Taylor Swift fans have been buzzing since mid-April, when the pop superstar started posting pastel-coloured images on social media captioned with nothing more than "4/26."
What’s coming on Friday? A new song? A new album? Perhaps a clothing line?
"I love your passion, I love your attention to detail, I love how much you care," Swift told her fans at last month's iHeartRadio Music Awards, where she accepted Tour of the Year and Music Video of the Year (for "Delicate").
"I love seeing all the things that you're posting online and I just want you to know that when there's new music you will be the first to know."
4.26 pic.twitter.com/bFOWK3O3G1
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) April 24, 2019
Swift has released six albums since her self-titled debut in 2006 – and she was methodical about dropping a new one every two years until Reputation, which didn’t come out until 2017.
So, is Swift going back to making fans only wait two years for a new album? (All of Swift’s previous albums were released in October or November.)
At the American Music Awards last October, Swift said she considers her albums to be “chapters in my life.” She added: “I have to be really honest with you about something. I’m even more excited about the next chapter."
4.26 pic.twitter.com/7eYGsVjQg0
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) April 21, 2019
In February, Swift sparked speculation that she was counting down to something via a series of Instagram posts. Nothing came of what appeared to be clues – but it was fun to read all the guesses.
Swift wrapped up her wildly successful Reputation Stadium World Tour last November in Japan. The 53-show trek included two nights in Toronto.
On Tuesday night, Swift performed five songs spanning her career – “Style,” “Delicate,” “Love Story,” “New Year’s Day” and “Shake It Off" – at the TIME 100 Gala, where she was among the honourees.
.@taylorswift13 performed at Tuesday night's #TIME100 Gala in New York City for an audience of fellow honorees https://t.co/8pVOCBcmvL pic.twitter.com/TUg4P3noBs
— TIME (@TIME) April 24, 2019