Did Taylor Swift Just Drop an Easter Egg About Her Next Album?

Taylor Swift has had one heck of a year—or, really, a massive past three years. Since she launched her emblematic Eras Tour in 2023, the singer-songwriter has transcended new heights in her career. That included becoming a billionaire (casual) and buying back her masters in what has been a protracted and often public battle. The cherry on top came this summer, when, after spending two decades writing love songs, Swift married Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden over the 4th of July weekend. With the dust (or confetti) settling, fans are wondering what the 14-time Grammy winner will do next. As it turns out, I think she's dropped us another Easter egg.

Swift recently made an appearance at the Grammy Museum as a guest of The Icon Sessions, hosted by the Recording Academy's Songwriters & Composers Wing. The session was a 20-year retrospective on Swift's discography, in conversation with Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr., where she talked about her origins in the industry.

"I love my country roots more and more the further along this path I get," she said. "I want to honor them...I feel more tied to them, more loyal to them—the people that shaped who I am as an artist and as a writer." Translation? I think Swift is about to deliver a heavy helping of country music for all of us to enjoy.

This isn't the first hint Swift has given that she may return to the genre. Earlier this summer, she became the first musician to contribute music to the Toy Story franchise with the original song, "I Knew It, I Knew You." With a noticeable harmonica riff that threads a twang through the track, it evoked Swift's first eponymous album, which included the country hit "Tim McGraw." The writing, too, was some of her best in the recent years—a particular favorite line of mine was "parachutes for the free fall of being younger." While it's impossible to know just exactly what the All Too Well singer is cooking up, what's true is that the next album will be her 13th, and that's a wildly auspicious number in Swiftie land.