Taylor Swift has announced a new song, "Patient Zero" — her first since her starry wedding this summer. It releases Friday. She made the announcement in true Swift fashion. On Tuesday morning, the pop powerhouse launched a cryptic countdown clock on her website, displayed atop a red curtain and due to end at 2pm Eastern, the AP reports. Her dedicated fans, known as Swifties, quickly got to work attempting to decode whatever news was forthcoming, noting that her official Instagram bio was changed to read, "And, baby, that's sh0w business f0r y0u," with each "o" replaced with a zero.
Now it appears clear that the gesture was a reference to the new song's title. Once the countdown timed out, her website updated to reveal three, limited-edition CD variants of the new track: one with a double-sided cover as well as an acoustic and piano version, for $3.99 each. It is her first new song since marrying Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden in July.
- " I've been impatiently waiting to tell you that my brand new single 'Patient Zero' will be out on September 25 (!!!!!!!!!!!!) and it's available to pre-order now on my website for 24 hours," Swift wrote on social media.
The news dropped ahead of Swift's history-making MTV VMAs. On Monday, it was announced that Swift will receive the inaugural Artist Director Honors at the MTV VMAs on Sunday, becoming the most awarded artist in VMA history. Currently, Swift is tied with Beyoncé for the title. They have 30 each.
- At the Emmys last week, Swift appeared in a pretaped skit, playing a rookie in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit office. Mariska Hargitay's Olivia Benson went through two large crime boards to make connections between Swift's songs and the Emmy-nominated shows to see if she would attend the telecast.
- In one pointed moment, Swift looked to the camera and appeared to utter a series of hints: "Saccharide. Ares. From the Vineyard. North or South," she said. Fans have urgently been trying to decode the message since. Some fans, upon finding that the letters could be rearranged to spell out "My first record's re-record is out Nov ten ha ha ha ha," saw it as a sign that she plans to release Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version), Variety reports.
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