Taylor Swift and her fans have officially entered the Midnights era as the American singer-songwriter has dropped her 10th studio album, full of 13 dark, heart-wrenching and dazzling new songs. There are also seven more tracks on the 3am edition if you didn't think those were enough.
Swift has a history of leaving coded messages known as Easter eggs for her fans to find in her announcements and song lyrics and it seems for album number 10, things were no different.
From the moment the 32-year-old announced her new record, Swifties have been desperately hunting down clues and coming up with their own theories like Nancy Drew. Following the release, they've spotted some of the genius hidden Easter eggs from Miss Swift - including a TikTok glitch, lyrics weaved within part of her NYU commencement speech and how the star used her own outfits and make-up to tease music.
Back in May of this year, Swift took to the stage to address the graduating class of New York University 2022, after being given an honorary doctorate of fine arts.
Swift's commencement speech involved mentions of getting cancelled, being a doctor and also featured lyrics from one of the Midnights songs.
She urged the graduates to "breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out", which just so happens to be a line from track 10, which is called Labyrinth.
Sneaky!
The next Easter egg fans spotted was Swift's outfit for the 2022 MTV VMA awards in August.
Swift arrived for the awards ceremony in a stunning Oscar de la Renta dress, dripping in crystals and all sorts of sparkles, as well as glam make-up by Pat McGrath which fans now realise was a clue for the song Bejeweled.
In the ninth track on the album, she sings: "Best believe I'm still bejewled, when I walk in the room I can still make the whole place shimmer.
"And when I meet the band, they ask, 'do you have a man?'
"I could still say, 'I don't remember'.
"Familiarity breeds contempt, so put me in the basement when I want the penthouse of your heart.
"Diamonds in my eyes, I polish up real, I polish up real nice."
The song also references several other jewels, including moonstones and shining diamonds.
Diehard fans quickly spotted another Easter egg of sorts in the Midnights track list, as the twelfth track, Sweet Nothing, has a writing credit to William Bowery.
Who is William Bowery you ask? Well, he's Taylor Swift's boyfriend, Joe Alwyn. The actor uses this name as a pseudonym when writing, and has previously been credited on both the Folklore and Evermore albums.
The pseudonym was picked as William was his great-grandather's name, who happened to be a composer, while Bowery is an area of New York Alwyn has spent a lot of time in and enjoys.
The song seems to be a love story about their own relationship and even recalls a romantic break the pair shared in Wicklow, Ireland last summer while Alwyn was filming the Sally Rooney drama, Conversations With Friends.
"I spy with my little tired eye, tiny as a firefly, a pebble, that we picked up last July.
"Down deep inside your pocket, we almost forgot it. Does it ever miss Wicklow sometimes?"
Another Easter Egg came in the form of a TikTok video, which contained a glitch, that fans now realise was a clue for a bonus song from the 3am edition of Midnights, called Glitch.
Back in July, Swift posted a TikTok video in which she could be seen painting her nails red, ahead of the release of her rerecorded Red (Taylor's Version).
The video then cuts to Taylor standing on a balcony, in a summer dress, as Wildest Dreams from 1989 starts playing.
As it cuts back to the nail painting, the screen glitches, as if it cannot compute the change.
At the time, many fans thought this was a sign 1989 (Taylor's Version) was coming, but instead it seems to be a clue for Midnights as the clip now plays as a video over the song on Spotify.
She really is a mastermind that one!
One fan on Twitter commented: "Out of all the Midnights Easter Eggs, I truly cannot believe that TikTok glitch was legit an egg."
Other things fans have picked up on include the album clock that the four limited edition versions of her records make was an Easter Egg for a scene in the new Anti-Hero music video, while the teaser trailer for the Midnights album features various references to her past musical eras, with Taylor recreating some of her most iconic costumes.
This makes sense as the album was intended to represent 13 sleepless nights throughout her life.
Fans have also claimed Taylor would be exactly 12,000 days old when Midnights was released on Friday, October 21 at midnight, and they believe she released the album at this time and date specifically to go along with the 12 hours on the clock theme.
Have you spotted another Easter egg? Let us know in the comments below.
