Taylor Swift might be on hiatus from her Eras Tour, but she fed Us plenty of new content before taking a hard-earned break.
Swift, 34, closed out the European leg of her three-and-a-half-hour show with five nights at London’s famed Wembley Stadium earlier this month.
“The Eras Tour show is so much fun for me. These are better crowds than I ever imagined I’d get to play for in my entire life,” Swift gushed during her August 19 concert. “You guys are doing all the things. Not only do you have every lyric memorized and you’re not just singing them, but [you’re] screaming every single lyric to every single song. You know how happy that makes me? [It] makes me so happy. You have hands in the air, you’re waving to me, you’re putting on your own theatrical performances in the audience. This is a dream crowd, so that makes it so much fun for me and my fellow performers on the stage.”
As Swift’s Eras shows finished, she dropped singles, music videos and more that incited widespread fan excitement — even if it meant nothing in the long run.
Long story short, go down the rabbit hole with Us as we relive our biggest collective Swiftie freakouts of the month:
6. That Taylor Subtly Called Out Kanye West — Again — With New ‘Thank You Aimee’ Capital Letters
On August 15, Swift dropped a new digital version of The Tortured Poets Department, featuring her concert mash-up of “ThanK you aIMee” and “Mean.” The former initially used capital letters to spell out “KIM,” which fans believed to be a dig at Kim Kardashian following their previous bad blood.
The new version only capitalized the “Y” and “E,” spelling “Ye,” or the self-professed nickname of rapper Kanye West. (West was the reason for Kardashian and Swift’s feud in the first place, considering the reality TV star’s doctored phone call was to defend his inclusion of Swift in his “Famous” lyrics and music video.)
5. That Her ‘I Can Do It With a Broken Heart’ Music Video Maybe Features Travis Kelce — But Definitely the Inside of the Cleaning Cart
At the end of Swift’s final Wembley show on August 20, fans were treated to a music video for “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.” The footage featured behind-the-scenes moments from Swift’s show rehearsals, under the stage and more. At one point, Swiftie sleuths theorized that Travis Kelce, Swift’s boyfriend of one year, was seated in the background of the dance studio. Of course, the background was just blurry enough that made it difficult to confirm anything.
The video also finally gave fans answers about the cleaning cart, which is the infamous way that Swift rides to the stage without being seen. Per the video, the Grammy winner’s cart was tricked out with a seat and a table with two cat figurines. (I mean, it is a relief to Us that Swift didn’t have to stand or crouch in the box before strutting around stage for three hours in heels!)
4. That Taylor’s Cat Accidentally Made Its ‘New Heights’ Debut
Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast returned for its third season on August 28, with the athlete and brother Jason Kelce teasing in advance that it was a “guest episode.” Swifties, naturally, hoped that meant the pop star would finally appear on the podcast especially considering that “New Heights” was how Travis first got her attention.
The Kelce brothers actually interviewed Adam Sandler, who’s become one of Us thanks to his daughters, Sunny and Sadie, listening to Swift’s sick beats nonstop through the years.
While we were dejected about another Swift-less recording, Travis did gush about “Tay” quite a bit and if you listen closely at the 27-minute mark, it sounds like a cat meows in the background.
“Not the ‘MEOW’ in the background. Travis letting one of the cats have its podcast debut,” one fan wrote via X.
Neither Jason — whose wife, Kylie Kelce, did ask for permission to adopt a cat on the pod last December — nor Travis has cats, for what it’s worth. So, Meredith Grey, Olivia Benson or Benjamin Button, was that you?
3. That She Brought Out Ed Sheeran, Jack Antonoff and Florence Welch at London Shows
Just like her June Wembley shows featured surprise after surprise, including a duet with Gracie Abrams and a dance break with Travis, the August shows also did not miss. Swift kicked off the residency by inviting her longtime friend Ed Sheeran for a medley of their songs “Everything Has Changed” and “Thinking Out Loud.” Days later, producer Jack Antonoff joined her for a rendition of “Getaway Car” and “Death by a Thousand Cuts.”
Just moments before Antonoff’s surprise, Swift added “Florida!!!” to her TTPD set, bringing duet partner Florence Welch for the first live performance.
The duets had Us screaming over and over again as we pressed replay on a grainy livestream recording.
2. That She’d Make a Surprise Cameo at the DNC
Two days after Swift wrapped her Wembley shows, the clownery reared its ugly head again during the Democratic National Convention. Social media sources claimed on August 22 that a surprise guest was bound for the final night of the event, and Swift’s name kept popping up alongside Beyoncé as the headliner. The evening, ultimately, went on without Swift or Beyoncé. Pink and a Scandal reunion of Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn ended up being the biggest headliners of the night.
1. That ‘Reputation (Taylor’s Version)’ Would Be Announced
Once again, Swifties were so certain that the Taylor’s Version LP of 2017’s Reputation was on the way. Fans pieced together theory after theory from new Eras costumes (here’s looking at you, astrology-themed Midnights bodysuit!), certain surprise songs (I mean, finally playing “I Did Something Bad” had to mean something, right?) and lots of numerology to spell out that Swift would confirm the next rerecording on August 20, her last London show.
Of course, the final London concert came and went sans announcement as Swift retreated back into her private life with Travis and they jetted off to her Rhode Island mansion before his NFL season begins.
Now, August has “slipped away into a moment in time” — and all we have to show for it is a bright red clown nose and our memories.
