Skip to main content

It’s a new era for Taylor Swift. At the VMAs, the artist surprised and delighted her fans when she informed them that her 10th studio album, Midnights, will be out on October 21. Naturally, fan theories have run amok since the “All Too Well” singer’s announcement. However, her latest TikTok video has sparked a very interesting theory about the upcoming album’s tracklist.

Midnights artist Taylor Swift performs in Nashville after winning songwriter artist of the decade
‘Midnights’ artist Taylor Swift | Terry Wyatt/Getty Images

Taylor Swift reveals that the 13th track on her new album, ‘Midnights’ is called ‘Mastermind’

At the stroke of midnight, Swift surprised her fans by introducing a new series called “Midnights Mayhem with Me” via TikTok. It seems that for this particular era, Swift will be taking a new approach. Rather than releasing intricate clues about the names of her new songs (e.g. what she did with Red (Taylor’s Version)), she will be revealing the track titles in a series of TikTok videos.

“I know that I have a habit of dropping cryptic clues and Easter eggs when giving you information about my music, and I’m not here to deny that,” Swift explained. “But I am here to defy that.” She then revealed the name of the album’s 13th track, “Mastermind”, after using a bingo cage and allowing “fate” to decide which track she would disclose first.

Did the songwriter play mastermind to control which number came out of the bingo cage?

To us, the TikTok video seemed a little too innocuous. The odds that the number 13 would just happen to come out first is only about 7.69 percent. But whether Swift recorded the video multiple times to get the outcome she wanted or simply filled the bingo cage with only 13s is beside the point. More interestingly, the video sparked a new theory about the tracklist, and it all centers around Swift’s favorite number, 13.

Does Swift’s obsession with the number 13 offer us clues about the tracklist for ‘Midnights’?

Swift hasn’t been shy about how much she loves the number 13. According to the “hoax” singer, it rules her life. For example, her management company is called 13 Management, she was born on the 13th of December, and her private jet is lucky number 13. Swift even picks uber-important dates simply because they add up to the number 13. For example, Midnights is releasing on 10/21, and 10 + 2 + 1 is, you guessed it, 13.

@taylorswift

Midnights tracklist reveal!! Introducing: Midnights Mayhem with Me ?? #TSmidnighTS #SwiftTok #MidnightsMayhemWithMe

♬ original sound – Taylor Swift
Related

Taylor Swift Has Shifted the Way She Handles Criticism

But what does 13 have to do with Swift’s tracklist for the album? We predict that all the songs on Midnights will start with the letter M. There’s already a bit of evidence to support this theory. Obviously, “Mastermind” starts with M, but the letter M is also the 13th letter in the alphabet.

Is the lead single for ‘Midnights’ called ‘Mayhem’?

Though these are small clues, they’re certainly noticeable. If anyone is going to play up the connection to 13, it’s Swift. Furthermore, we can’t help but notice the many M’s in the alliteration of the chosen title, “Midnights Mayhem with Me.” We wouldn’t be surprised if “Mayhem” turned out to be another track title for Midnights and was even a lead single that was released when the 13-day countdown is complete. Since Swift already has a song called “ME!”, which was a lead single on her 7th album, Lover, it wouldn’t be too far out of left field.

It would be just like Swift to hide major clues in plain sight. But, only time will tell if the theory stands correct. We guess fans will have to do what Swift says and meet her at midnight.

Best in Entertainment