Taylor Swift has responded to a popular fan theory she is working on a third surprise album during the pandemic.
The pop titan, who celebrated her 31st birthday on Sunday, released Evermore last week, which she described as a sister record to July’s Folklore.
Both albums, which Swift shared with little warning, were critically acclaimed. Folklore is nominated for album of the year at the Grammys.
While two records in the space of five months would usually suggest a break before new material, the notoriously eagle-eyed Swift fans spotted the word “Woodvale” on the album art for Folklore.
When Woodvale did not appear as a track on Evermore, it sparked a theory a third album was on the way. However, Swift appears to have cast doubt over a possible trilogy, explaining Woodvale’s appearance was a mistake.
She had been keeping the Folklore name under wraps and chose Woodvale as the decoy title.
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Swift, who for years has trained her fans to be on the lookout for the tiniest clues in her work, said: “When I was making Folklore, the album that came out back in July, I was too afraid to even unveil the title of the album to even my closest teammates and management. I didn’t tell anybody the album title until right before it came out.
“And so I came up with a fake codename that had the same amount of letters as Folklore, chose a random name, chose Woodvale. Wanted to see how it would look on the album covers, mocked them up and then decided I don’t actually want to have a title on the album covers and we forgot to take the fake codename off one of the albums.”
Swift revealed Evermore’s codename was November.
The singer was also asked about the increased use of swearing on the new album.
She told Kimmel: “It’s just been that kind of year.”
