If you've been following the buildup Taylor Swift's new album release very closely — don't lie to yourself — you probably heard about several "secret" listening parties happening around the globe.
This week, we finally got some concrete details on these Secret Sessions thanks to a "behind-the-scenes" YouTube video.
Here's the gist:
Over the past year, Taylor Swift has scoured the internet in search of fans for top secret events taking place across the US & UK. These became known as the 1989 Secret Sessions.
The clip shows fans being transported to unidentified locations, where Swift bakes them all cookies, hides and then pops out from behind walls to surprise them.
She then proceeds to play them the entire 1989 album (due Oct. 27), but the video doesn't actually provide any new audio besides her recently-released "Out of the Woods" single.
From the clip:
What happens in the Secret Sessions, STAYS in the Secret Sessions :)
As part of a marketing experiment, Swift's record label withheld the new single from the UK, which obviously pissed everyone off. The singer felt inclined to publish a Tumblr post addressing the situation.
"I've never been one to hold my music back from any of you so I will be watching closely to see if this is ultimately a better experience for you, the fans," she wrote. "My good friend Ed Sheeran utilized the same strategy with 'One' in the UK and he seemed very happy with the feedback from his fans. But, ultimately, it's down to you. Let me know."
Our own Ryan Book pointed out that some people don't think Taylor actually posted that message.
Heidi Moore, editor of finance and economics for The Guardian's U.S. office, served up the idea that someone else was operating Swift's Tumblr, based on one linguistic distinction.
"First of all, no American would ever say 'it's down to you,'" she tweeted.
