🤡 Clowning Chat No. 1: Rep TV

Are You Ready For It?

Jan 21, 2024

Dear Reader,

Are you ready to clown? I thought it’d be fun to start a series of Dear Reader newsletters all about the clowning that we get up to as Swifties. There’s quite a lot to cover in this issue, so let’s dig in!

In this newsletter you’ll find:

An Introduction To Clowning
Past Clowning
Reputation (Taylor’s Version)
The 112 Day Theory
Argylle and Elly Conway
Dates To Look Out For

An Introduction To Clowning

In case you’re not sure what I mean when I say clowning, it’s just a fun way we refer to our theories, predictions, and attempts to try and decode the Easter Eggs Taylor Swift constantly throws our way. Here’s an article from Entertainment Weekly, including a video from Taylor Swift herself about how she likes to leave Easter Eggs, including:

Clothing
Fingernails
Set Design for Photo Shoots and Music Videos
In Album Lyrics
In Print - i.e. interviews
Through Symbolism - i.e. snakes

Taylor’s been doing this from her very first album, when she used to capitalize random letters from her lyrics spelling out secret messages to go with each song. The nostalgia 🥹

Past Clowning

Clowning isn't for everyone, but it can be a fun way to stay engaged with the work Taylor Swift is putting out. Personally, I love clowning! I’m not nearly as obsessive and well-versed as other Swiftie creators. But having followed Taylor Swift for a long time, I love seeing throwbacks and looking out for hints at what’s to come. I’ve definitely gotten more into it since her re-recording project began, and even more since The Eras Tour started. I think Taylor Swift has also doubled down on dropping Easter Eggs for us to discover!

Here’s some of the clowning I’ve engaged in over the months:

Will 1989 (Taylor’s Version)’s announcement happen tonight? - it actually happened!
Could 1989 TV be a double album? - it was not 😅
What’s coming next, Rep TV or Karma/TS 11? - still an unknown 😂
Is the announcement for Rep TV happening on Nov 26th? - it also did not, LOL 🤣

For me, the important thing is to not take clowning too seriously. It goes wrong more often than not. But there’s nothing quite like seeing a theory come true. I’ll never forget that feeling of watching Taylor (over livestream) come out in blue outfit after blue outfit on her August 9th show, leading up to her announcement of 1989 (Taylor’s Version).

Photo: Taylor Swift’s "…Ready For It" music video

Reputation (Taylor’s Version)

Recent clowning has mainly focused on when Taylor is going to announce Reputation (Taylor’s Version). There were a number of theories floating around that it might happen sometime in Dec, and many others thinking New Year’s Day was the day. Clearly it hasn’t happened yet.

I’m holding out for a February announcement myself. Here’s some reasons why:

“We can leave the Christmas lights up til February” - Spotify dropped this bomb in a “Snow Globe” playlist they created, that Taylor Nation re-shared saying to “keep your eyes peeled” while checking it out. I included that and some other Rep TV Easter Eggs in this post.
On Dec 8th (my birthday!), Taylor reset her socials back to be Midnights themed - I saw it happen on Instagram in real time 😱 Taylor did the same thing 13 days before she announced 1989 Taylor’s Version (which is why there were theories Rep TV might be announced on Dec 21st).
There’s been A LOT of green outfits lately (and before the that a lot of black ones too). She’s also been caught wearing snakeskin boots, which feels like a pretty big Easter Egg as well. Here’s an interesting article on all the green outfits, from Marie Claire.
The Reputation Stadium Tour left Netflix the day before New Year’s Eve - it could just be that Taylor had signed a 5 year contract with Netflix, and that timeline was up. Buuut, with Taylor timing often means so much more.
Taylor’s first 2024 Eras Tour show is in Tokyo on Feb 7th. She also ended the Reputation Stadium Tour in Tokyo.
In her Time’s Person Of The Year article, Taylor talked about Reputation (Taylor’s Version), and her photoshoot for the cover included a lot of black, including a familiar black guitar last used on her Reputation Stadium Tour! Sounds like an “In Print” Easter Egg to me, no?
On Jan 9th, Taylor Nation posted a GIF of the Karma video coffee cup, with the caption: “Karma is a cup of coffee. ☕️ Drop your go-to orders below, because it’s 2024 and our sleep schedules are still 😵‍💫”. I’m not exactly sure what this could mean - what do you think?! My initial thought is just that it’s a confirmation of a Rep TV announcement happening in February. Why? Because the blue finger at 8 correctly predicted a 1989 announcement in the 8th month of the year, August. Logically, the black finger at the 2 must then mean a Rep TV announcement in the 2nd month of the year, February, right? Let me know if you have more thoughts about this though.

