Is Taylor Swift releasing another album? The April 30th theories explained

27 April 2021, 14:53

Taylor Swift addresses Woodvale album theory

By Katie Louise Smith

Thanks to an easter egg in a lyric video, April 30th has been a date to watch out for for Taylor Swift fans since December 2020.

Conversation surrounding April 30th is heating up amongst Taylor Swift fans thanks to a number of easter eggs that seem to have half the fandom convinced that another new album could be on the way.

Remember when Swifties discovered the word ‘Woodvale’ hidden within her Folklore album artwork? Despite Taylor denying that it was the name of a third Folklore/Evermore album, and giving a solid explanation for it, fans have not been at peace since and some have, respectfully, decided not to believe it.

Now April 30th is fast approaching and (some of) the Swifties are in full theory mode. Why April 30th? Well, April 30th is exactly 140 days after the release of Evermore. Evermore was released 140 days after Folklore.

Will Taylor Swift release a third album to go with Folklore and Evermore?

As we've found out over the past year, Taylor Swift is full of surprises. However, when asked directly about a third album in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel back in December, she said, “Jimmy, I’m so tired, I’m so exhausted… I have nothing left!”

In the same interview, Taylor confirmed that 'Woodvale' was not a third album, and was simply just a codename for Folklore that was used when mocking up the album artwork because she was “too afraid to even unveil the title of the album to even [her] closest teammates in management.” It was left on one of the images by mistake.

Taylor also stated in a YouTube Q&A that Folklore and Evermore were part of a 2-part anthology: “I wanted evermore to represent fall & winter while folklore represents spring & summer. I’ve always wanted to do a 2part anthology that's a collective body of work & it just kind of happened naturally.”

Despite those comments from Taylor, and the fact that she's now moved into her re-recording era, the Woodvale/third album/TS10 theories have persisted.

Taylor Swift confirms she's recording all her old music again in AMAs speech

Why do people think a third Taylor Swift album is coming?

1) The clock in the 'Cowboy Like Me' lyric video.

As we all know with Taylor, clues are everywhere. In the lyric video, there is a clock that sits on top of 3 books. The time on the clock reads 4:30. Of course, 4/30 could also read as April 30th, which is where we now find ourselves. April 30th is exactly 140 days since the release of Evermore, which was released 140 days after Folklore. 4+3+0+2+1 (4/30/21) also adds up to 10. The next new album would be her 10th.

2) Taylor tweets using three emojis/words/symbols.

Over the past few weeks, Taylor has been tweeting using 3 emojis at a time which fans are seeing as a clue that points toward a 'trilogy'. Taylor has been using 3 emojis in her tweets and on Instagram for quite a while though, so it's unclear if that's an easter egg or if she just...really loves emojis. (Aaron Dessner has also tweeted with three emojis while wishing 'Cardigan' a happy birthday.)

3) The Folklore/Evermore merch.

A long standing theory about a possible third album was fuelled by the 3 cardigans in different colours that were sold on her merch store, alongside 3 different coloured scrunchies.

There's also countless theories over on Swift Tok that go into even more detail with all the apparent clues and easter eggs pointing toward a possible third sister album.

Taylor Swift reveals collage board full of 1989 easter eggs on Stephen Colbert

Despite the convincing theories, fans have noted that Taylor's re-recording project is now in full swing, with the next release already on the horizon.

As the fandom has already theorised, Taylor’s next re-recording album appears to be 1989, based on the fact we’ve already heard a snippet of ‘Wildest Dreams’ and sleuthed all those Easter eggs she revealed in her interview with Stephen Colbert.

1989 is also 3 albums after Fearless – which could explain the three emoji theory. It's not out of the realm of possibility that Taylor could announce the release date, or even release the first 1989 re-recorded single on April 30th, which is also a Friday.

Either way, it's time to put those notifications (and clown shoes!) on, if you haven't already.