Taylor Swift’s Secret Song Release with Google Takes an Unexpected Turn
Taylor Swift enthusiasts faced technical challenges on Tuesday while embarking on a virtual Easter egg hunt set up by the pop sensation to unveil the tracklist for her upcoming release, “1989 (Taylor’s Version).”
Last month, Swift announced her intention to re-record her 1989 album and include previously unreleased songs as part of “Taylor’s Version.” She has previously delighted fans by including vault tracks in her re-recorded albums, offering an added bonus to those who stream or purchase her music.
In her past unveilings for “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” and “Red (Taylor’s Version),” Swift shared cryptic videos featuring scrambled letters to tease the vault tracks.
Google stepped into the mix by announcing that its search function would generate 89 puzzles for fans to solve in order to gradually unveil the names of these new songs.
Google stated, “You’ll be helping Swifties around the world get out of the woods (or unlock the vault) as everyone collectively solves 33 million puzzles. And that’s how it works, that’s how you get the vault track titles!”
Over the weekend, some international fans noticed a small blue vault icon when they searched for “Taylor Swift,” heightening anticipation for the vault’s significance.
The puzzle journey began with the vault displaying a scrambled version of Swift‘s upcoming album title and would reveal more puzzles as participants entered answers into the search bar.
However, a number of fans, including an NBC News reporter, encountered technical issues as they searched for answers and observed no progress in the game.
Frustration mounted among fans who either couldn’t participate or were disheartened by the sheer number of puzzle completions required, especially when the game was not functioning correctly.
One fan expressed, “I feel like Taylor constantly forgets how big she is. 33 million is a lot when you take into account the vault not working. Google has to process who is playing the game and who is genuinely trying to search for sunglasses, which I think is what screws this all up.”
Another fan humorously remarked, “we’re definitely not getting 33 million before the album comes out with this stupid vault not working.”
Google acknowledged the issues in a post on social media platform X, assuring fans, “Swifties, the vault is jammed! But don’t worry, there are no blank spaces inside. We’re in our fix-it era and will be out of the woods soon.”
As of Tuesday, there had been no immediate response from Taylor Swift’s representatives regarding the situation.
Swift added to the intrigue by sharing a video on Instagram of a blue vault opening, with the caption, “You can tell me when the search is over… if the high was worth the pain.” Following this post, searches for “Taylor Swift” saw a significant spike, with Google Trends data indicating her highest search interest at 3 p.m. Tuesday, just two hours after her post, before gradually declining.
“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” is set to be released on October 27, exactly nine years after the original album’s debut.
