thirteen ZINE
ISSUE 23 JUNE 2019
AwesoME! Swiftie Merch Fans share thier TS7 era merch
Taylor’s PerforME!nces
Like a Rainbow With All of the Colors!
Taylor speaks up about equality during Pride Month
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rainbow like a
with all of the colors
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CONTENTS Social Media ............................................ 4-5 Ellen...........................................................6-7 The Voice...................................................8-9 Germany Top Model...............................10-11 Graham Norton......................................12-13 NRJ........................................................14-15 The Voice France......................................... 16 Pride Month...........................................17-18 Wango Tango.........................................19-20 TIME 100.................................................... 21 We Are Swifties......................................22-31 The Last Page............................................. 28
magazine... editor I can read you like a
Happy Pride Month!
FROM THE
It’s June! :) And...we still have no idea what the title of the album is... hahaha But! We have been getting a bunch of Taylor content, which is great! Multiple performances and amazing looks from Taylor, as usual. June also means it’s Pride Month! Taylor has really spoken up about her stance on equality and we are LOVING IT. How about her rainbowrific outfit for Wango Tango?! LOVE. Showing her support like a rainbow with all of the colors! What else? Well, we recap some of the various talk shows Taylor has appeared on over the past month along with photos of the performances. You can find WWW.ISSUU.COM/ZINETHIRTEEN
all of her interviews on YouTube and the performances as well! Taylor is still leaving Easter eggs throughout her performances and interviews, making fans feel as though the title of the album could potentially be called “Lover” while others believe there is going to be a double album called “You” and “Me”. But, Taylor is still being SUPER mysterious about everything, so I guess we still have to wait and see! :) Sorry for the short “from the editor” but that’s all I really have to say...ha. Enjoy!
Stay Beautiful, Tanya
DO YOU HAVE A
Swiftie Story TO SHARE?
Tell us your story to be included in next month’s issue of ZINEthirteen! Submit your content on any of ZINEthirteen’s social media or email to zinethirteen@gmail.com!
@tanyaxoh ZINE THIRTEEN ISSUE 23 JUNE 2019
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SOCIAL MEDIA
Taylor Related Photos between May 13th & June 13th
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SOCIAL MEDIA
Taylor Related Photos between May 13th & June 13th
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ELLEN Taylor Swift Talks Falling In Love With Her ‘Me!’ Cat Co-Star, Plays ‘Burning Questions’ BILLBOARD
GIL KAUFMAN
05.15.19
Easter egg alert! In her chat with Ellen DeGeneres on Wednesday’s (May 15) Ellen, Taylor Swift confirmed that her French dialogue at the beginning of the “Me!” video “definitely” has significant meaning. “I’ve tried to learn French several times in my life because I think it’s a really beautiful language,” Swift said, noting that she had native French speakers on set to make sure she didn’t “butcher” the language in the video for the first song from her upcoming album. Ellen then put Swift on the spot and asked her to speak some French, so of course Taylor said “I love cats” in her not-native tongue, which led into a chat about the “little cat actor” who appears in the visual. “They show up with this little kitten. His handler was like, ‘Do you want to hold him first?’ I was like, ‘Absolutely I do.’ And so they hand me this tiny cat,” she said of the adorable cat that would soon enter her life. “I never really experienced a cat that the second I held this little kitten, he started purring like a motor,” Taylor added. “I was like, ‘Okay, whose cat is this? You’re really lucky, whoever owns this cat.’ And then, the girl was like, ‘Actually, he doesn’t have a home.’ And then my eyes turned into hearts and I just immediately was like, ZINE THIRTEEN ISSUE 23 JUNE 2019
Taylor playing Burning Questions with Ellen
