Taylor Swift dropped her much-anticipated single “ME!” and its accompanying video on Friday, April 26, instantly sending fans running to Twitter to decode the symbols and clues the pop star is so fond of hiding in her music videos.
“ME!” is a collaboration with Brendon Urie of Panic! At the Disco, who helped Swift pen the track along with Joel Little.
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The whole music video is an explosion of color, marking a major departure from Swift’s previous reputation era, which featured dark, primary tones and moody imagery. The clip kicked off with Swift and Uri speaking French, with Swift shouting “Je suis calme!” as she slammed a door and began singing, bursting out onto the street in a bright yellow suit.
What followed featured dancing, rainbows, marching band outfits, chicks in sunglasses, pink dresses and cats, with the song’s slick production bringing to mind Swift’s first full pop album, 2014’s 1989.
The song’s fun-filled message and the video’s colorful aesthetic had some people calling to mind the Trolls soundtrack, which wasn’t always a bad thing.
taylor swift
ok
first of all the trolls soundtrack is fucking bald
โ Jill Gutowitz (@jillboard) April 26, 2019
There were also Glee jokes.
rachel, quinn & santana would perform ME! if glee were still on the air…
โ r (@actuallyriles) April 26, 2019
And plenty of other reactions.
You know that feeling of when you take your bra off after a long hard day yeah well thatโs how this song makes me feel
โ Carly Heading (@carlyylalaa) April 26, 2019
The actual fact is that you’ll have to say, “I don’t like ME” if you wanna drag the song, the self hatred jumped out…
โ rafia (@repromantics) April 26, 2019
TAYLOR’S MIND, INVENTED WINNING
As usual, Swift included plenty of Easter Eggs and clues in the clip for fans to unpack, including the fact that she might now have three cats.
taylor has 3 cats now OMG
there was 3 cats in the butterfly@taylorswift13 @taylornation13 #MEoutnow #TaylorSwiftisback pic.twitter.com/2YLN8yLp3m
โ ErepSnake (@erepsnake) April 26, 2019
Some fans also think the star teased the name of her next single with a neon billboard that appears in the clip.
is the next track going to be called โLoverโ? #TaylorSwiftTONIGHT pic.twitter.com/XuCYA7rjoV
โ nikkie is ME! (@delicatenik) April 26, 2019
Others are certain Swift’s upcoming album will include a collaboration with the Dixie Chicks thanks to the group’s photo hanging on the wall of chicks.
So this means @dixiechicks is confirmed. Right? @taylornation13 @taylorswift13 #eastereggs ๐ต๐ปโโ๏ธ pic.twitter.com/JKZ8WaxoYL
โ ๐๐ฆ๐ (@FrecklesSwiftie) April 26, 2019
Several of Swift’s seven outfits in the video called to mine past ensembles she’s worn during previous eras.
The old Taylor never died and we always knew that โก
โ sarah๐| JE SUIS CALME (@thelasttay) April 26, 2019
#MeOutNow #TaylorSwiftME @taylorswift13 @taylornation13 pic.twitter.com/kh4OnbtzCo
There were also plenty of sly references to reputation, including one scene when Swift sings, “I know that I went psycho on the phone” as she points to a phone almost identical to the one she used in her video for “Look What You Made Me Do.”
SO I GUESS THE NEW TAYLOR CAME TO THE PHONE??? @taylorswift13 @taylornation13 #TaylorSwiftTONIGHT #meoutnow pic.twitter.com/gc1AWW70bk
โ my name is whatever u decide (cait) ๐โจ (@siameseswift) April 26, 2019
The video also began with a pink snake turning into butterflies, signaling Swift’s growth after her reputation era.
#MeOutNow when the snake turned into butterflies ๐ฆ I lost it sheโs doing better than she ever was pic.twitter.com/TyGjLJsNcA
โ ๐๐๐ช๐๐ ๐ฃ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ค๐ค๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ซ๐ชโฅ๐ฆ (@Nowimurdaisy13) April 26, 2019
Since its release at midnight, the video has become the fastest in history to reach 10 million views, hitting the milestone in two hours.
Photo Credit: YouTube / Taylor Swift
