Music
13 Game-Changing Easter Eggs From Taylor Swift's “Bejeweled” Music Video
Did you spot them all?
Much to the delight of her loyal fans — best known as Swifties — Taylor Swift released the hotly-anticipated music video for her new song “Bejeweled” at the stroke of midnight. Coming from her Midnights album, which all but broke the internet upon its release on Oct. 21, the song has fast become a firm favourite among listeners. And, in true Swift style, the accompanying music video — which she directed herself — features many Easter eggs, not to mention a host of celebrity cameos. The singer’s close friends, the Haim sisters, feature in the fairytale-themed extravaganza, portraying the mean stepsisters opposite Swift’s Cinderella. Burlesque icon Dita Von Teese also makes a memorable appearance. Meanwhile actor Laura Dern portrays Swift’s on-screen stepmum.
Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ahead of the video’s release, Swift warned fans that a “psychotic amount” of Easter eggs lay ahead. “We have a PDF file for the Easter eggs in this video, because there are so many that we could not keep track,” she told Fallon. “I wanted to make a video that’s just for the fans who like certain things like glitter and Easter eggs and lots of little cameos.”
Discussing the fairytale theme of the music video, Swift explained: “I was thinking about Midnights, the concept and I was like, ‘Where do we hear about midnights a lot?’ We hear about it a lot when we talk about the Cinderella fairytale. And so I was like, ‘What if we do a little twist on a Cinderella story? And I could cast my friends.’”
So, without further delay, let’s get straight into the Easter eggs from Swift’s music video for “Bejeweled.”
An Enchanting Return
As some Swifties have rightly pointed out, the violin strings played in the intro scene of the music video are from Swift’s 2010 song “Enchanted.”
In Exile
When speaking to Swift (Cinderella, in this case) Dern makes reference to the singer’s track “Exile” from her Folklore album. Dern says: “Lest you forget, you've been exiled here.”
A Swift Reference
Dern’s evil stepmum figure uses the singer’s last name as an insult. “He tired of her quite quickly or should I say swiftly?” she says. An unamused Cinderella responds with: “There it is. That joke never gets old.”
A Snake-y Comment
In response to having been called a “snake” by trolls, Swift has one of Cinderella’s evil stepsisters (portrayed by the Haim siblings) say “bye snake” to her. A clear nod to the singer’s Reputation era.
Her Love Of Cats
In keeping with her admiration of felines, Swift made sure the portrait of her Prince Charming — Midnights producer Jack Antonoff — featured cats.
Time To Speak
There are many references to Swift’s third studio album Speak Now, ranging from the “3” button she presses in the lift to the clock set to chime at three. Swifties are speculating that this means Speak Now is the next album set to get the “Taylor’s Version” treatment.
A Return To The ‘80s
Swift also visits the fifth floor, leaving fans to predict that, after releasing her own version of Speak Now, she will treat fans to a re-recording of her fifth studio album, 1989.
In The Vault
Swift and Antonoff pose with a vault key in the video, perhaps to represent the vault songs on the re-recorded albums. Well, fans are convinced that’s the case, anyhow.
Long Live The Swift
The dragons at the end of the music video appear to be a nod to Swift’s 2010 song “Long Live.” In the Speak Now album track, she sings: “I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you.”
It’s All In The (Outfit) Details
By wearing a black cloak for “Bejeweled,” Swift has given a not-too-subtle nod to the memorable visuals for her 2017 song “...Ready For It?” which featured on her gear-shifting Reputation album.
A Balcony Moment
Back to the Speak Now era once more, Swift famously performed from a romantic-looking balcony during the tour for the beloved record. In what many feel is a gesture to that time, the singer once again ventures out to a balcony for “Bejeweled.”
An Arty Throwback
Eagle-eyed fans didn’t hesitate in spotting Swift’s apparent recreation of the memorable imagery used on the Speak Now CD.
An Anniversary Gift
When you consider the fact that Oct. 25, 2022, marks the 12-year anniversary of Speak Now, it’s little wonder the “Bejeweled” music video features so many references to the era. The very existence of the music video is an Easter egg in itself.
