Only a true Swifty will catch these easter eggs. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Taylor Swift music videos that are absolutely chock-full of hidden messages and clues.
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00:00P.S. There's no secret encoded message that means something else loved Taylor.
00:07Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the Taylor Swift music
00:12videos that are absolutely chock full of hidden messages and clues.
00:21Number 10.
00:22You Need to Calm Down.
00:23The music video for this lover single is a kaleidoscope of Easter eggs.
00:27Early on, the camera pauses on wall art featuring Cher's iconic quote,
00:31"'Mom, I am a rich man," in response to her mother encouraging her to get married.
00:35I said, Mom, I am a rich man.
00:37It's no doubt a cheeky nod to the power anthem, The Man.
00:41Wondering if I'd get there quicker if I was a man.
00:44Other tracks are given sneaky call-outs, too.
00:46Hayley Kiyoko shooting an arrow at a number five target references The Archer, and Ellen
00:51DeGeneres receives a cruel summer tattoo.
00:53Plus, the red dice are a possible reference to the Devils Roll the Dice lyric of the same
00:57track.
00:58Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes, what doesn't kill me makes me want you more.
01:04And who could forget Benjamin Button's cameo on a watch that aptly goes to 13 o'clock?
01:09Number 9.
01:10I Bet You Think About Me, Taylor's version, from The Vault.
01:13Well, I tried to fit in with your upper crust circles, yeah, they let me sit in back when
01:21we were in love.
01:22The music video to this Red Vault track is overflowing with the color, but that's hardly
01:27the only album reference.
01:28We see a return of the iconic red scarf from All Too Well, the short film, as well as the
01:33red ring from the album cover.
01:34A pair of red sneakers might also be a clever allusion to a lyric from Begin Again.
01:39He didn't like it when I wore high heels, but I do.
01:44Plus, Swift is seen sitting at the kids' table, perhaps a subtle comment regarding her age
01:49gap with ex-boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal.
01:51He said if we had been closer in age, maybe it would have been fun.
01:58The wedding cake itself holds a few hidden gems, too, including the red ring design,
02:02the number 13, and most interestingly, seagulls, the symbol of 1989.
02:07We'll keep telling ourselves that it was a hint to 1989 Taylor's version all along.
02:13Number 8.
02:14Lavender Haze.
02:15I've been under scrutiny, yeah, oh yeah.
02:18Once that lavender haze clears, it's hard not to notice just how many visual callbacks
02:22to the Midnight's album are featured in this music video.
02:25All they keep asking me is if I'm gonna be your bride.
02:32Within the first few seconds, the camera pans over a vinyl record called Mastermind with
02:37the constellations for Sagittarius and Pisces, the star signs of Swift and her now ex Joe
02:41Allen.
02:50Incense is burning on a shelf, similar to the lyric in Maroon, and a weather forecast
03:04appropriately calls for midnight rain.
03:06There's even a reference to koi fish, a clear Speak Now Easter egg which ended up being
03:10the follow-up re-recording.
03:11And is it just us, or is Swift's blue toenail polish a subtle reference to her debut album?
03:17Only time will tell.
03:19Number 7.
03:20Me.
03:21I promise that you'll never find another like me.
03:23Back before we had specifics about the Lover album, Swift dropped this cryptic music video
03:27to mark the official end of the Reputation era.
03:30And what better way to start with a clean slate than showing a snake bursting into pastel-colored
03:35butterflies?
03:41In the French dialogue that follows, Brendon Urie says that Swift needs to calm down, a
03:46sneaky clue to the next single off the forthcoming album.
03:54There's also a painting of the chicks in the couple's apartment, which foreshadows their
03:57feature on the track Soon You'll Get Better.
04:04And while we now know it to be the album title, we'll never forget the speculation over the
04:08Lover sign in the background of the cityscape.
04:18Number 6.
04:19Antihero.
04:20Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, you guys, there's probably a secret encoded message that means
04:26something else.
04:27Antihero came amid an era that celebrated, well, the eras.
04:32As such, it has a ton of easter eggs to her previous albums.
04:35Ghosts scare Swift through the house, some wearing heart sunglasses or cat ears, which
04:40are a callback to the 22 music video.
04:42Meanwhile, some have theorized that the phone is a nod to the iconic,
04:45I'm sorry, the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now.
04:50Plus, Bad Taylor smashes the speak-now koi fish guitar, and while she's taunting Swift
04:55in the bathroom, a portrait of Marjorie can be spotted on the wall.
