Taylor Swift sure loves to press her fans’ buttons.
On the new cover of Entertainment Weekly, the 29-year-old pop star poses in a denim jacket covered in over two dozen colorful pins, each of which holds a clue about her upcoming seventh studio album. (“Each of Taylor’s buttons is an Easter egg!” one cover line reads.)
Swift is famous for dropping cryptic hints about her upcoming projects, and often uses her style to lead Swifties on scavenger hunts of sorts. “Easter eggs can be left on clothing or jewelry,” she explained in a video accompanying her cover. “This is one of my favorite ways to do this, because you wear something that foreshadows something else, and people don’t really usually find out this one immediately. But they know you’re probably sending a message — they’ll figure it out in time.”
At the 2013 Billboard Music Awards, for instance, Swift performed in a “Haters Gonna Hate” T-shirt; over a year later, she released her single “Shake It Off,” which prominently featured that very lyric. And in late 2011, almost a full year before the release of her album “Red,” the Grammy winner shared a photo of her scarlet shoes on Instagram.
So although Swift hasn’t yet shared the title or release date of her next album, perhaps it really is her collection of pins that holds all the clues. Below, a guide to what each of those pop culture-themed buttons might mean.
Selena Gomez
A longtime friend of Swift’s, Gomez has made several onstage cameos during the singer’s tours, is often spotted by her side at awards shows and even appeared in her 2015 music video for “Bad Blood.” However, the two have never recorded together; could that be changing soon?
The Dixie Chicks
The country group scored a shoutout in Swift’s new music video for “ME!” — and according to the singer, “Chicks stans never unstan.” Might there be a musical collaboration on the way?
Faith Hill
Back in 2006, the singer released her very first single “Tim McGraw,” inspired by Hill’s husband; the couple joined Swift onstage at her “Reputation” tour stop in Nashville to sing it along with her.
Troye Sivan
Another one of Swift’s “Reputation” tour guests, Sivan surprised the crowd to perform his hit “My My My!”
Drake
Could Swift’s “Hotline Bling” button point to a future collaboration with the rapper? “I love his one-liners,” she said in her EW interview. “Like ‘You say I led you on/But you followed me.’ Or ‘This a Rollie, not a stopwatch/It don’t ever stop.'”
Swift also attended Drake’s 30th birthday party in 2016, and the two even briefly sparked dating rumors; that same year, the “Blank Space” singer also starred in an Apple Music ad set to Drake and Future’s “Jumpman.”
“Friends” cast
Swift is a noted fan of the beloved NBC sitcom, and even invited stars Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow onstage during her “1989” world tour. Could a cover of “Smelly Cat” have made it onto Swift’s new album? Anything’s possible!
“Game of Thrones”
Arya, Sansa and Daenerys are all represented in Swift’s mix of pins, as is a tiny dragon. The pop star’s pal Ed Sheeran has already snagged a “GoT” cameo; could the “Delicate” singer be next?
“Grey’s Anatomy”
Swift famously adores this series, even naming one of her cats after lead character Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), who appears on one of the buttons alongside Sandra Oh’s character, Dr. Cristina Yang. Another of Swift’s pins is an anatomical heart that reads “You’re my person,” an iconic line from the medical drama.
“Law & Order: SVU”
The name of Swift’s second cat? Olivia Benson, after Mariska Hargitay’s crime-solving heroine. After Swift’s 2017 court victory, she donated to the “SVU” star’s foundation for sexual assault survivors. Hargitay (along with Pompeo) also appeared in the “Bad Blood” video, so perhaps another team-up is in store. Dun, dun!
“Cats”
Swift will appear as Bombalurina in the forthcoming film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, which also stars Jennifer Hudson and Idris Elba. The film hits theaters on December 20. Pins of the “Style” singer’s own felines, the aforementioned Meredith and Olivia, can also be spotted on her jacket.
Mister Rogers
Some fans have speculated that Swift’s upcoming album might be titled “Home.” Could her decision to place a pin of the beloved “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” host in the mix be a hint?
“Awesome” and “Calm”
These are both references to Swift’s single “ME!”; she sings “You can’t spell ‘awesome’ without ‘me'” in one line, and yells “Je suis calme!” (“I am calm!”) in the opening scene of the music video.
“I tried” tombstone
“I’m sorry, the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, ’cause she’s dead!” Swift memorably mocked her own death in the lyrics and video for “Look What You Made Me Do,” singing, “I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time” and even clawing her way out of her own grave in the opening scene. Could this pin signify that while she tried to bury her old persona, she just couldn’t do it? Quite possibly.
Pastel palette
The pin shaped like an artist’s palette covered with pastel hearts fits in perfectly with Swift’s new, softer style.
Pride heart
Swift made her support of the LGBTQ crystal clear in an Instagram post she shared back in October, before the midterm elections. “I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG,” she write. “I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love.”
In April, she donated $113,000 to the Tennessee Equality Project to help the organization fight the so-called “Slate of Hate,” a handful of bills targeting LGBTQ individuals.
“Track 5”
It’s a running joke amongst diehard Swifties that the fifth track on each of the singer’s albums is typically the most emotional of the lot. See: “White Horse,” “Dear John,” “All Too Well” and “Delicate.”