Before I get granular with the details of this theory, there are some important things to know about Swift in general. From 2006 to 2014, she released an album every two years. Swift is a known planner, and her consistency meant that by 2016, two years after the release of "1989," fans were expecting the announcement of a sixth album.
Swift is also a master of reinvention, making clear aesthetic and stylistic changes for each new era. In May of 2016, Swift made a notable change to her appearance, and fans grew even more excited, believing a new album would come in no time. Swift debuted her platinum-dyed bob on the cover of "Vogue" and edgier clothing and makeup choices on the red carpet at the Met Gala. Though we never got an album to go along with the wardrobe changes, fans gave this era a name: "Bleachella."
All signs were pointing to a new album — perhaps a rock-inspired one, due to Swift's grungy fashion choices and angstier take on "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" that resurfaced on TikTok — but a whole year passed before Swift dropped "reputation." The album was clearly inspired by Swift's year away from the limelight after her high-profile feud with Kanye West. While "reputation" is the album that Swift needed to release in 2017 after her disappearance from the public eye (and simultaneously falling in love with her current boyfriend Joe Alwyn), fans couldn't help but wonder what she was working on from 2014 to 2016. I mean, she's always up to something. And how do we factor in her drastic style change at the end of her "1989" era?
Our best explanation is that Swift had been working on an album but scrapped it after all the Kanye drama. Here's why fans think there's a chance this is the case.