Taylor Swift’s “London Boy” Is Idris Elba’s Voice—We’ll Never Recover

While we don’t know the specifics of what Swift would sing about regarding time, there is a theory going around strongly supporting time as the theme for the singer’s next album. In June, an eagle-eyed Swiftie pointed out that Swift has had a suspicious obsession with time for a while. The receipts include a tweet from Swift’s manager about time, a rumored clock prop from her new music video, and her talking about time when praising her friends, HAIM. Take a look for yourself and make your own conclusions, but we have a feeling there’s a pattern here.

Though a sexual harassment trial is a tad darker than we would expect from a country singer-turned-pop star, the bulk of Swift’s media coverage over the past couple years has been centered on an incident in 2013 when a Denver-based DJ, David Mueller, allegedly groped Swift under her dress as the two were taking a selfie. The case exploded in the media, with Swift set to testify against Mueller in the coming weeks. Though we doubt the singer will tackle the case head-on (likely due to legal reasons), her new album would be an adequate time to hint to it and address how sexual harassment is not OK.

As arguably Swift’s most public relationship, we are certain Calvin Harris will appear on the singer’s sixth album. Given that the couple dated for more than a year, there’s a lot to work with, too. There was a time they met at an awards show in February 2015, with Ellie Goulding and Sam Smith present too. There was also that epic inflatable swan selfie, which Swift sadly deleted. Along with many, many dinner dates, there was also Harris’s viral Twitter rant in July 2016 (also now deleted), in which the DJ called out the singer for making him “look bad” by revealing that Swift had a role in writing Harris’s smash song, “This Is What You Came For.” Sounds like enough juicy stuff for an entire album, so let’s make it happen, Taylor.

Regardless of what she’s gone through with the media, Swift’s fans—appropriately dubbed, Swifties—have been with her through thick and thin. That’s likely why she dedicated her 2010 song “Long Live” to how strong their bond is. It’s also likely why the very rare times we’ve seen Swift in the past three years have had to do with her fans. In May 2017, the singer wrote a sweet graduation note (accompanied by flowers) to an unsuspecting Swiftie, and in April 2015, the singer picked up the phone and gave a personal phone call to a 12-year-old fan with cancer. Considering how much shit-talking Swift’s public image has weathered in the past couple years, she’ll likely give her fans something to thank them for their support. What better gift than a new song specifically for them?

While Swift and Harry Styles dated long before the cycle for her sixth album began, the One Direction member brought the relationship back into the spotlight when he released his song “Two Ghosts,” which is rumored to be about the two’s affair. In a nutshell, the song is a crestfallen tune about the couple’s fallen-out relationship. Knowing Swift, she isn’t one to speak publicly about her exes. But she does love singing about them. So even though Styles had his shot with songs like “Style” and “Out of the Woods” on Swift’s last album, “1989,” Swift isn’t going to let “Two Ghosts” go unaddressed, so expect some sort of response. And if you think Styles and Swift are old news, let us remind you that Swift *reportedly* sang about her ex Joe Jonas for three consecutive albums.

Though Swift is better known for her love songs, the Grammy winner has dabbled in singing about her friendships, too—most notably, her 2015 single, “Bad Blood,” rumored to be about her fallout with Katy Perry. Given the questionable nature of her squad, there’s a good chance Swift will address her friendships on her next album. While an upbeat pop track to convey the fun-loving nature of her gang is a possibility, we’re predicting Swift will take the more somber route, with crestfallen ballads and angsty pop-rock songs about her fizzled-through friendships all on the table.

The most likely topic is Swift’s friendship with supermodel Karlie Kloss. Though the two have been BFFs throughout the run of her last album, fans speculate that the two have had a falling out due to their lack of appearances together. Also, there are rumors that there’s a feud brewing between the two after Karlie shadily posted a selfie with Kendall Jenner (a.k.a. sister of Kim Kardashian) last month. Other squad members Swift could sing about are Hailee Steinfeld (who admitted in August 2016 that she’s not as close to Swift as people may think) and Zendaya (who appeared in Swift’s “Bad Blood” music video, but was seen liking some anti-Taylor tweets last summer.)

