Is Taylor Swift a Surprise Guest on Beyonce’s “Bodyguard” and New Album?

If you’ve listened to Beyoncé’s new western-inspired album Cowboy Carter, you’ve already heard “Bodyguard,” the album’s lyrical ninth track. But you may not have noticed the distant ethereal backing vocals that accompany Queen Bey throughout the song.

Here’s the latest music theory: fans are convinced that the distant “ahs” in the song were actually provided by Taylor Swift herself, meaning Swift might just be having her own Lana del Rey-in-“Snow on the Beach” moment. (You know, providing angelic, ultra subtle vocal support that is practically inaudible, but ultimately completes the song?)

The theory was explained by TikTok user @chloeandpercy. “This wouldn’t be the first time Taylor Swift has anonymously participated in a project,” she said. “As we remember, back in 2016, she did feature in the backing vocals and on the writing of the song ‘This is What You Came For’ by Calvin Harris and Rihanna and went under a pseudonym of Neil Solberg.”

Another fan later spotted that the Genius lyrics page for the song credited Swift as the backing vocalist. However, it’s worth noting that the website is not an official source.

TAYLOR SWIFT IS CREDITED AS BACKING VOCALS ON BEYONCE’S SONG BODYGUARD pic.twitter.com/kUZM9X61aN

— ren. (@allswifted)

March 29, 2024

Although this theory is, so far, nothing more than pure fan speculation, it is certainly intriguing.

First of all, those ethereal “ahs” do actually sound a lot like Taylor! Plus, listening to the lyrics of “Bodyguard,” there’s no denying that the entire song is very Swift-coded.

Then there’s the fact that Swift and Bey have been spending a whole lot of time supporting each other over the past few months. Bey was a guest at Swift’s Eras Tour film premiere in October and one month later, Swift returned the favor, attending Beyonce’s Renaissance film premiere.

In October, Swift even dedicated an Instagram post to Beyoncé after she attended her Eras Tour film premiere. “I’m so glad I’ll never know what my life would’ve been like without @beyonce‘s influence,” she wrote. “The way she’s taught me and every artist out here to break rules and defy industry norms. Her generosity of spirit. Her resilience and versatility. She’s been a guiding light throughout my career and the fact that she showed up tonight was like an actual fairytale.”

Fans have also been theorizing that the pair would collaborate on the album for months. After all, Swift’s roots are in country music and Cowboy Carter is Bey’s first country album. It just makes sense!