What was Taylor Swift counting down to on her website today? It appears to be … a vinyl drop. She announced the first and only pressing of the “Shiny Bug” collection, which features a “wintergreen & onyx marbled” vinyl as well as a “violet shimmer marbled vinyl” option. Each features the same new photo of Swift in a bejeweled black leotard, sparkly black gloves and fishnets.
The new vinyls are only available until Aug. 20 or until supplies last.
This is not the first time that Swift has announced new vinyls for The Life of a Showgirl. She previously revealed variants of her album that came with corresponding vinyls during the initial album announcement. She currently has the “sweat and vanilla perfume Portofino orange glitter” vinyl, which is orange and green, on her website.
Fans initially speculated that the pop star was preparing something major after a purple countdown appeared on Swift’s website on Aug. 18. The site featured a ticking clock against a glittery purple background, with the countdown ending at 2 p.m. ET. Merchandise sales were temporarily disabled, fueling theories that a major drop was coming.
Swift’s website wasn’t the only place purple was being used to promote whatever the announcement would be. When fans typed “Taylor Swift” into Google, purple confetti rained down on the screen. A red fiery heart emoji also appeared, with a purple text block that read, “And, baby, that’s show business for you.” This mirrored the Google animation ahead of Swift’s Life of a Showgirl album reveal, except this time the orange was swapped for purple. Swift’s Apple Music page also featured the same glittery purple imagery.
Fans online speculated about what the purple could mean. Some were certain that it was tied to a merch drop for The Life of a Showgirl. Others were hopeful that the purple countdown would signal the release of the album’s first single.
Some fans had even bigger theories: they believed the countdown could end with the reveal that The Life of a Showgirl was actually a double album, with the second album featuring a purple color scheme. TikToker Britton Rae said in a video that Swift’s antics were making her feel “a little delulu,” aka “delusional,” and convinced that another album was coming — especially since Swift officially announced Showgirl at exactly 12:12 a.m. on Aug. 12.
“She was very adamant that this album only had 12 tracks on it,” Rae said, pointing to Swift’s New Heights podcast interview with boyfriend Travis Kelce. “What if there’s another album that also has 12 tracks on it, and that’s why we’ve done the 12:12?”
Others speculated that the countdown could lead to an Eras Tour documentary. One TikToker pointed out in a video that the purple glitter “could maybe lead to the behind-the-scenes of the Eras tour, since The Life of a Showgirl is ‘behind the curtain.’” The user also noted that Swift had filmed unseen footage from her final three shows of the Eras Tour in Vancouver.
Fans speculated that the pop star was preparing something major after a purple countdown appeared on her website on Aug. 18. The site featured a ticking clock against a glittery purple background, with the countdown ending at 2 p.m. ET. Merchandise sales were temporarily disabled, fueling theories that a major drop was coming.
