Taylor Swift wiped her social media accounts on Friday and posted cryptic, silent clips of a menacing snake without captions.
Fans and the media went wild with speculation about what these meant, as Swift has become widely associated with the snake emoji since 2016 when her public image took a severe hit from controversies with Katy Perry, Kim and Kanye West and ex-beau Calvin Harris.
We didn’t have to wait long for an answer.
She announced today that her new album, aptly titled Reputation, will launch November 10th with a new single dropping this Friday morning Australia time.
The girl is back and means business: the edgy, black and white cover art depicts Swift with a slicked-back hairstyle wearing a metal choker and an oversized tee. Half her face is shrouded in prints of her name resembling media headlines on news articles.
Since she’s always been unapologetically personal and autobiographical with her music, no prizes for guessing what topics she’ll be addressing on this record.
The 3-year hiatus between Swift’s last album, 1989, and Reputation is uncharacteristically long for the singer, who throughout her career released albums in 2-year spans.
I’m a fan of Taylor Swift, the artist, but never Taylor Swift, the person. Yet I respect her a lot more now for controlling the narrative by owning the snake image and negative press, and using them positively to fuel hype for her comeback.
Clearly, she’ll have the last laugh…all the way to the bank.