By this point, everyone and their mamas know that Swift and Katy Perry are not on the best of terms. A month and a half ago, we might’ve told you that Swift was plotting her most epic musical revenge to Perry’s song, “Swish Swish,” in which Perry told Swift not to come for her. Now, we’re not sure. While Perry spent the bulk of her “Witness” press tour talking smack about Swift, she quickly changed her tune last minute to apologize and put the feud behind her. If Swift is to sing about Perry, she’s likely to follow in her example and sing a song about forgiveness rather than petty catfights. Throw in a couple nostalgic references to “Bad Blood” and it could be a hit.

In the past few years, Swift’s fame has spiraled out of control. While her A-list status is undoubtedly influenced by the hit of her last album, “1989,” the singer has also become a tabloid sensation—largely due to three publicized relationships and her ongoing feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. Because of this, Swift has gone to the extremes to stay out of the spotlight.

There was that debunked rumor that she snuck out of her apartment in a suitcase. But there was also that time recently when she dodged paparazzi with an extra large umbrella. Factor in her secret romance with Joe Alwyn (we’ll get to him later) and her nearly year-long social media hiatus and it seems like Swift is trying her hardest to fly under the radar. Like most celebs, the pressure of fame, tabloids, and social media hate has likely gotten to her. What better therapy than to sing about it? We think it’s safe to assume that Swift will include a ballad or two about an extreme lack of privacy has affected her life in the past few years.

Though Swift’s relationship with Tom Hiddleston was short-lived (RIP Hiddleswift), it’s definitely something that made an impact on her image—especially considering how quickly it emerged after her breakup with Calvin Harris. There’s a lot of material to work with, too: how they met at the 2016 Met Gala, how their photographs kissing beside a lake (so Taylor Swift) went viral, and how Hiddleston famously wore an “I ❤️ T.S.” tank top while on a date with her. We know Swift loves singing about white t-shirts, so a printed white tank top shouldn’t be too far off.

Given the top secret nature of Swift’s budding relationship with British actor Joe Alwyn, we’re not too sure exactly what she would sing about. What we do know is that Alwyn will likely make the cut on her next album. Though most plausible topic would be the secretiveness surrounding the couple’s relationship. Considering no one knew they were an item until about seven months in (yes, seven), we can only imagine that Swift has some crazy stories to sing about regarding the lengths the couple went to sneak around. They also reportedly met a Kings of Leon concert in October 2016, so if there’s any good time for a duet, it would be now.

Though Swift is best known for singing about her own love life, the singer isn’t afraid of channeling the love lives of her friends into her songs, either. Given that Swift was a bridesmaid to her childhood friends, Brittany Maack and Benjamin LaManna, in February 2016, and that another engaged childhood BFF, Abigail Anderson, will likely walk down the aisle in the coming months, we expect Swift to pen a sweet tune for her friends’ life-long commitments. She made us cry with her maid-of-honor speech at Maack’s wedding, so she’s bound to have some sentimental words to sing about too, right?

In April 2015, Swift had revealed that her mom, Andrea, had been diagnosed with cancer. Since then, the singer has been flying back and forth between her tour stops and Nashville to tend to her mother. Later in 2015, Swift also got teared up talking about her mom’s cancer right before performing the song “Ronan,” a ballad she wrote for a 4-year-old boy she met who died of cancer in 2011. 

Though the pop star hasn’t given a recent update on her mom’s cancer journey, it’s likely something that has deeply affected her over the past few years. It wouldn’t be the first time Swift has written about her mom, either. On her 2008 album “Fearless,” Swift sang about how her mom gave her the best childhood on the track, “The Best Day.” We’re assuming her new song will likely be less cheerful, but good all the same.