This Taylor Swift 'Karma' Release Date Theory Is Too Good Not To Believe

Is TS12 Karma?

In case you don't know what Taylor Swift's Karma is, let me catch you up. Before we got "Karma" on Midnights, Swifties believe we were supposed to get a rock album after 1989 called Karma, whose color is orange. But when the drama with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West spiraled out of control, we got Reputation instead.

Taylor Swift has been teasing the theoretical album every since; She added the title into her "The Man" music video in 2020, and featured an orange door at the end of the Eras Tour. And on June 2, during her show in Lyon, France, she came onstage wearing a fully orange set for the first time, instead of mismatched colors.

During the surprise song set, Taylor played "Glitch" and "Everything Has Changed," potentially signaling that we should, well, expect things to change soon! And @mellbicee on TikTok thinks this is all one big clue for a Karma release next spring — March 14, 2025, to be exact.

March 14 (which is when she released the Eras Tour film, FYI) is a total lunar eclipse — also called a blood moon — which makes the moon look orange (!!). Plus, Taylor released the "Blood Moon" edition of Midnights AND mentions an eclipse in "Clara Bow" when she sings "Half moonshine // A full eclipse."

After posting the video, Mel replied to a comment and revealed that she "had some strange account following only Taylor’s team randomly dm me “we c u😉” didn’t like the vid or anything 👀 you KNOW they watch these from burners."

What are all the 2's Taylor Swift keeps referencing?

After holding up a lot of number 3's throughout the Midnights era, Taylor Swift was intentionally referencing the number 2 during The Tortured Poets Department. She's played mashups of two different surprise songs, held up a two during her Grammys acceptance speech, and there was a countdown on her site that ended at 2PM EST ahead of the TTPD release. Mix in the peace sign & double book copies at the TTPD library installation AND one of her tweets, and it's clear that the number 2 and TTPD are now inseparable!

While Taylor Swift ended up giving us a second album, I do think this is all part of something even bigger. From the pocket watch in the "Bejeweled" music video promising "exile ends in 3...2...1..." to a new TTPD video showing Taylor's completed two out of three tallies (plus the viral "321" error message on Taylor's website), IMO, it's clear we're in the middle of a countdown.

If Midnights was 3 and The Tortured Poets Department is 2, then my guess is that TS12 will feature endless references to the number 1. And then Taylor will release the album that is arguably one of her most important: TS13.

What does 13 mean for Taylor Swift?

13 is a very important number for Taylor Swift. Her birthday is on December 13, and she told MTV 13 is her lucky number because "I turned 13 on Friday the 13th. My first album went gold in 13 weeks. My first No. 1 song had a 13-second intro. Every time I’ve won an award I’ve been seated in either the 13th seat, the 13th row, the 13th section or row M, which is the 13th letter."

Since the beginning of her career, Taylor Swift has paid special attention to the number, which totally warrants a huge countdown to TS13.

What is Taylor Swift's TS12 called?

Considering we're still in the Tortured Poets Department era, we don't have any official info on TS12 yet. But just like the shift from Midnights' 70s vibe to Taylor Swift's current Ralph Lauren-esque outfits signaled the beginning of TS11, any more aesthetic shakeups later this year or next year could signal a new era.

What's with all the plane references?

In addition to all the numbers, there's one other thing Taylor has referenced the last few years: planes. She's name-dropped everything from manifests and co-pilots to timetables (which charts departures and arrivals of planes, buses, and trains), and @heather.hypnotic on TikTok ties everything into the "Look What You Made Me Do?" music video.

At the end of the music video, a number of different Taylors from different eras stand in front of a plane with "Reputation" written across the side. "Call it the lost album, call it the Karma album, call it the original TS6, I think this is the one [in the countdown]," Heather says.

Whether TS12 is the supposedly unreleased rock album Swifties have dubbed Karma, or a separate album entirely, Taylor is definitely cooking up something!

What is Taylor Swift's newest release?

Taylor Swift's newest album after 1989 (Taylor's Version) is The Tortured Poets Department, which dropped on April 19, 2024. Based on the pattern of two re-recordings then one new album she's set up, it looks like we could get Reputation (Taylor's Version), Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version), and then TS12! But we know Taylor loves to shake things up, so she could totally pivot!

What are the 4 unreleased Taylor songs?

The original edition of The Tortured Poets Department has four deluxe songs: "The Manuscript," "The Bolter," "The Albatross," and "The Black Dog."