Taylor Swift‘s big news, at least for the moment, has turned out to be a new single, “Patient Zero,” coming out Friday, with few other details announced. This seems unlikely to be the full extent of what Swift has in store for fans, but it’s a start. The single’s title was teased with clues that included the letter O in her Instagram bio description being changed to the numeral 0 in three spots.
Swifties are still on edge wondering whether there is more to come, and when. Speculation has run rampant for months that she would be putting out “Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version)” for the 20th anniversary of her self-titled debut album, but every indication is that this new single has nothing to do with that. Rumors had switched to the idea that she might be putting out an expanded or deluxe edition of 2025’s “The Life of a Showgirl,” despite her declaration at the time that the album would not have bonus tracks beyond the 12 tracks that were part of the package.
But for those who believe it is, there is at least one clue that leads in that direction, and possibly promises more to come: Easter eggs that result in an emphasis on the word “encore.” Swift participated in a pre-taped Emmys “Law & Order SVU” sketch, which had the singer appearing with her cat, Olivia Benson, and the inspiration for the pet’s name, Emmys host Mariska Hargitay. In the skit, Hargitay said, “In order to crack a Swiftie case, you gotta think like a Swiftie because the Swifties think that everything is a clue to what she’ll do next.” Swift, in character as a fellow detective, said, “I think what we’re going to be looking for is hiding in plain sight.” She then stared into the camera and uttered several seeming nonsense phrases or words: “Saccharide. North or south.” Then, questioned by Hargitay about the bizarre conversational detour, she deadpanned: “I didn’t say anything.” It turns out that when you look at the third letter in each of those phrases, it produces a letter that, put together, spells the word encore.
Which, to some Swifties, suggests that the showgirl has not yet hung up her headdress. But that was not all that Swifties found in the cryptic Emmys messages, or at least thought they found. Hardcore fans were convinced there was an anagram to be made out of the mystery phrases, and eventually found that the letters can be scrambled to spell out: “HI MY FIRST RECORDS RE RECORD IS OUT NOV TEN AHAHAHA” — heightening anticipation that what Swift would be announcing would be the long-awaited “Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version).” Whether this was a real message from Swift or a linguistic coincidence that fans cobbled together on their own remains to be seen.
But this revelation of a “brand new” single is certainly throwing Swifties off that scent… or convincing the more hopeful among them that she has multiple irons in the fire. It appears likely that more revelations about Swift’s release plans are forthcoming, possibly in the lead-up to what is expected to be an appearance on the MTV Video Music Awards Sunday night, when she will be awarded with the inaugural Artist Director Award, which was announced Monday. Reps for CBS and MTV have not revealed whether Swift will appear in person in Los Angeles to accept the award, but she is expected to be on the telecast.
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