Suspicious behavior? Always 😅

The 112 Day Theory

Another big theory that’s been circulating is Nikki and Ryan’s 112 Day Theory. This suggests that Taylor Swift is releasing albums on a 112 day cycle, starting from the opening of the Eras Tour:

March 17, 2023 - Eras Tour Begins
July 7, 2023 - Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) release
October 27, 2023 - 1989 (Taylor’s Version) release
February 16, 2023 - ??

All of these dates fall on a Friday, which is important. Since 2015, new music is now globally released on the same day, Friday. Before that there were different release dates for different countries. Releasing music on Friday also gives a song/album the maximum time to chart, because Billboard’s tracking week runs from Friday to Thursday.

As we get closer and closer to February, it’ll be interesting to see whether Reputation (Taylor’s Version) sticks to the 112 day pattern. Announcing it in Tokyo to release on February 16th would leave about a week for pre-sales, media hype, etc. So it could happen. But between her announcement of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and the release was 63 days, and between 1989 (Taylor’s Version) announcement and release was 79 days. Shortening that down to around 7 days would be an interesting move. But then again, as Taylor said, “There will be no explanation, only Reputation.”

Argylle and Elly Conway

The other clowning that you may, or may not, have heard of, is whether Taylor Swift could be connected to the movie Argylle. I first heard about this from Jessica on TikTok. She theorized that Taylor Swift might be the author of the book Argylle: A Novel, going by the pseudonym Elly Conway.

Jessica has a whole playlist breaking down this theory over on TikTok. I was never quite convinced. But I have to say, there are a loooot of connections between the movie and Taylor Swift that can seem like a lot to be pure coincidence. It got me wondering whether Elly Conway was, at the least, a massive Swiftie? And if so, who could blame her? But could there be something more?

Here’s some of the similarities between Argylle and Taylor:

Taylor Swift has a history of wearing argyle sweaters - one was even part of her Red album merch, called “Red (Taylor’s Version) Argyle Sweater.”
Taylor has two cats that are Scottish Folds - the same breed of cat starring in the Argylle movie.
Taylor’s known for carrying around her cat in a very similar looking cat backpack to the one on the poster of the Argylle movie.
Taylor’s short film “All Too Well” ends with her having grown up into a successful writer, with red hair. The author of Argylle in the movie is played by Bryce Dallas Howard and she also has red hair.
There’s a photo of Taylor wearing a sweatshirt with the words “Conway Recording Studios”, which is where she recorded 1989 and Red (Taylor’s Version).

I mean, it’s a lot, right? But what really made my eyebrows raise was when Penguin Random House sent complimentary advance copies of the book to some well-known Taylor Swift creators (including Jessica on TikTok). In their message, they even said, “We’re excited to offer you a complimentary copy of ARGYLLE by Elly Conway (or Taylor swift?).” That’s a direct quote (including the lowercase s).

After first seeing this on social media, I started following Elly Conway on instagram - you know, just in case. And her Instagram posts can often feel super Taylor Swift related as well…Keep in mind though, that as a Swiftie I am heavily biased. If you’re interested, go check out her posts and see what you think.

A few days ago the Director of Argylle: The Movie, Matthew Vaughan, shot down this theory in an article from Rolling Stones, saying, “…there is an Elly Conway who wrote the book, but it’s not Taylor Swift.” That sounds like it’s the end of the whole conspiracy. I just think it’s interesting that the rumors went on for so long, with neither the real Elly Conway or Taylor’s team saying anything about it.

I’m intrigued enough to check out the book, which came out Jan 9th. I placed the book and audiobook on hold at my local library, but I’m in for a long wait, hehe. If you end up reading or listening to it yourself, let me know what you think! Here’s the book on Amazon, and here’s the link to a free Audible trial or membership. The movie will release on Feb 2nd. If you see it, let me know if you’d recommend!

Dates To Look Out For

To wrap everything up, right now I’d say the important dates I’m keeping a close eye on are:

February 7th-10th - Tokyo Eras Tour shows
February 16th - for a possible album release?

Thanks for joining this first installment of Swiftie Clowning Chat, and I’d love to hear your thoughts! I’ve left some questions below. Comment under the Substack post with your predictions, theories, and any other clowning that you’re getting up to lately!

And look out for another special issue of Dear Reader coming to your inbox next, with my complete guide to The Eras Tour! In the meantime…

Baby, let the games begin,

Bekah

🎶 Can I Ask You a Question? 🎶

Do you think Reputation (Taylor’s Version) is coming next? Or Debut (Taylor’s Version), OR Taylor Swift’s 11th studio album??
Do you think Reputation (Taylor’s Version) will get announced in Tokyo? If so, on which night?!
Do you think an album will drop on February 16th, following the 112 Day theory?
Will you see Argylle: The Movie and/or read the book? Had you heard the theory about Taylor’s involvement?

Dear Reader