‘I can’t think about anything else.’” Taylor then segued into her role in the upcoming big screen adaptation of the Broadway perennial Cats, which required her to attend “cat school,” where, she said, “all my dreams came true on the set of this film. They were like, ‘You can come to set as much as you want,’ and I ended up being there like every day for four months. They’re like, ‘Taylor’s doing cat school again....again. She’s still here. She’s still doing cat school.” In
case you were wondering, cat school involves crawling around on the floor and pretending to be a cat. “I had the best time.” Swift also broke down the whole Easter eggs idea for the Ellen audience, explaining to them that her recent Entertainment Weekly cover contained another batch of clues about her upcoming album. “They’re excellent at figuring it out,” she said of Swifties’ proclivity for sniffing out all her secrets. [But] there were some fans that thought
I had something to do with Avengers: Endgame, which I would have loved to have been asked, but I wasn’t...asked to be in it at all,” she said. “Because we had the single coming out the same day and I have a song that was called ‘End Game.’ And so they were like, ‘Oh my God, she’s going to defeat Thanos!’” Taylor also stuck around for a game of “Burning Questions,” where the singer declined to reveal the name of her next single, but described acting like a “raccoon in a dumpster” when she can’t sleep at night and goes downstairs for a snack. The singer also revealed that her biggest teen rebellion moment was way back in 2008 -- when she was 18 -- and she “put Joe Jonas on blast on your [Ellen’s] show...that was too much. We laugh about it now, but that was mouthy, just some teenage stuff there.” She also revealed her favorite [bleeped] curse word, that her first kiss with her high school boyfriend, Drew, when she was 15 and that she dropped yet another Easter egg during her earlier interview. Finally, Taylor sounds like she’s done with the album, and said that a new video is coming “soonish.” Watch Taylor’s full interview with Ellen on YouTube at TheEllenShow channel! WWW.ISSUU.COM/ZINETHIRTEEN
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ELLEN
Photos from Taylor’s Ellen Interview
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THE VOICE Taylor Swift and Brendon Urie Make ‘Voice’ Finale All About ‘Me!’ VARIETY
CHRIS WILLMAN
05.22.19
A new winner was crowned on “The Voice” Tuesday night. But did that champion emerge from a dark chrysalis as the world’s largest and most glittery butterfly? Sorry, Madelyn Jarmon — that is a parking spot that is still very much reserved for overall life champion Taylor Swift, who took to the NBC telecast to perform “Me!” on live television for the second time, having previously premiered it on the Billboard Music Awards telecast. Everyone’s favorite bullet with butterfly wings stepped down from that backdrop to be joined by a cadre of similarly minidress-wearing dancers, who looked like they might have been biding time on the back lot since serving as extras on the network’s production of “Hairspray Live!” two and a half years ago. Edna Turnblad would have been proud as the males in the cast came bearing tuxedos existing somewhere on the magenta-to-pink scale, save for their summery white shoes. It was a look soon echoed by the main man of “Me!,” Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco, joined in as ever for his part on the single, which is best described as an explosion of post-domestic-squabble makeup sugar. No marching band, this time, unlike the BBMAs; this eyeZINE THIRTEEN ISSUE 23 JUNE 2019
Taylor & Brendon Urie singing “ME!” together for the second time on televeision
popping extravaganza counted as the slightly bare-bones version of a “Me!” production number. Anyone expecting any fresh TS7 data will have to wait for it elsewhere as there was no chat time scheduled with Swift, whose sole spoken-word contribution was replacing the line “Spelling is fun!” with “Finales are fun.” And the show did, after all, also have ex-boyfriend Joe Jonas and his brothers, Halsey, OneRepublic, BTS and Hootie & the Blowfish
to get to — those last two not in tandem, sadly, despite everyone’s fondest hopes for a “Hold My Hand”/”Boy With Luv” mashup. Plus, amid this cavalcade of stars, there was the small matter of coronating the season’s winner, Jarmon, who looked like a young Hillary Scott who had transported herself to the future from the ’90s, bypassing her whole Lady Antebellum career for the far less certain future that awaits a “Voice” champion.
