Is Taylor Swift Releasing Her 12th Album? TS12 Theory Goes Viral Amongst Fans

8 October 2024, 19:13

Is Taylor Swift Releasing Her 12th Album? TS12 Theory Goes Viral Amongst Fans
Is Taylor Swift Releasing Her 12th Album? TS12 Theory Goes Viral Amongst Fans. Picture: Kevin Mazur/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management, Taylor Swift
Sam  Prance

By Sam Prance

What is Taylor Swift's 12th album? Fans think a new Taylor Swift album could already be on the way based on her merch, the viral orange and lilac colour theory and a new glitter gel pen theory. Here's everything you need to know about the TS12 release date, tracklist and more.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Another Taylor Swift album so soon after 'The Tortured Poets Department' came out? It could be more likely than you think.

You don't have to be a Swiftie to know that Taylor Swift is one of the most prolific artists in music right now. Over the course of the past five years alone, Taylor has released five studio albums ('Lover', 'folklore', 'evermore', 'Midnights', 'The Tortured Poets Department') and four Taylor's Version rerecordings ('Fearless', 'Red', 'Speak Now', '1989'). She's unstoppable.

'The Tortured Poets Department' may have only come out this April, with 31 tracks no less, but fans are already certain that a 12th album is on the way and it all has to do with The Eras Tour and the colour orange. And these fan theories have into overdrive following several easter eggs in Taylor's 'I Can Do It with a Broken Heart' video.

With that in mind, here's everything we know about 'TS12' so far, including the release date, tracklist, title, collaborators, theories and so much more.

Is Taylor Swift releasing a new album?

Taylor Swift drops TTPD easter eggs in tour rehearsal video

When is Taylor Swift releasing her 12th album? - 'TS12' release date

In a fan theory posted by @caitpatton on TikTok, Caitlin points out that 'Midnights' took up three squares in the original Eras Tour merch and now 'The Tortured Poets Department' takes up two squares in the latest merch. As a result, there's space for Taylor to drop one more album because there's 12 squares in the Eras Tour merch design.

On top of that, Taylor introduced orange confetti to her performance of 'Karma' during her Eras Tour shows in Argentina. Fans immediately began theorising that her next era may use an orange colour template but 'The Tortured Poets Department' is white...

Could that mean there's still room for Taylor to have an orange era? Could she already be teasing TS12?

It's also worth noting that the long-standing lost 'Karma' album theory – which Taylor was rumoured to have written before scrapping it in favour of 'Reputation' – is closely associated with the colour orange.

To add fuel to the fire, fans now think that the TS12 colour palette could be orange and lilac based on recent outfits that she has worn and the 'I Can Do It With a Broken Heart' Eras Tour performance and video. On stage, Taylor is surrounded by orange feather and she wears lilac in the rehearsal video.

One fan tweeted: "i’m sorry but there was simply no reason for them to make these [feathers] orange when the theme of the album is grayscale and SURE they could be dummies but bsfr…orange? oh ts12, you gorgeous lilac sunset."

What is the TS12 glitter gel pen theory?

Based on Taylor wearing glitter makeup on her cheeks at Travis Kelce's 7th October Kansas City Chiefs game, there's a theory that Taylor's next era will be a glitter gel pen era. In other words, TS12 will feature big pop bangers - think 'Blank Space', 'Style' and 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together'.

For fans who don't know, Taylor previously categorised her songs in three different pen types based on their vibe in terms of lyrics. In 2022, she created three Apple Music playlists: Fountain Pen, Quill Pen or Glitter Gel Pen.

Describing her Glitter Gel Pen songs at the Nashville Songwriter Awards, she said: "Glitter Gel Pen songs have lyrics that make you want to dance, sing and toss glitter around the room. They remind you not to take yourself too seriously, which is something we all need to hear these days."

Glitter gel pen bops on TS12? I'm listening!

During one of Taylor's Eras Tour shows in California, she also teased that she wants to make "as many albums as humanly possible". In other words, the prospect of another Taylor album being in the works isn't so farfetched.

In Caitlin's TikTok, she guesses that Taylor may even extend the Eras Tour so that she can release 'Reputation (Taylor's Version)', 'Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version)' and her 12th album all while the tour is still going.

If so, she may release TS12 at some point in 2025, or even this year.

Taylor Swift's Eras Tour confetti sparks theory about TS12 album
Taylor Swift's Eras Tour confetti sparks theory about TS12 album. Picture: Getty

What is Taylor Swift's 12th album called? - 'TS12' title

As it stands, there's no information around the title of Taylor's next project. For the most part, she tends to favour one word album titles but with her 11th album being called 'The Tortured Poets Department', anything is possible.

Given that 'The Tortured Poets Department' is a dark album that explores Taylor's heartbreak in the wake of her splits from Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy, it's possible that TS12 will return to lighter themes like 'Lover' did after 'Reputation'.

'The Tortured Poets Department' only contains two songs about Travis Kelce so it's possible that Taylor could already be working on a new 'Lover' style album inspired by her relationship with Travis.

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift at the the AFC Championship
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift at the the AFC Championship. Picture: Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Who has Taylor Swift worked with on her 12th album?

There is no word just yet on who Taylor's 12th album collaborators are. If her recent projects are anything to go by, Taylor is possibly working with Jack Antonoff, who's been part of every Taylor album since '1989', and Aaron Dessner, who's been part of every Taylor album since 'folklore' again.

Elsewhere, Taylor is still on good terms with Max Martin who she worked with on 'Red', '1989' and 'Reputation'. She even performed a Max Martin medley at a recent Eras Tour show in Sweden with Max in the audience so he could return to making music with Taylor.

It's also possible that Taylor will work with entirely new people.

What is Taylor Swift's 'TS12' tracklist?

Until the album is announced, it's unlikely that we'll know anything about the 'TS12' tracklist.

Bookmark this page and we'll keep you posted with any updates as and when they happen.

Read more Taylor Swift news here:

WATCH: Bridgerton Cast vs. 'The Most Impossible Bridgerton Quiz'

Bridgerton Cast vs. 'The Most Impossible Bridgerton Quiz'

Listen live to Capital, and catch up on any shows you missed, on Global Player.