Easter Eggs In Taylor Swift's Eras Tour You Missed

Taylor Swift is a mastermind at leaving hints, clues, and mysteries in her oeuvre. From the beginning, fans have been treated to Easter eggs and surprises on album liner notes, in addition to her lyrics and, later, during her worldwide Eras Tour. "I wanted to do something that incentivized fans to read the lyrics because my lyrics are what I'm most proud of," she explained of her earliest Easter eggs on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in 2021. 

According to Swift, she would obsess over the small print in album notes for CDs, so she thought this would be the perfect spot to place her Easter eggs. This started when she was just a teenager, with her revealing secret codes that "would either tell them a story about the album or a hint about what the song was about." Her decision to use hidden messages jumped to an even higher level after fans loved them so much. "I should never have learned that because then I couldn't stop," she joked to Fallon. 

This has continued throughout her career, like when Swift explained in a later appearance on Fallon's late-night show that she had a dedicated file just for the Easter eggs in the music video for her song "Bejeweled." Then, when it came time to embark on her worldwide Eras Tour, Swift naturally stuffed the epic live show full of Easter eggs, some of which you may have missed.

Right before Taylor Swift takes the stage, Dusty Springfield singing "You Don't Own Me" plays over the speakers. At the same time, an analog clock appears onstage, with numbers counting down from 2 minutes and 23 seconds before every show. While this time's meaning isn't confirmed, Swift fans think it's a reference to a big announcement coming on February 23, 2024. 

In line with this theory is an Easter egg in the music video for "Karma." At one moment, two hands hold a plate with a coffee cup on top that shows an analog clock in its latte foam art. The left hand has a light blue painted fingernail perfectly aligned with the "VIII" on the clock. The right hand with a black fingernail aligns with the "II" on the clock. Swift announced her release of "1989 (Taylor's Version)" in August 2023, the eighth month of the year, matching the first Roman numeral, and the color palette of that album is also light blue. 

Meanwhile, the black fingernail could represent "Reputation." At the time of the tour, Swift had two re-recordings left to release: her eponymous debut from 2006 and 2017's "Reputation." The black nail aligning with the "II," along with her pre-show countdown clock starting at 2:23 and "Reputation's" cover being black and white, could point to "Reputation (Taylor's Version)" news arriving in February 2024.

One of the first big instances of Taylor Swift referencing her previous work through Easter eggs came during her "Reputation" era. "The first time that we did a crazy video like that was a video called 'Look What You Made Me Do,'" Swift explained on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." She said of making the visuals for the music video, "I started playing with doing nods to former musical eras I've been in in my career and all kinds of weird stuff for them to just go through the video and be like 'That over there, what's that? Does this connect to that?'" 

Later, when performing the song on the Eras Tour, Swift again played with the idea of referencing her past work, except, by this time, she'd released more albums than when she originally released the "Look What You Made Me Do" video.

Onstage during the tour, several dancers are, at one point, in glass boxes wearing various outfits that all tie into her albums. One is dressed in purple to represent "Speak Now," and when Swift approaches the box, she unsuccessfully lets the dancer out. Naturally, fans immediately thought this represented her "Speak Now" re-recording would come soon. (Spoiler alert: They were right.) Another dancer is wearing a cheerleader outfit like those in the "Shake It Off" music video from "1989," and a few other dancers were also dressed to represent "1989," which was ultimately released in October 2023.

One great part of the Eras Tour experience is witnessing all of Taylor Swift's wardrobe choices throughout the show, with many appearing to have a deeper meaning because she often provides clues in her outfits. After all, Swift told Entertainment Weekly in 2019 that, in her experience, "Easter eggs can be left on clothing or jewelry." During the "Fearless" portion of the setlist on the Eras Tour, Swift's glittery gold dress looks to be a throwback reference to the similar-looking dress she wore when originally touring the album. Also, on Swift's earlier tours, one of her signature moves was making the shape of a heart with both of her hands. The singer brought this back during the Eras Tour, showing love to her fans with heart-hands.

To the premiere of the taped version of the concert, "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour," Swift wore a gorgeous, light blue gown from designer Oscar de la Renta. Naturally, the gown's color palette resembled her album "1989," and the timing here aligned with the release of "1989 (Taylor's Version)," which came out soon after the movie's premiere. Previously, she'd also hinted at the album's release when she wore several completely new blue outfits during her Eras Tour performance in Los Angeles, California, on August 9, 2023. The following day, Swift announced in an Instagram post that "1989 (Taylor's Version)" would be her next re-release.

