What if we told you all of it was accidental?
Taylor Swift fans helped make a mysterious book into a bestseller this week after theorizing that it was her secret memoir. But it turns out the book has nothing to do with the singer at all and is instead about the South Korean boy band BTS.
The theories started popping up online after Swift's fans noticed there was a book set to be released on July 9 that was simply being referred to as "4C Untitled Flatiron Nonfiction Summer 2023." There was no cover, author, or synopsis. But the July 9 release date jumped out at Swift's fans, as this day is referenced in her song "Last Kiss." Plus, when Swift recently announced that her album Speak Now (Taylor's Version) will drop on July 7, she noted this is "just in time for" July 9, and she also used the phrase "dear reader."
So Swifties thought these might be some of her signature Easter eggs, suggesting the book could be her memoir. Some even pointed out that it's 544 pages, and 5, 4, and 4 add up to 13, Swift's lucky number. The book was also expected to be officially announced on June 13. Based on this, fans began blindly placing preorders, leading the book to shoot up the bestseller charts on Amazon and Barnes & Noble despite the lack of confirmation it was related to Swift.
We now know it isn't, as the book has been confirmed as Beyond The Story: 10-Year Record of BTS, so it's really a history of the popular boy band. July 9 is known as "ARMY Day," the anniversary of when the band's fan community was founded, so the fact that this date also holds significance for Swift's fans was just a coincidence. The BTS book surely would have become a bestseller anyway given the band also has a large fan base. But for Swifties, it may serve as a cautionary tale about getting carried away with fan theories and a reminder that even with her, not everything is an Easter egg.