Where Jarmon landed was the “Me!” decade, with Swift and Urie doing their best to make this the song of the summer. If it did nothing else, this performance zeroed in on a slightly narrower color scheme — pink and gold, pink and gold, lots of pink and almost as much gold — until the performance went out on an unexpected dominance of blue. A twist ending like that has to count as an Easter egg. WWW.ISSUU.COM/ZINETHIRTEEN
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THE VOICE
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GERMANY TOP MODEL Taylor Swift’s Surprise Performance of “ME!” at GNTM Finale ZINETHIRTEEN
TANYA OHNMEISS
05.23.19
Heidi Klum, host of Germany’s Next Top Model, took to Instagram to reveal her surprise special guest for the finale. This guest was no one other than Taylor Swift! Taylor performed a private show for finalists, Simone, Cäcilia and Sayana. Taylor, of course, sang her new single, ME! from her still unannounced album title. Wearing a blue, sparkly romper, Taylor, her backup singers and band, put on a fun performance. One thing tha twas noticably missing was that the line, “Hey Kids! Spelling is fun!” was taken out of the song. Taylor also took over part of Brendon’s portion of the song and so did her backup singers. It definitely gives a different feel to the song not having Brendon involved. I wonder if she was trying out performing without him for tour purposes. It seems as though fans have mixed feelings about this from what I have read on social media. People find it to be strange taking this part out of the song, while others never liked that part in the first place. I personally would like to see “Spelling is fun!” or some variation of “_____ is fun!” during the tour. Like how she said “Vegas is fun!” or “Finale’s are fun!” during her past performances with Brendon ZINE THIRTEEN ISSUE 23 JUNE 2019
Taylor in a group with Heidi Klum and Germany’s Next Top Model’s finalists, Simone, Cäcilia and Sayana
Urie. I’m sure even if he is not on tour, Taylor could still include this part in the song. To me, it felt awkward with the pause. Not having this lyric doesn’t completely ruin the song for me, but, I always had fun shouting SPELLING IS FUN whenever I listen to it. I thought it would be exciting to shout each city is fun during the tour, like “NASHVILLE IS FUN!” or something like that. That’s what
many fans thought was going to happen, anyway. Now, we can’t be too sure. I know Taylor is constantly surprising us each day with her Easter eggs and variations, but I hope she doesn’t drop this line. But, that’s just ME! Haha, see what I did there? ;) Anyway, Taylor, I know people online can be rude or attack you on the smallest things. Please do not think that my thought of
this line is in any way an attack. I just really love the song as it was originally released. Yes, some people were not a fan of it, but everyone has their opnions! Also, to anyone reading this, please let me know your thoughts! Do you like that this part was taken out? Does it not matter? Reach out on social media to discuss. :) WWW.ISSUU.COM/ZINETHIRTEEN
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GERMANY TOP MODEL
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GRAHAM NORTON Taylor Swift Performs ‘ME!’ Without Brendon Urie on ‘The Graham Norton Show BILLBOARD
ASHLEY IASIMONE
05.24.2019
Taylor Swift continued her promo run for “ME!” with a stop by the BBC One’s Graham Norton Show, where she performed her new single sans duet partner Brendon Urie. Without the Panic! At the Disco singer but backed by a quartet of female vocalists in on-brand pastels, the latest live rendition of “ME!” took on a playful girl group vibe. Swift filled in for Urie on the song’s second verse, and notably omitted the exclamation of “Spelling is fun!” during the song’s bridge. (Meanwhile, prior live performances of “ME!” -- at the Billboard Music Awards and on the final night of this season of The Voice -- saw the line tweaked to “Vegas is fun!” and “Finales are fun!”)
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GRAHAM NORTON
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NRJ NRJ France Interview Translation TUMBLR
GAVINMTL
06.01.2019
Writing is the favourite part of my job because it is a way of communicating how you feel and then having that song go out to the rest of the world, and when other people say, “Oh, I felt that way too”, it’s very validating. It’s a whole process song writing - it’s not just sitting down and writing. It’s writing a song, it’s recording a song, sending it out, and then eventually you’ll be standing on stage and performing for a crowd. It’s a really beautiful cycle, and I always try to remember that my actions affect other people, so I do think about that a lot. Then the radio host then goes on to explain that while there is no set release date as of yet, there are clues within the music video. I wanted to pay homage to old American films. I wanted it to have a surreal kind of drama, very romantic, and very fantastical. It goes with the new aesthetic that I wanted to portray: pastel colours, bright colours, glitter… Our main influences were musicals, and I’m really happy with how it turned out. ME! is about individuality and the fact that it’s okay to be different. Sometimes, we feel so insecure, and you really feel so low at times, and bad about ZINE THIRTEEN ISSUE 23 JUNE 2019
ourselves, and I wanted to send a positive message about ourselves. When we decided to bring in Brendon, it was really about having a conversation between a couple, and having two people feel confident about themselves, and also feeling confident that the other person is very special, too. I wanted it to sound classic, and yet have something retro, with a horn section, but I also wanted it to feel very new.
