Culture

Taylor Swift teases collaboration with Phoebe Bridgers in puzzling video

By Zoya Raza-Sheikh

5th August 2021

Fans believe Taylor Swift has teamed up with Phoebe Bridgers for the upcoming release of Red (Taylor’s Version).

The new Red era is upon us and Taylor Swift has already hinted at what we can expect for the re-release of her chart-topping record.

In a new social post, Swift shared a short video with scrambled words and vocals against an autumnal background. The video has left fans quickly piecing together clues to see what the hints could mean.

Swift’s puzzling post read: “*Presses post* … *cackles maniacally* … Level: casually cruel in the name of being honest.” The latter line of the tweet was a lyric pulled from the singer’s ballad All Too Well.

One of the first theories to arise for Swift’s tweet is the belief that Phoebe Bridgers will appear on the album.

The scrambled words that are seen coming out of Taylor’s vault video are what fans have been using to decipher who might appear on new record. Other Swiftie theories include features from Zayn Malik and Chris Stapleton.

Ed Sheeran is another artist who will appear on Red. The British singer featured on the original recording of Red for the track Everything Has Changed.

The initial recording of Red also included a duet with Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody which was a fan-favourite track, but a renewed collaboration between the two is yet to be confirmed.

Last month, Billboard broke the news that Ronan, a heartfelt song Taylor wrote following a three-year-old boy’s fatal battle with cancer, will also appear on Red (Taylor’s Version).

The song is a ballad inspired by mother Maya Thompson’s blog and written from the mother’s perspective. Swift has also credited Thompson as a co-writer.

Red (Taylor’s Version) was announced in June and is expected to out on November 19 this year.

As of yet, details of the big re-release are scarce, but Swift has confirmed it will feature 30 songs and a 10-minute song. Fans have speculated the 10-minute track will be the beloved All Too Well.