"Reputation" was the last album that Taylor Swift toured before the COVID-19 pandemic. Following that epic stadium tour in 2018, Swift released her next studio album, "Lover," in 2019 and had planned several "Lover Fest" live shows to play the album. Unfortunately, Swift had to cancel the shows due to the pandemic. "I miss you terribly and can't wait til we can all safely be at shows together again," Swift posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

When it came time for the Eras Tour, no one knew if Swift would perform songs in chronological order of her album releases or not. As fans quickly found out, Swift started each show with songs from her "Lover" era. Here, Swift started right where she left off, playing the album in stadiums for the first time. Additionally, it may be a show of power against her old label, Big Machine Records, because "Lover" was her first album with Republic Records — and the first where she owned her masters outright.

When opening the Eras Tour, dancers walk out holding massive fans that appear to be in the shape of scallop shells. Several are then placed over the stage and open up to reveal Swift rising up from underneath the stage. This could be a reference to the famous Renaissance painting "The Birth of Venus." Of course, Venus is the goddess of love, so everything comes full circle here.

Every attendee of the Eras Tour receives a light-up wristband upon entering their venue. One notable exception was fans who saw Taylor Swift in Los Angeles. Instead, attendees found their wristbands waiting for them at their seats. Here, the wristbands were shaped slightly differently than in previous tour stops, and the lights glowed brighter. People began to speculate that this was for film crews to capture the concert for a movie. Indeed, "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" took footage from her performances in Los Angeles. Throughout her setlist, the wristbands automatically changed to sync up with the vibe of the song — and often to coordinate with the set design. For example, the wristbands created the appearance of a rainbow while Swift performed "You Need to Calm Down." This matches the song's lyrics, which support the LGBTQ+ community, and the vibrant colors of the music video, at the end of which she urged fans to sign a petition to support the Equality Act.

While performing "Look What You Made Me Do" on tour, the wristbands were perfectly synced to give the appearance of a snake slithering across the stadiums. In another fun instance, fans who saw Swift perform in Atlanta were treated to a surprise when everyone's wristbands turned purple at the end of the show, hinting at her official announcement of "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)'s" release date the following week.

Many songs in Taylor Swift's discography practically beg fans to get up and dance. A social sharing platform like TikTok then naturally became a place for people to show off their moves to Swift's songs. Even better, the singer caught wind of some of these dances and incorporated them into the Eras Tour. TikTok creator Mikael Arellano posted a video of original choreography to Swift's song "Bejeweled" in which they fabulously twirled around and made a twinkle motion with their hands.

Then, Arellano posted a reaction video on TikTok when they saw Swift perform their move onstage. Swift even went one step further and put Arellano front and center during her tour stop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While performing the song "22," Swift walked over to Arellano and gifted them the black hat she was wearing. Arellano posted a video of the moment, with the singer adorably holding their hand for a few moments during the performance.

Beyond imitating dance trends, Swift also established her own moves. While singing "Karma," Swift performed a piece of choreography with a few side steps and spins. Fans immediately began copying or remixing the "Karma" dance on TikTok. People were also quick to recreate Swift running across the stage during the song "August." Actors Penn Badgley and Kevin Bacon even got in on the action and posted running videos soundtracked with "August."

When looking down at the Eras Tour stage, which is covered in changing digital screens, there are plenty of Easter eggs that correspond to the song Taylor Swift is playing. For example, the stage resembles a guitar during the song "Fearless." When Swift sings "Mastermind," the stage turns to black and white squares to resemble a chess board, a nod to the song's title. In another moment, the floor appears to crack under Swift while she sings the song "Delicate." With certain dance steps, the cracks begin to grow. Then, in one final jump with both feet landing on the stage at the end of the song's bridge, the entire stage turns into cracks. Later, while singing "Look What You Made Me Do," fans can see a shadow extending under Swift in the form of serpents, the unofficial mascot of "Reputation."

Swift starts the Eras Tour with songs from her "Lover" album and concludes with 2022's "Midnights." Astute fans will notice a similar set design for both of these segments, including distinctive arches. This could be a reference to the theorized connection between the two albums. In fact, the original working title for "Lover" was "Daylight," which would make it the opposite of "Midnights." While singing "Lover" songs, the arches are soft pink like a sunrise; then, during the "Midnights" segment, the arches turn deep blue like the night sky.