NRJ posted a video of Taylor speaking with a French voiceover, this fan helped to translate. Thanks for sharing! WWW.ISSUU.COM/ZINETHIRTEEN
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NRJ Taylor Meeting Fans Outside the NRJ Studio
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THE VOICE FRANCE Taylor Swift Performs ‘Shake It Off’ & ‘ME!’ on ‘The Voice’ in France BILLBOARD
ASHLEY IASIMONE
05.25.2019
Although it’s been all about “ME!” for Taylor Swift lately, she also brought her old feelgood favorite, “Shake It Off,” to the stage on The Voice in France. Swift shared the stage with the show’s contestants during the quarter-finals Saturday (May 25). She was backed by the energy of 12 contestants, who had the chance to take lead during various parts of the hit single from her 1989 album. The group ended their performance with hugs and high fives. Swift returned to The Voice stage to perform “ME!” during the program without duet partner Brendon Urie, much like her appearance on The Graham Norton Show this week.
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PRIDE MONTH Taylor Swift Urges GOP Senator to Support LGBTQ Equality Act TIME
MEGAN MCCLUSKEY 06.01.2019
Taylor Swift is imploring Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee to defend LGBTQ rights by supporting the Equality Act. The legislation, which prevents discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, was passed by the House in May and has now moved to the Senate. Swift shared the request in an open letter on her Instagram on Saturday, the first day of LGBTQ Pride Month. She called on Alexander to “put aside partisan affiliations” and show support for “basic human rights” by backing the bill. “Our country’s lack of protection for its own citizens ensures that LGBTQ people must live in fear that their lives could be turned upside down by an employer or landlord who is homophobic or transphobic,” Swift captioned the post. “The fact that, legally, some people are completely at the mercy of the hatred and bigotry of others is disgusting and unacceptable. Let’s show our pride by demanding that, on a national level, our laws truly treat all of our citizens equally.” Swift also criticized President Donald Trump for opposing the passage of the Equality Act. “I personally reject the President’s stance that his WWW.ISSUU.COM/ZINETHIRTEEN
Taylor’s full letter to Senator Lamar Alexander
administration ‘supports equal treatment of all’ but that the Equality Act ‘in its current form is filled with poison pills that threaten to undermine parental and conscience rights,’” Swift wrote in the letter. “One cannot take the position that one supports a community while condemning it in the next breath as going against ‘conscience’ or ‘parental rights.’ That statement implies that there is something wrong with being anything other than heterosexual and cisgender, which is an incredibly harmful message to send to a
nation full of healthy and loving families with same-sex, non binary or transgender parents, sons or daughters.” Trump Swift
previously
after
Democratic
she
panned endorsed
candidate
Phil
Bredesen over Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn in the 2018 Tennessee Senate race. “Let’s say that I like Taylor’s music about 25% less now, OK?” he told reporters in
Taylor Encourages Her Fans to Write Letters of Their Own to Senators in Order to Have Their Voices Heard
October 2018. ZINE THIRTEEN ISSUE 23 JUNE 2019
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PRIDE MONTH Support the Equality Act CHANGE.ORG
TAYLOR SWIFT
06.01.2019
HAPPY PRIDE MONTH! While we have so much to celebrate, we also have a great distance to go before everyone in this country is truly treated equally. In excellent recent news, the House has passed the Equality Act, which would protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in their places of work, homes, schools, and other public accommodations. The next step is that the bill will go before the Senate. While there’s no information yet as to when the Equality Act will go before the Senate for a vote, we do know this: Politicians need votes to stay in office. Votes come from the people. Pressure from massive amounts of people is a major way to push politicians towards positive change. That’s why I’ve created this petition to urge the Senate to support the Equality Act. Our country’s lack of protection for its own citizens ensures that LGBTQ people must live in fear that their lives could be turned upside down by an employer or landlord who is homophobic or transphobic. The fact that, legally, some people are completely at the mercy of the hatred and bigotry of others is disgusting and unacceptable. Let’s show our pride by demanding that, on a national level, our laws truly treat all of our citizens equally. Dressed like a rainbow with all of the colors, Taylor Swift used her platform on iHeartRadio’s Wango Tango stage to perform several of her hits and to show support to the LGBTQ community.
