Taylor Swift fan theories on mystery memoir thwarted after publisher confirms it is K-pop stars BTS
The artist behind a rumoured mystery memoir that had Taylor Swift fans convinced the star was releasing a book has finally been revealed - and it is not the Nashville singer.
A book, previously known only as “4C Untitled Flatiron Nonfiction Summer 2023," shot to the top of of US sales charts when the 33-year-old's fans - known as Swifties - read into small details that they believe alluded to her involvement.
But publishing house Flatiron has unveiled the musicians responsible for the work is actually global K-pop boyband BTS.
The book is titled Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS, and is written by journalist Myeongseok Kang alongside bandmates RM, J-Hope, Jimin, V, Jin, Suga, and Jungkook.
It comes as the South Korean stars announced a hiatus for the band while each member enlists for their mandatory military service - news that rocked the community of BTS fans and will no doubt help bolster book sales in their absence.
It is available from Flatiron, an imprint of the publisher Macmillan at a pre-order price of $40 (£32) and has recently risen as high as number one and two in the Barnes & Noble’s pre-orders chart and Amazon book sales chart, respectively.
Both online platforms have the book available to pre-order but do not show any more information, other than its title and authors, that it has 544 pages, and it is written in English.
It has also been described in the alleged publisher's document, circulating on social media, as a “biography or autobiography” that would feature 40 colour photos.
There are a few significant dates for both BTS and Taylor Swift that led fans astray.
And Swift, currently performing in sell-out stadiums across the states on her Eras Tour, is known to leave numerical hints in plain sight in the build-up to album drops or music videos.
The book’s original announcement was slated for June 13 - Swift's "lucky number" and birth date (December 13), before it was pushed to July 9.
Then, keen-eyes supporters were also quick to spot that Swift singled out July 9 in her announcement for the re-release of her third album Speak Now (Taylor's Version).
"It fills me with such pride and joy to announce that my version of Speak Now will be out July 7 (just in time for July 9th)," she wrote to Twitter followers, along with the acronym for "If you know you know."
They also speculated that her decision to use "dear reader" in the announcement was a clue that a book would follow, and that the number of pages add up to the number 13, too (5+4+4).
Adding fuel to the fan fire, books shops across the US capitalised on the rumours in a bid to cash in on the theories.
Skylark Bookshop in Missouri encouraged readers to “preorder now” in an Instagram post featuring numerous Swift lyrics in the caption.
The post read: "We have something important to announce… Are you ready for it?
"On July 9th, a memoir will be released. The cool thing? We have no idea who wrote it or who it is about. We only have our suspicions.
"The details of the book will be announced on June 13th. We wonder, is there a celebrity who has an affinity for that number? Only time will tell."
The fan chaos prompted the hashtag #TaylorSwiftBook on TikTok, which has now garnered over four million views.
The evidence was just enough to make fans wonder, but not so much that it would no longer be a surprise - just the way the popstar likes it.
Surely, she was teasing Swifties once again?
If she was, it was not about the release of this book. June 13 and July 9 are also crucial dates for Grammy-nominated BTS.
The group debuted on the first date, and their passionate fan base, named Army, was founded on the second.
The book’s release will coincide with the fan group’s 10th anniversary.
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