album Speak Now, fans are daring to speak in hushed tones about something big on the horizon. While it’s a pretty elaborate series of Easter Eggs to have hidden, hints and intrigue are very much TS’s style – if anyone would go to such amazing lengths to tease a release, it’s our girl Taylor.

While we can’t know whether to expect a single or an album, an announcement or something else entirely, whatever Swift is holding back certainly has a strong aesthetic. If recent Instagram posts are anything to go by, you can brace yourself for pink; glitter; pastel; whimsy. Consider us braced — and see you on Friday for the big reveal.