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WANGO TANGO Taylor Swift Celebrates Pride Month With Wango Tango Performance & Speech: ‘We Need to Stand Together’ BILLBOARD
ASHLEY IASIMONE 06.02.2019
Dressed like a rainbow with all of the colors, Taylor Swift used her platform on iHeartRadio’s Wango Tango stage to perform several of her hits and to show support to the LGBTQ community. “It’s wonderful to be spending this particular evening with you because today is the first day of Pride Month,” she told Saturday night’s (June 1) Los Angeles crowd with a grin. “You know, a lot of my songs are about love and I just feel like who you love, how you identify -- you should be able to live your life the way you want to live your life. You should have the same exact rights as everybody else.” Swift, who earlier in the day had publicly penned an open letter to Tennessee senator Lamar Alexander urging the Senate to support the Equality Act, continued: “So, I started this petition, and you can find the link on my Instagram -it’s for the Equality Act, which basically just says that we want to send a message to our government that we believe everybody should be treated fairly in this country. If you sign it, it would really mean a lot to me because I think we need to stick up for each other, we need to stand together. Don’t you?” WWW.ISSUU.COM/ZINETHIRTEEN
She then delivered an acoustic “Delicate,” the only point of the night that saw the singer-songwriter alone with her guitar in front of the crowd. Swift didn’t waver much from previous acoustic renditions of the Reputation love song, save for a coy variation on her “’cause I like you” line. Headlining Wango Tango, Swift opened her spirited mini-show with “Shake It Off,” backed by her band and a group of four vocalists. Her set list also included “Blank Space,” “I Knew You Were Trouble,” “Love Story,” “Style,” “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” and “ME!” with Brendon Urie. ZINE THIRTEEN ISSUE 23 JUNE 2019
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WANGO TANGO More Photos from Wango Tango
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TIME 100 Out-takes From the TIME 100 Photoshoot
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WE ARE SWIFTIES You Can’t Spell Merch Without ME! Fans share their photos wearing Taylor’s new merch
ellie_ford_x
thestoryofus.ts
dancin.on.my.own13
dancin.on.my.own13
dancin.on.my.own13
tanyaxoh
swiftthisway
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taylor.s.fan
themagicalannaswiftie
brianaswiftie
Nadja Singer
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7secondsofstatic
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WE ARE SWIFTIES Taylor Fan Spotted at the Movies to See The Avengers: End Game DO YOU HAVE A
7SECONDSOFSTATIC 05.22.2019
I was at the theater, ready to see endgame. Next to me is an adult woman on her phone This was before the movie started. This was recently after ME! Came out, along with its merch. I spotted her buying some merch and got so excited, but was too shy. A few minutes later, I started watching the ME! Video since the movie hadn’t started yet and I was bored. Immediately the woman next to me smiled. I looked at her and she said
Swiftie Story TO SHARE?
‘’Is that the ME! Music video?’’ I was obviously happy to find another swiftie and I smiled. ‘’Yeah! Isn’t it amazing?’’ ‘’Yes! I LOVE it!’’ I said ‘’I’ve seen it so many times already! Did I just
see you getting merch?’’ ‘’Huh? Oh, yeah!’’ ‘’That’s so cool!’’ I saw another story about how Taylor brought someone together and it was awesome so I thought so share mine
Tell us your story to be included in next month’s issue of ZINEthirteen! Submit your content on any of ZINEthirteen’s social media or email to zinethirteen@gmail.com!
Oh My Swift!
Happy Birthday! June Instagram Swiftie Birthdays 2nd - @tenshi016 2nd - @queenmamma_2019 4th - @loverswift7 6th - @kamdyanne 6th - @lgross13 9th - @thestoryofus.ts 9th - @xx.shahanaaa.xx 10th - @sydneylovesswift
10thth - @_mere.dith
11 - @this.love_is.ours_13 12th - @magerella1 12th - @thepaintedmeow 13th - @klynn.13
14th - @taylor_made_trio13 14th - @jojo_siwa._.world 15th - @ishita_ishi_ishu
15th - @things.that.shine.13 17th - @alyssahelfrick13 18th - @the_swift_knight 18th - @13coy13 19th - @tanyaxoh 20th - @mandylight27 23rd - @ishiikaaah 24th - @timeofmylifeswift
29th - @lovely_tays
Do you or a friend have a birthday in July? Want it to be featured next month? Contact @zinethirteen! WWW.ISSUU.COM/ZINETHIRTEEN
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WE ARE SWIFTIES Fan Made Creation of Taylor’s TS7 Guitar INSTAGRAM
RODWALKER71 05.22.2019
This guitar took the efforts of all of us. I prepared it, my wife painted the clouds and glued the glitter hearts and Dani done the finishing coats and strings. Two months in total. Thanks to Xavier at Haworths Guitars for fixing the internal wiring. We love our new TS7.
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WE ARE SWIFTIES TS7 Guitar Cont.
RODWALKER71 05.30.2019
26 april a dedicated group of Swifties met in Sydney at one of the countdown billboards. The photo was put online by Daniella (@daniella_walker_) and liked by Taylor Nation on Instagram.
