Taylor Swift just won her 13th Grammy, proving her favorite number continues to bring her good luck.
At the 2024 Grammys on Feb. 4, Swift collected the golden gramophone for best pop vocal album for "Midnights." As the pop icon took the stage, she pointed out the significance of the number 13 and used the occasion to make a special announcement.
"This is my 13th Grammy, which is my lucky number. I don't know if I've ever told you that," she joked as the audience applauded.
She thanked the Recording Academy and her fans for the honor and said she wanted to express her gratitude by sharing a secret she has been keeping for "two years."
"My brand-new album comes out April 19. It's called 'The Tortured Poets Department,'" she said as members of the crowd audibly gasped.
Swift said she was headed back stage to share the album cover before hurrying off.
It's fitting that Swift decided to make the surprising announcement with her 13th Grammy in hand. As most Swifties know, the number has been a significant part of the singer's life for years.
Swift would pen the number 13 on her hand before a concert so she could take the stage as fearlessly as her second studio album of a similar name.
And now, with the news of the Kansas City Chiefs securing a spot in the 2024 Super Bowl, that number is popping up once again.
If Swift attends the big game Feb. 11 in Las Vegas, where the Chiefs will be taking on the San Francisco 49ers, it would mark her 13th appearance this season at a Chiefs game to cheer on boyfriend and star tight end Travis Kelce.
Swifties are already getting excited about the prospect of an appearance.
"Super Bowl 58 will be Taylor Swifts 13th game to attend. She will have to take a 13 hour flight from Japan. Super Bowl 58 5 + 8 = 13!!! (Chiefs) will win it all!!!!" one fan wrote on X.
"Super bowl 58.. 5+8=13. 49ers... 9+4=13. Taylor swift.. 13. < her profile and birthday. 2-11. < superbowl date. =13. Looks like the 13th zodiac is climbing to the top. You guys are NOT ready for what’s next," another person wrote.
Out of all the numbers in the world, why did Swift choose 13 as her lucky number? Well, as the above X user notes with the birthday reference, Swift was born on Dec. 13, 1989, making her a Sagittarius.
One fan also noted the significance of the 49ers' starting quarterback's jersey number: "Taylor Swift's 'lucky number' is 13. Super Bowl 58 (5+8) = 13. SB on 2/11 (2+11) = 13. Taylor Swift could be attending her 13th Chiefs game this season. 49ers (4+9) = 13. 49ers QB is #13. COULDN’T SCRIPT IT ANY BETTER," the person wrote on X.
That 49ers QB is, of course, Brock Purdy, who wears jersey No. 13, and will face off against Kelce and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in Vegas.
And only one quarterback who has worn No. 13 has won the Super Bowl: Kurt Warner with the Rams in 2000.
In order for Swift to make it to the Super Bowl, however, she would have to immediately hop on a plane from Tokyo after her "Eras Tour" show wraps Feb. 10. The flight from Tokyo to Las Vegas is roughly 12 hours, and after taking the time change and the possibility of using a private jet into consideration, the singer could make it to Vegas before the game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET, marking her 13th appearance at a Chiefs game this season.
The "Cruel Summer" singer has also weaved her love of the number 13 into her music career for years, and in her early days, she used the number in cryptic ways.
For instance, her song “The Lucky One” is the 13th track on her 2021 album,"Red (Taylor’s Version)," and the tune also has a 13-second intro and the word "lucky" is said 13 times in the song.
While talking about numerology and how it relates to her music, Swift told Paul McCartney that she loves to include numbers in her work.
“Numbers kind of rule my world,” she said in a 2020 conversation with McCartney for Rolling Stone's “Musicians on Musicians” series. “The numbers 13 … 89 is a big one.”
Swift also elaborated on this in a 2009 interview with MTV.
“The significance of the number 13 on my hand... I paint this on my hand before every show because 13 is my lucky number; for a lot of reasons,” she explained. “It’s really weird.”
“I was born on the 13th. I turned 13 on Friday the 13th. My first album went gold in 13 weeks. My first #1 song had a 13-second intro,” she said. “Every time I’ve won an award I’ve been seated in either the 13th seat, the 13th row, the 13th section or row M, which is the 13th letter.”
While it may be superstitious for some, the number 13 has not failed Swift yet. That's why when Swift released her two albums "Folklore" and "Evermore" in the same year she turned 31, she made sure that one album had 16 songs, while the other had 15 to equal 31 tracks in total, which is 13 backward.
“Ever since I was 13, I’ve been excited about turning 31 because it’s my lucky number backwards, which is why I wanted to surprise you with this now,” the singer wrote on X in December 2020.
During an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” that same year, Swift again discussed her obsession with turning 31.
“Until I turn 113 or 131, this will be the highlight of my life,”she joked. “The numerology thing, when it doesn’t take over on its own, I sort of force it to happen.”
In her social media post, she also thanked Swifties for their support and wanted to reciprocate on her birthday with "Evermore."
“You’ve all been so caring, supportive and thoughtful on my birthdays and so this time I thought I would give you something!” she added.
Swift also gave her fans a gift on her birthday in 2023: Her concert film, “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour (Extended Version),” was made available to stream on Dec. 13.
“Hi! Well, so, basically I have a birthday coming up and I was thinking a fun way to celebrate the year we’ve had together would be to make The Eras Tour Concert Film available for you to watch at home!” she wrote on Instagram Nov. 27.
She added that songs that did not make it into the movie in theaters, like "The Archer," would be available in the extended version.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
