Fans Wonder What Taylor Swift Is Up to After Mystery Message Shows Up in Chicago Ahead of Album Drop

A mystery mural that showed up in Chicago; Taylor Swift

Four days before Taylor Swift released her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, folks in Chicago noticed a strange mural.  Now, Swifties are scrambling to decode the mystery message.

On Monday, April 15, an X (formerly Twitter) user shared photos of curious artwork they discovered on the side of a building.

"@taylorswift12 what are you up to? #TSTTPD (spotted in river north in chicago)," they captioned the post, alongside picture evidence.

Immediately, Swifties set out to decipher the hidden message. They started with finishing the QR code.

As it turns out, the QR code takes you to a YouTube Shorts video. The message "Error 321" is typed out on the screen, with the number "13" below it—but with the "3" very faint.

In the comments, Swifties responded to the video, with one person writing, "Release week is soooo fun i LOVE being a swiftie."

Another person commented, "TAY EXCUSE ME? THIS IS WILD," while someone else declared, "Taylor ur actually insane."

But what does it mean?

Swifties likely remember when the pop superstar's website displayed an error message hours before the 2024 Grammy Awards on Feb. 4. "Error 321 Backend fetch failed," the website read. The message also included the jumbled letters "hneriergrd"—which Swifties decoded as an anagram meaning "red herring."

Although many fans were convinced Swift would announce Reputation (Taylor's Version), she announced a brand new album, The Tortured Poets Department, during her acceptance speech at the Grammys.

Now, the real question is: What do Swift's latest clues point to? Your guess is as good as ours. We'll keep you updated once Swifties (hopefully) figure it out!

The Tortured Poets Department releases on Friday, April 19, at midnight.

Next: Swifties Melt Over Video of Travis Kelce Tenderly Caressing Taylor Swift