https://www.altpress.com/features/taylor_swift_loved_the_academy_is_boys_like_girls/
[Photos by: Panic! At The Disco/Jonathan Weiner, Taylor Swift/Spotify]

Taylor Swift fans think Brendon Urie is on her new song—UPDATED

UPDATE: APRIL 25, 9:12 P.M. EST

Earlier today, Taylor Swift fans began speculating that Panic! At The Disco frontman Brendon Urie might be on Swift’s new song dropping tonight. Swift finally confirmed it herself on The NFL Draft on ABC in an interview with Robin Roberts. Check out the clip below.

Panic also confirmed the track on Twitter, writing “Sooooo, this is happening!” and linking to Swift’s YouTube where the video will premiere at midnight EST.

 

ORIGINAL STORY: APRIL 25, 7:43 P.M. EST

Taylor Swift fans have been eagerly awaiting her follow-up to 2017’s Reputation, and it looks like Panic! At The Disco fans might have something to look forward to as well.

Swifties have been grasping at every and any clue since the singer’s iHeartRadio Music Awards speech sparked theories in March. Swift took to the stage to accept for Tour of the Year, thanking her fans and ending with, “I just wanted to let you know that when there’s new music, you will be the first to know.”

Read more: Rami Malek snags “perfect-follow-up” to ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ role

Since the awards show, Swift has maintained a heavy pastel and butterfly-inspired theme, starting with the insect adorning her shoes. She also rocked a new pink-dipped hairstyle, which many began speculating was courtesy of friend Hayley Williams’ own Good Dye Young. The new supposed era is a total 180 from the hardcore black-and-white, snake-driven aesthetic of Reputation.

A little less than a month later, Swift broke her silence by unleashing a countdown clock on her website. The endgame is midnight EST on April 26, a date she also began sharing across her Instagram posts over the next few days.

The following week, Swift was spotted rocking a pastel floral top, which might seem totally normal. However, eagle-eyed fans noticed the top had her name emblazoned up the sleeve, hinting at potential new album-inspired merch.

Taylor Swift continues teasing fans today

While Swift’s date-driven teasers had many fans speculating new music, the singer didn’t confirm it until today when she shared news of a butterfly mural on her Instagram story.

“We’ve commissioned this butterfly mural to be painted on a wall in Nashville and put clues about the song and the new music in the mural,” she says.

 

Swift later shared an image of the mural on her page, which includes the aforementioned butterfly as well as the word “ME!”

So… @kelseymontagueart helped me pull off the best surprise clue reveal today in Nashville!! Thank you to everyone who showed up, I’ve never been more proud of your FBI level detective skills. Next clue: I’ll be joining the magnificent @robinrobertsgma for a chat tonight on ABC live from Nashville ???????”

A few hours later, Swift shared another image, this time of just her. With it, the caption read, “ME! by the one and only @valheria123 ?????????????”

Fans speculate the Taylor Swift and Brendon Urie collab

Now, you might be questioning how Brendon Urie is involved in all of this, and we’re getting there.

Between the two images, Swift fans were convinced the track is called “ME!,” which could be correct if her YouTube page is yet another clue. The banner reads today’s date and “midnight eastern.” While this is the time the countdown ends, it also could be referring to “ME!”

taylor swift youtube midnight eastern
[Photo via youtube.com/taylorswift

The theory was further supported by a since-deleted Reddit comment stating the title is one word with punctuation. A user screenshotted it and uploaded it as seen below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwrwo9rAHRj/

Another Reddit user igootin took to the Taylor Swift subreddit to share a find. The user alleges a “Fox writer” uploaded an image of a YouTube upload screen to Twitter. While the original image appears to be deleted, several music and fan accounts uploaded it again, which you can see below.

As you can see, the track is allegedly titled “ME!” as suspected. It features Urie and is filed under Alternative & Punk—a far cry from Swift’s country roots and pop crossover.

Twitter immediately launched into speculation central, the first of which focused on the punk aspect and aforementioned GDY theory.

I’m just going to say my theory pink hair is punkish. The pink hair dye is from @yelyahwilliams she is punkish or is associated with punk. It is rumored that @PanicAtTheDisco @brendonurie is on it. Which can only mean the song will be punkish!! #TS7 #cantwait

There’s also the obvious exclamation point association between the song title and Panic!’s name.

https://twitter.com/flowersnfeast/status/1121558086840397824

https://twitter.com/poedameroff/status/1121560523559010310?s=21

However, some people thought it was actually Fall Out Boy instead of, which is apparently a common mistake. They also think he isn’t the only one speculated on the album with a possible Ariana Grande or Selena Gomez collab.

https://twitter.com/needyborderIine/status/1121473281981386752

Perez Hilton also took to Instagram to share he didn’t want to “cause any panic, but some very good and reliable info was just given to [him]” about the song.

taylor swift perez hilton
[Photo via Instagram/perezhilton
Soon after, Hilton shared on Twitter he was “gonna put on [his] disco shoes!!!”

Fans immediately speculated this was confirming Urie due to the “panic” reference.

https://twitter.com/WaseyaAyato/status/1121514050003841025

https://twitter.com/leoandmandy/status/1121552003937607680

To top it all off, Swift’s close friend Abigail Anderson Lucier shared a photo of Swift in February captioned with Panic! lyrics, which was pointed out on Reddit. While the mention isn’t totally shocking given Swift and Lucier were spotted rocking out to Boys Like Girls and the Academy Is… back in 2008, fans are still convinced it’s a clue.

Lucier reference “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” with “‘Well this calls for a toast, so pour the champagne.’ Perhaps I’m biased ? but I’m fairly certain this is the most beautiful article you’ve ever written”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BucrsnHFHDy/

The collab wouldn’t be totally surprising. Outside of Swift’s emo taste circa the late 2000s, Urie has also praised the singer.

“Taylor Swift is just a beast in the music world and I mean that in the best way possible,” Urie said in a video for Amazon this past summer. “She has this way of controlling a crowd and making it look so easy. I feel like I’m working so hard on stage, she looks like she’s at 5 percent but somehow giving her all.

“She’s undeniably one of the best performers and one of the greatest artists of our day,” he added.

 

UPDATE: APRIL 25, 8:06 P.M. EST

After publishing this article, an AP reader shared in the comments of our post that a Spotify billboard was spotted. Once zoomed in, you can see the bottom right reads “Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco.” It appears to be captured in London, according to PopCrave.

taylor swift brendon urie billboard
[Photo via facebook.com/altpress

At the time of publication, neither Swift nor Urie have made any indication of the collab being real, so it looks like we’ll be waiting around for midnight EST.

Do you think Taylor Swift and Brendon Urie are collaborating? Sound off in the comments below!

See more: 10 most iconic music video looks

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