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WE ARE SWIFTIES I Can Show You Incredible Things... FEATURED TAYLOR SWIFT FAN ART OF THE MONTH
*All usernames listed were found at the time art was collected. If usernames changed between now and then, I apologize. Thanks!
swiftie_92
theswiftone13
Fans Recreate Taylor’s Looks
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WE ARE SWIFTIES Featured Swiftie Artist of the Month artofthewoodss
Calling All Artists!
Do you want to be featured as ZINEthirteen’s Artist of the Month? Please submit your request through a DM on social media or email zinethirteen@gmail.com *Must be Taylor related art
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WE ARE SWIFTIES I Met Taylor: My Story Dublin Meet & Greet INSTAGRAM
SWIFTIE_92
06.10.19
Backstory
When the rep era started, I never thought I’d meet Taylor. I was a very small blog on tumblr with maybe 400 follower and didn’t even think about a notice from Taylor. I also only became really active on tumblr during the drought cause I felt more comfortable and made a few friends. One of the friends I made was Alina and we quickly became best friends. Before that I just enjoyed watching everyone’s excitement, seeing amazing edits and posts. I also had accounts on twitter and instagram but wasn’t really active at the time. When Taylor first liked a post of mine back in October 2017 I was crying so hard and two days later TN started following me on tumblr. I also started to post some of my art work and I’m still blown away by all the nice responses. Flash forward to the week of my shows. I was on the floor when Taylor liked my post on monday before my shows. Not gonna lie, I had a bit of hope after that but didn’t want to get my hopes up too much. I practically had no hope left when I went to the airport to fly to Dublin on Thursday. I just settled with the thought that I wouldn’t meet her this era and was happy when I saw my friends at the airport ZINE THIRTEEN ISSUE 23 JUNE 2019
and we got so excited for the show. When we landed in Dublin my phone was nearly dead and I didn’t have service. When we finally arrived at our hostel room I charged my phone and connected to the Hostel wifi. Meanwhile Alina jokingly said ‚haha I’m sure you have a dm now‘. I opened my tumblr app and said ‘haha
no’ but while I said that I saw a little one at the messages. I thought nothing of it when I clicked on it but there was THE DM. I couldn’t believe my eyes and quite monotonously I said ‘I have one‘ while starring at it. Then I looked up to Alina and she was starring at me. It was so quite in the room for a moment then I stood up and more loudly
said ‚I got one!‘ while shoving my phone in Alina’s face. We hugged like koalas and we both fell to the ground. I was shocked and I knew it was them cause it said ‚mutuals for 7 months‘. I replied to their message and then we waited for their call. We were so nervous because we didn’t know when they would call and if they would call at WWW.ISSUU.COM/ZINETHIRTEEN
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WE ARE SWIFTIES all. So we decided to unpack. Maybe 10 or 15 minutes later my phone rang and my heart beat so fast when I saw it was a New York number calling. When I answered the call, it didn’t work and I only heard a static sound at the other end. Then I tried to call back but even that didn’t work and Alina and I panicked. I hate my phone! Alina suggested that we go outside so that my signal would be better and we quickly put our shoes on and left the room. In the hallway I got another call and this time it finally worked. The women from TN was very nice on the phone and I calmed down while answering her questions and listening to her instructions. We couldn’t believe that this happened and were beaming so much. I was so nervous the whole time till Saturday. I slept maybe three hours each night and couldn’t eat anything. I don’t know how I survived all these days with barely sleeping or eating anything. Alina forced me to at least finish my tiny bowl of cereal at the breakfast table. Friday I woke up having a sore throat and we went to the pharmacy to get medications and also something to calm me down. The concert on Friday was incredible, we tried to take all Polaroids, looked for the throne and bought merch, because we knew we didn’t have time for it the next day. I’ve also met so many nice people. During the concert while I was screaming the lyrics, dancing and watching her perform I couldn’t believe that I’d meet and hug Taylor tomorrow the same Taylor who is on stage right in front of me WWW.ISSUU.COM/ZINETHIRTEEN
slaying a stadium show. It was unbelievable. Alina and I wanted to write a letter to Taylor, so on Saturday we asked at the reception of our Hostel for an envelope and paper. I was shaking and my head was so empty but I tried to write it all down. Then we got ready and
headed to the stadium to pick up the envelope. When I finally held it in my hands I calmed down for the first time since Thursday. We weren’t allowed to go to stadium till 5pm so we searched for an empty site road to take pictures with the letter. When we arrived at the
meeting point we saw the other girls. We were a small group, I think seven people in total got contacted and most of them brought a plus one. We had to wait another hour there and when Linn came up I hugged continued on pg 30
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WE ARE SWIFTIES continued from pg 29
her so tight cause I was so happy she was there too. After a while a man from TN came to us to check our names and letters and another man gave us the meet and greet wrist bands.