04:59Did you catch that Swift's potentially murderous daughter-in-law, conveniently named Kimber,
05:03is wearing a Fearless Tour dress?
05:11We see what you did there.
05:13Number 5.
05:14The Man.
05:24While Swift may not be recognizable in this music video, her love for easter eggs sure
05:28is.
05:29If you can look past the songstress' prosthetics, you'll find there's quite a few crucial clues.
05:34Most importantly, a graffiti wall featuring the titles of Swift's stolen albums.
05:39Fans theorized this reveals the order of the re-recording releases, though the jury is
05:43still out on that one.
05:50We also get a chuckle when we see the No Scooter sign on the wall.
05:54Swift also included a Boss Scotch poster, which is reminiscent of the photo shoot Scott
05:58Borchetta and Scooter Braun had amid the sale of Big Machine Records.
06:03Oh, and we can't forget the cameo of her father, Scott Swift, as the umpire.
06:12Number 4.
06:13Karma.
06:14Karma really is the easter eggs on the screen.
06:22In this music video, Swift appears as Nemesis, goddess of retribution, atop a pedestal with
06:27Roman numerals reading 1989, as well as an underworld partier dressed in reputation garb.
06:38Fans were especially dedicated to decoding the scene towards the end, in which Swift
06:42carries a coffee cup that has a foam design of a clock.
06:46Particularly, they were focused on the positioning of her blue and black nails at 8 and 2.
06:51Many theorized that news regarding the re-releases of 1989 and Reputation would come in August
06:56and February.
06:57Interestingly, 1989 was announced in August, and though not RepTV, the tortured poets department
07:03was announced in, you guessed it, February.
07:13Number 3.
07:14I Can See You, Taylor's Version, From The Vault.
07:24Is there any video as exciting as I Can See You?
07:27This is an action-packed mission to rescue Swift from her speak nowadays, from the vault.
07:32Former meme stars, Presley Cash and Joey King, are along for the ride, as well as ex-boyfriend
07:37Taylor Lautner.
07:38He shows off his moves, the same ones he displayed on SNL in 2009, in response to Kanye West's
07:44VMA's interruption.
07:49We also encounter a room filled with glass cases containing old costumes, a nod to the
07:54It's Time To Go lyric, plus the video teases the re-recording order, beginning with the
08:04timestamp July 9th, 158 AM, a nod to Last Kiss, and ending with a sign reading
08:141989 TV.
08:16Number 2.
08:17Look What You Made Me Do.
08:26We knew Taylor Swift was a mastermind, but if there was ever any doubt, all you'd need
08:30to do is watch the Look What You Made Me Do music video.
08:36Instantly, Swift appears as a zombie rising from the dead, dressed similar as in Out of
08:46the Woods, her last official solo music video, New Romantic's compilation excluded, before
08:51her hiatus.
08:52In the background, a headstone features her writing alias, which was notably the source
08:57of online beef with Calvin Harris.
08:59She also heavily references criticisms levied against her regarding things like her supermodel
09:03squad and snake accusations.
09:06She even added a $1 bill for her sexual harassment lawsuit, where she countersued for that amount,
09:11and that barely scratches the surface.
09:22Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
09:26Fortnite, with a cast including Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles from Dead Poets Society,
09:30a playful nod to Swifties having trouble with the tortured poets department's name.
09:40Wildest Dreams, Swift embodies her grandmother Marjorie in this glamorous golden age flick.
09:56Willow, one single thread of gold tied folklore to Evermore.
10:07Endgame, look hard and you'll see references to Swift's relationship with Joe Allen.
10:18Swift honors her grandfather, the subject of epiphany, in a portrait.
10:44Bejeweled, has there ever been a music video with so many easter eggs?
10:54We doubt it.
10:55Swift frequently references the eras in this twisted fairy tale.
10:59Laura Dern tells Swift to speak not, and Danielle Hyam says, buy snake, as references to speak
11:08now and reputation.
11:15Shortly after, Swift looks at a pocket watch reading exile ends, indicating something new.
11:20The elevator itself contains many nods to her re-recordings, stopping on levels three
11:24and five, which are purple and blue for speak now in 1989.
11:36It's no coincidence those were the next two TVs released.
11:39Swift even holds a key, to the vault, near the end.
11:42And we're absolutely living for the speak now instrumentals.
11:46Did you tear up at long live?
11:53We sure did.
11:54How many hidden easter eggs were you able to spot within these music videos?
11:57Alley them up and let us know in the comments.