Taylor Swift's 2024 Grammys Dress Has A Special Hidden Detail

If there's one thing that Taylor Swift is known for, it's leaving Easter eggs for her fans to spot (and her music, of course). The singer-songwriter loves adding little hints and hidden messages to her music, her social media posts, and everything she does, for her fans to hypothesize about. So, there's just no way that she wore a clock choker to the 2024 Grammy Awards without setting it to a time that was some sort of hint, right? Well, plenty of Swifties certainly think so. But, what is the message she's trying to send? There are a few theories about that one. 

To determine the message behind Swift's clock choker, the first thing to establish is what time it's set to. And different fans have differing opinions. Within an hour of the "Shake It Off" hitmaker hitting the red carpet donning the necklace in question, there were quite a few posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, discussing the jewelry's meaning. Some posts asserted that the clock is set to midnight, while others suggested that both hands are pointing to the three. Of course, both of these possible times have very different meanings in Swiftian lore.

If Taylor Swift's clock choker is set to midnight, then that's not exactly a surprise. Her most recent original album was, of course, called "Midnights," which won Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year at the 2024 Grammys. So, it could just be a cheeky nod to her record-setting record. But, knowing Swift, a big hint may be more likely than a simple reference. In 2019, she lost the rights to her music to record executive Scooter Braun. The world-conquering pop star has been busily rerecording her back catalog ever since. Swift's rerecorded albums have been a major success, and she still has more to tackle. 

Many fans believe that her version of her album, "Reputation," is the next one she'll release, and some reckon that the clock choker confirms it. In the music video for "Karma," Swift holds a cup of coffee with a clock pattern in the foam. She holds one side of the cup with a blue-painted fingernail and the other side with a black fingernail. 

The black one is positioned next to the three, and it just so happens that black is the signature color of "Reputation." If Swift's clock choker is set to 3:15, some fans reason that this is a hint that the clock in the video would be pointing toward that black fingernail. By the same token, Swift loves to include hints in dates. Maybe she'll drop her new album on March 15? Time will tell — no pun intended.

While Taylor Swift's Grammys clock choker sparked speculation about the time being set at either midnight or 3:15, a video captured by People shows her stylist, Joseph Cassell, adjusting it in real-time. In the TikTok post, around the 00:50 mark, Swift can be heard saying "Midnight" as Cassell manipulates the choker, suggesting the time was indeed meant to be 00:00. The video caused a frenzy in the comments section, with most fans convinced that it was meant to be one of Swift's famous Easter eggs. However, the correlation that many failed to notice was that Swift was nominated for two Grammy awards for "Midnights," possibly explaining the chosen time for the clock choker.

During her acceptance speech, for Best Pop Vocal Album, Swift surprised fans by announcing her new 2024 album, titled "The Tortured Poets Department," (via YouTube). Notably, the photo posted to her Instagram account announcing the album is black and white — much like her Grammys look. Additionally, ahead of the ceremony, Swift's official website crashed, which turned out not to be a coincidence. 

Keen-eyed Swifties deciphered a scrambled word written on the website amid its downtime — "hneriergrd" — as "red herring." Interestingly, a red herring represents a misleading clue in literary terms. The clever play on words might suggest that the hidden details in Swift's sleek Grammy look were intentionally misleading, or, you know, a red herring meant to distract us from the upcoming album.