Inside Rep Room
We were led punctually through the entrance of the stadium and had to wait briefly until our tickets were scanned. Then we got the light bracelets and were all squeezed into an elevator that drove us down. Inside the elevator I looked at Linn and Alina with my eyes wide open. I couldn’t believe what was happening. We were all so excited. Arrived below we had to put our phones away, because backstage no photos were allowed to be taken. We passed some of Taylor’s dancers, Camila and Charli’s dressing room and then we could see the entrance to the rep room. There we had to put our bags and things on a table and could give letters for Taylor to the man who already checked our names outside. Then we were allowed to go in. A woman showed us three Polaroid cameras and told us that we could take pictures with them. Everyone was so happy and while the others were already taking pictures, Alina and I looked around. We just couldn’t believe that we were in the rep room and wanted to have a closer look at everything. Everyone was very careful at the beginning and we wondered if we could touch things and everyone carefully touched the snake bar standing in the middle of the room. Alina and ZINE THIRTEEN ISSUE 23 JUNE 2019
I looked at the costumes and were so happy that the rainbow dress was on display. There were also drinks and since I was totally thirsty I took a water bottle. But it was so wet from the ice water that I couldn’t get it open. I tried a different water bottle but failed again and when I saw the confused look of one of the woman standing infront of the entrance I grabbed a diet coke can instead. Linn and her friend Iris came too and we had a drink and talked and could
hardly believe our happiness. Eventually Alina and I managed to get a Polaroid camera and took pictures on the throne. Alina’s photos are a bit blurry because I was shaking the whole time. We managed to take a picture in front of the rainbow dress when we were told that we had to put the cameras away. After we put the cameras away, everyone stood in the room and looked around, generally we were a very calm group. Then Linn and her friend
asked me if they could practice their photo with Taylor with me and we went to the mirror wall behind the drinks. Then someone recognized Tree in front of the Rep Room entrance and we all waved at her from inside, she waved back and came in and hugged everyone. When she hugged Alina and me she said “ahhhh so many tall girls, normally I am the tall one even when I don’t wear heels“. Tree was so sweet to our group. Suddenly a whisper went
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WE ARE SWIFTIES through the room that apparently Taylor went in and behind the curtain area. Then we could hear her voice behind the curtain. I was dying. Alina grabbed my arm and we just looked at each other with our eyes wide open. Suddenly I felt so sick and I regretted putting anything in my stomach that day. I put my hands on my stomach and walked up and down in rep room trying to calm me down. But every time I heard her voice I died again and I said to Alina ‘Let the others go first, I can’t go in there yet’. Then a blonde woman who came in with Tree walked up to Alina and me and asked where we came from, where from Germany and why we chose Dublin. It distracted me and calmed me down a bit. But then she was called away and Alina and I looked into the mirror a thousand times and went through what we want to say to Taylor for the hundredth time. I guess we were the penultimate ones in the room and the woman in front of the curtain waved us at her side and told us we’re next. I don’t want to know what my face looked like when she said that, and we could briefly see Taylor’s arm through the curtain. I got soooo incredibly nervous and Alina and I were trembling and tried to calm each other down and went through everything we wanted to say to Taylor one last time.
