In the lead up to the release of ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ on 27 October, pop superstar Taylor Swift has unveiled a game on Google Search, where players can discover titles of songs on the album. This includes five vault tracks (aka never-before-heard songs) in the record.
But there’s a catch: Swifties must solve 33 million puzzles on Google to ultimately get their hands on the full lineup of the ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ vault track titles. Are you ready for it?
1989 (Taylor’s Version): How Taylor Swift teases her new albums and songs
Swift has been known for dropping elaborate teasers of her ‘Taylor’s Version’ (TV) albums and secret “From the Vault” songs. She releases thrilling digital animations of vaults opening up to reveal titles of old and new songs within.
However, because she is Taylor Swift, the queen of Easter eggs, she shakes things up a little. Those titles aren’t just simply stated as they are; they come out as anagrams, with the letters all jumbled up. Swifties, being the passionate detectives that they are, have a great time decoding them. She did this for both Fearless TV and Red TV but skipped Speak Now TV for some unknown reasons.
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So, this time after getting us all excited for the release of 1989 (Taylor’s Version), Taylor Swift has decided to surprise fans with a complex series of teasers. In the wee hours of 20 September, she released an Instagram post showcasing a video of a blue vault with seagull animations, fully channelling the 1989 aesthetics. But instead of mixed-up song title anagrams, we got the letters and punctuation marks: T, “, S, U,!, “, L.
The first thing that easily comes to mind is “LUST!” or “SLUT!” — an apt song title, considering how Swift was criticised for her dating history and portrayed as “boy crazy” throughout most of her career. She poked fun at this narrative in ‘Blank Space’, a hit single on the original version of 1989, with lyrics like “got a long list of ex lovers/ they’ll tell you I’m insane”.
Swift’s Instagram post was also captioned “You can tell me when the *search* is over… if the high was worth the pain. 😎” — another nod to ‘Blank Space’ — and an invitation to play the 1989 (Taylor’s Version) game on Google Search.
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Where to find the Google puzzle game and how to play it?
If you are a true Swiftie and want to go down this rabbit hole, follow these steps.
- Start by typing “Taylor Swift” into the Google search bar.
- Keep an eye out for a blue vault that drops down on your screen. It’s kind of like a surprise gift from Tay herself.
Image Credit: Pallabi Bose - Click or tap on that vault, and boom, you’ll be staring at a puzzle. Don’t worry; it’s not too tricky.
- A hint will pop up on the screen, so put on your detective hat and think hard.
- Once you’ve cracked the code and know the answer, type it into the search bar and hit the enter key.
Image Credit: Pallabi Bose - Google will be your judge and let you know if you’re right or not.
Now here’s the catch – there are a whopping 89 puzzles waiting for you (a nod to ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’). The end goal is for the collective team of Swifties worldwide to solve a grand total of 33 million puzzles in total. Think of it as helping everyone find their way ‘Out Of The Woods’ or, better yet, unlocking the vault and discovering those precious titles.
Will any of the new songs include Harry Styles, Nicki Minaj or Selena Gomez as featured artists? We can only keep our fingers crossed.
(Main and featured images: Taylorswift/Instagram)
This story first appeared on Prestige Online Malaysia
