Taylor Swift releasing her film on October 13 is no coincidence!
When an arbitrary number must be picked, Swift always chooses 13, and sometimes it’s almost invisible. Other times, the singer goes out of her way to plaster the number in clear view. But, however she includes it, her fans are going to notice. 13 is the number at the end of her Twitter account and the number of songs on several of her albums, but that’s just the beginning. Even “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault),” is 10 minutes and 13 seconds! The number is prevalent in her music videos as well, making appearances or in the quantity of anything that can be counted. Her love for 13 is well-documented, but it’s not always intentional for the famed singer. The number 13 seems to love Swift as much as everyone else.
Taylor Swift and 13 Share a Long Love Story
Swift’s connection to 13 is nothing new. Born on December 13, the singer has embraced the number from the beginning and shares it with her fans. The most dedicated are quick to hunt out anything related to the number in everything she releases, and Swift leaves many for them to find. Even early in her career, 13 was present, though Swift didn’t have the same freedom she has now. The number is just one example of the Easter eggs Swift leaves for her fans, but it is the most common, as it’s stayed the same throughout her career. Her albums Fearless, 1989, and Midnights all have 13 songs before adding deluxe editions or vault tracks. Smaller things relate to the number, as well, like the 13 polaroids packaged with the original 1989 CD.
But over time, Swift’s incorporation of the number has gotten even crazier. After openly calling it her lucky number, it shouldn’t be a surprise that she reserved the 13th track on Red for her song “The Lucky One” as a sort of nod. But Swift took it even further, giving the song a 13-second intro and using the word “lucky” 13 times throughout the song. Interestingly, she has used those ticks a few times, with “Our Song,” “Call It What You Want,” and “the last great american dynasty” all having 13-second intros as well. (And “Daylight” includes 13 seconds of silence at the end). Many of her songs have words or refrains repeating 13 times. “22” in “22,” “beautiful” in “Stay Beautiful,” “I know places” in “I Know Places” (excluding the echoes), “gorgeous” in “Gorgeous,” “reputation” in “End Game,” “That’s my man” in “Willow” and “I knew you” in “Cardigan” are sung 13 times exactly. Though it would be a stretch to say this is all intentional, it has happened enough to prove Swift’s love of 13 is more than just a passing trend.
Swift often uses the thirteenth as a go-to date for her work. Her newest concert film will not be the first time Swift releases something on the thirteenth. A clip of her song “Out of the Woods” was first played on Good Morning America on October 13, 2014, and the Midnights bonus tracks for her partnership with Target were announced on October 13, 2022. But Swift’s work is too prolific for her to only release it on the 13th day of the month. Besides, that would be too obvious. Yet that doesn’t mean other releases can’t be tied to 13 as well because, fortunately for Swift, math, like spelling, is fun. Lover was released on August 23, and if you add 8, 3, and 2, you get 13. The release date of Midnights (October 21) follows the same trick. She stepped up this game with Fearless (Taylor’s Version), announcing it on February 11 and releasing it on April 9, both of which add to 13. Getting even sneakier, Swift announced 1989 (Taylor’s Version) on August 9, 2023, which seemed to reference the album’s name. But it is also exactly 8 years, 9 months, and 13 days after the original 1989‘s release on October 27, 2014. To plan all of this out, she truly is a mastermind.
With Swift, Always Keep Your Eyes Open for 13
The number 13 is ever-present in Taylor Swift folklore, and if you can’t find an example, then you’re on your own, kid. From her music videos to her tours, it’s easy to spot. During her concerts, the drums often have the number painted on the front, though this is hidden by the spectacle she puts on. In her early tours, Swift would draw a 13 on her hand for each show. Though she no longer does this, many fans do, adding it to a long list of Swiftie traditions that some non-fans may not understand. However, this tradition did make it into her recent music video for “I Can See You,” marking one more 13 reference in Swift’s repertoire.
There is a constant stream of 13 Easter eggs in her music videos, from the obvious inclusions like being written out on the wall in “…Ready For It?” to the more innocuous examples like the number of times she falls in “Out Of The Woods.” 13 is often included in the jewelry Swift wears in her videos, with 13 pearls in her necklace in “Karma” and the number hanging from her neck in “You Need to Calm Down.” In fact, Swift went all out for “You Need to Calm Down” with 13 gems on her sunglasses and a 13 instead of a 1 on her watch in addition to the necklace. “Me!” joins the fun by featuring 13 clouds. Some of Swift’s 13s make sense, like her character in the “Ours” music video working in a cubicle on the 13th floor. After all, they had to pick a number, so why not? Similarly, in ‘Bejeweled,’ there are 13 elevator buttons. Other appearances of the number have no explanation. For example, the cake in “I Bet You Think About Me” has 13s and 26s on the top tier (because 26 is just two 13s). Why are there numbers on a wedding cake? Who knows, but they are there, and the numbers are strategically chosen. Most of these are easy to spot for someone in the know. Sometimes, this bit is taken to an extreme, but Swift clearly sees no need to calm down.
Taylor Swift and 13 Are Together Forever & Always
Clearly, Swift goes out of her way to include 13s for her fans to find, but it wouldn’t be false to say that none of it was accidental. The number has always haunted her career. In the 2010 documentary series Journey to Fearless, Swift stated that she was 13 when she got her first development deal, which was the very first step in her career. On The Tonight Show with Jay Leno early in her career, Swift discussed her obsession with the number, citing several instances of it appearing outside her control. Her first album went gold in 13 weeks, which she couldn’t have done on her own. Her first song to reach number one, “Our Song,” has a 13-second intro, which Swift claims was not intentional (at least not that time). She also stated that she has won many of her awards while seated in the 13th row, or row M, which is the 13th letter. Among these cited instances, Swift said, “When I won the Horizon Award at the CMA awards, the producer came up to me when I was sound-checking, and he said, ‘Alright, we’re gonna go in 13 seconds!’ There are so many numbers!”
Other examples of the singer’s miraculous connection with the number can be seen in the fact that she won 13 awards in 2018. Or her music video, “Delicate,” getting 13 million views on its first day. Additionally, five of her songs, “Teardrops on My Guitar,” “White Horse,” “Ours,” “Gorgeous,” and “Mastermind,” reached their peak at 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. What started out as a coincidence has been embraced by Swift and her fan base, making 13 their default for everything. 13 is now a staple in the Swiftie world, and while there’s no deep explanation or its prevalence other than it’s something the singer likes, why should there be? Maybe it was originally a superstition for the young celebrity, who genuinely thought her lucky numbers would help her career, but these days, it’s a game she wants to play with her fans. Long story short, never be surprised when Taylor Swift includes 13 in seemingly random ways just because it’s fun.
