All The Clues That Taylor Swift May Actually Be Dropping New Music Soon

March is almost here, and if the air feels a little different to you, it's not just because spring is right around the corner — it's because Taylor Swift is (maybe, probably) about to unleash her seventh album onto the world. One look at the #TS7 hashtag on Twitter, and it's easy to see fans freaking out about the possibility of new music coming soon. But why? As it turns out, over the past week, the clues that Taylor Swift is about to drop new music have been piling up so quickly that it's impossible to ignore that something is happening — and that could mean that her next album is coming sooner than you might think.

Longtime Swift fans might be quick to judge these theories; after all, the idea that Swift is going to give us new music so early in 2019 goes against everything she's taught us over her 13-year career. New singles come out in the fall, with an album releasing a couple of months later, duh.

But this time, it seems like she's doing things a bit differently — and with the evidence starting to add up, #TS7 (which would be Swift's first album under her new label, Republic Records) could mark a brand-new chapter in Swift's career that makes the way she does things a lot less predictable.

Here are all the clues that Swift is releasing new music soon. Are you — as Swift would say — ready for it?

Her Instagram Aesthetic Has Changed

When Swift is about to start a new era of her music, she changes her whole aesthetic — often, that means she changes her hair and the way she dresses, and a lot of the time, that also means a major shift in her social media presence, like when she did a purge to symbolize that the old Taylor was dead before she released Reputation.

This time, Swift is using a pastel filter on all of her Instagram photos — and she's posting way more frequently. Something has shifted for sure, and usually, that means new music is on its way.

She Seems To Be Counting Down To Something

In her most recent Instagram photos, the current theory is that Swift is counting down. In one photo of her cat, Meredith, there are 8 tufts on the couch, and in this photo, there are seven palm trees. In the next photo, Swift is sitting on the sixth step on a staircase, and in the one after that, Swift is behind a fence with five holes in it. After that, the countdown stops. What does it all mean?! Is she counting down days? Or something else?

She Acknowledged That Fans Are Freaking Out

After Swift didn't post the day four photo that everyone was expecting, she shared this picture of Olivia instead, writing, "She just read all the theories."

If Swift wasn't preparing to release new music, there's a good chance she wouldn't acknowledge the rumors at all, because that's what she's done in the past. This seems to mean that she is about to blow us all away with new music... or is that just wishful thinking?

Her Elle UK March 2019 Cover & Essay

It's been more than two years since Reputation was released — why would Swift cover a magazine and write an (amazing, TBH) essay on what being a songwriter means to her if she wasn't about to have an album to promote? There's always that chance she could just do it for the love of the game, but it would make much more sense if it was because she was about to drop new music.

She's Appearing At The iHeartRadio Awards

Again, why would someone appear at an award show if she didn't have something to promote other than her two year old music? Yes, she is being honored with the Tour Of The Year Award for her Reputation Tour, but being that the awards are March 14, it sure would make sense if she had a new single to perform by then.

At this point, all fans have to do is wait and keep their fingers crossed that Swift will fill us in on what's happening soon. Whatever's going on, she's aware we're all freaking out, so hopefully, she won't keep us waiting long — or, at the very least, she'll send more adorable cat pics to keep us occupied.