Meeting Taylor
(I don’t remember everything that happened after we went behind the curtain, this is just what I can slowly recal after WWW.ISSUU.COM/ZINETHIRTEEN
takling to Alina) Then the curtain came up and we went inside. And there was Taylor. The area was quite dark but when I saw her standing there I only thought „Oh my god! No that’s not real, that’s not her omg!“. My brain immediately stopped working and I forgot everything I wanted to say to her. She said ‘Hey guys’ and came up and hugged us. I was just amazed by her appearance. I was briefly astonished because I know that we are the same height but because of her boots (omg her boots) she was so tall. Even taller than Alina and Alina is 1,85m/6’1“. Taylor is so graceful I couldn’t breathe when I saw her standing here. On stage she looks so strong and powerful but when she stood in front of me my heart bursted with love for her and I wanted to fight everyone who ever said a mean thing about her. I hugged her so carefully and light. After she hugged us she said „You’re so tall“ and we said „You’re so beautiful“ idk what or if she replied. Alina complimented her boots and Taylor said „Yeah thank you, yes they’re so sparkly. I love your shoes too”. My brain was empty, I just stared at her and Alina was the real MVP during the entire conversation and much calmer than I was and always found subjects to talk and I could get back in the conversation when my brain had started working again. Alina said how incredible the first show was and suddenly my brain worked again and I said „We were crying so much
during the Long Live speech and during Long Live and-“ Taylor was looking at me and my brain stopped working and I began to stammle „ehmmm aaaaand’ Taylor looks at me further ‘emmmmmm, emmm’ I looked at Alina searching for help but when I broke eye contact with Taylor my brain remembered the song name and I quickly said „and New Years Day.“, breathed out relieved that I could finish the sentence. Taylor had the cutest look on her face and said „Awww you guys“. Alina then told her about how we walked to the B-stage and how close we were but the security was so mean during the Mean performance, we laughed. Then I don’t know how I did it but I said „Have you seen the back of my jacket?“ and I turned around. Alina told me that Taylor read the lyrics and then Alina pointed to the picture under the lyrics and said „Isa drew that“ and Taylor then „Ah you did that?“ and I turned around and said „Yes“ and Taylor asked me „Oh wow, so do you do this as our job?“ and I said no and told her what I’m studying and that I’m currently writing my master thesis and she replied „Oh, you’re so multitalented“ and I very shyly said „Thank you!’“ and shyly looked down. Alina then jumped back in and told her that we’ve left letters for her and a book about our group of friends and Taylor said „That’s so lovely!“. I don’t know how long we’ve been in the room by then but Taylor asked „Can I take a picture with you guys?“ and of course she could! We walked to the wall and I felt Taylor’s arm
on my shoulder and I looked right and saw her arm laying here in corner of my eye and I thought „OMG!“. Then I tried to catch myself and remembered that they wanted to take a picture and quickly looked to the camera and then remembered that I wanted to put my other arm around her so I quickly but very carefully (cause like I said she so precious!!!) put my front arm around her waist. Then Taylor Taylor’s put her head on mine and I think my eyes in the picture describe very well what was going on inside me at that moment. The flash was so bright omg I couldn’t really see anything and blinked so much. Then we hugged good-bye. After the hug we where rushed out and got the autograph and the number to get our picture. I was so starstruck that I robotically took my things we left outside rep room and Alina and I went out and met other people and looked for our seats. Then all of a sudden I started crying out of nowhere and it hit me that I just met Taylor. During the show I was dancing harder then ever before and screamed every lyric. I blacked out so much during the m&g and meeting Taylor is such a blur for me that I can only recall everything because of Alina. The only thing I can cleary remember is the feeling of Taylors arm laying on my shoulder for the picture. Taylor is so gorgeous and even though I couldnt tell her anything I planned on telling her I’m so so incredibly thankful for that experience and now that I’ve met her I’m even more protective of her! ZINE THIRTEEN ISSUE 23 JUNE 2019
THE LAST PAGE If you or someone you know would be interested in submitting content for ZINEthirteen, please let me know! There are multiple ways to submit items. Through social media (@zinethirteen) as well as email, zinethirteen@gmail.com. The more fan content submitted, the better! Content to be Submitted: • Fan Art • Fan Stories (ex. Concert experiences, meeting Taylor, how you became a fan, etc.) • Tour Photos • Merch Collections • Anything Taylor Related! If you have any questions, feel free to contact Tanya through her personal social media, ZINEthirteen’s social media or email. Thanks!
THANK YOU To all who have contributed to ZINEthirteen, follow on social media and overall support this whole idea. You are all beyond wonderful and I am very thankful to have you in my life. Let’s keep this going and bring more and more fans together! :) Jill (jacketandjill) with Taylor’s ME! mural edit
Holly (@h0llyarmstr0ng) printed herself a copy of the May issue of ZINEthirteen!
Disclaimer: I do am not in any way associated with Taylor Swift or Taylor Nation. Photos and material belong to their rightful owners, some sources are unknown while others are credited. I appoligize for any typos or incorrect usernames. All usernames that are used are the current names when the information is gathered. This online zine is strictly fan made and just for fun. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Thanks.
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