Why is Taylor Swift's lucky number 13? Connection explained - including major career milestones and easter eggs
The lore of Taylor Swift runs deep throughout the Swiftie fandom and one of the biggest easter eggs for fans is Taylor’s favourite number ‘13’.
The number has appeared to follow Taylor throughout her life and career, with the singer even incorporating ‘13’ in her work. Swifties have adopted the number as an easter egg in the Taylor Swift world, noting the special connection the singer-songwriter has to ‘13’.
She has announced major news on the 13th in the past, made nods to the number in her music videos and even timed intros to her songs perfectly to match 13 seconds.
But why is the number 13 Taylor’s lucky number? Here’s everything you need to know.
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Why is Taylor Swift’s lucky number 13?
The number 13 has been with Taylor since she was born, with the Cruel Summer singer born on December 13, 1989. Not only that, but in what seems like an eerie coincidence Taylor also turned 13 on the usually-unlucky Friday the 13th in 2002.
She started painting the number on her hand before hitting the stage during her Fearless tour in 2009 and 2010. While fans began spotting the star donning the number, Taylor explained her connection to 13 with MTV.
She said: "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. 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 No. 1 song had a 13-second intro. 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."
She added: "Basically whenever a 13 comes up in my life, it’s a good thing." Fans still write the number 13 on the back of their hand when attending her shows, as well as donning friendship bracelets as another nod to the star.
As result, Taylor has woven the number 13 into her music and work over the past two decades.
Taylor’s song ‘The Lucky One’ featured on her 2012 album ‘Red’ as the 13th song on the tracklist. The intro to the song is also exactly 13 seconds long and the word ‘lucky’ is used exactly 13 times throughout the song.
Taylor also dropped her critically-acclaimed album ‘Evermore’ just two days before her 31st birthday, saying: “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.
“You’ve all been so caring, supportive and thoughtful on my birthdays and so this time I thought I would give you something!”
Not only that, but she also released ‘Folklore’, his follow-up album when she was still 31 years old. Evermore featured 15 songs on the standard track list, while Folklore featured 16 songs - added together, this makes 31.
She also announced her most recent album release, The Tortured Poets Department, during the Grammy Awards 2024. While taking to the stage to receive her 13th(!) Grammy for her album Midnights, she told the audience: “This is my 13th Grammy, which is my lucky number. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you that.”
Taylor’s connection to 13 isn’t just carried through in her music, but in her personal life too. Many fans pointed out that Taylor’s appearance at the Super Bowl in February 2024 to support boyfriend Travis Kelce was her 13th time in the crowd of a Kansas City Chiefs game. ]
Of course, with it being Taylor’s lucky number, Kelce and the chiefs won the match. Not only that, but fans also points out that it was Super Bowl 58 - with 5+8=13.
There are hundreds of other easter eggs throughout Taylor’s life and career that carry ‘13’ on it - and eagle-eyed fans are still finding them to this day.