Taylor Swift Credits the Dixie Chicks for Inspiration Behind Immersive Album Experience

Here's what the portrait hanging on Swift's wall is likely all about.

Taylor Swift Credits the Dixie Chicks for Inspiration Behind Immersive Album Experience
LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 24: Singer-songwriters Taylor Swift (L) and Natalie Maines of the band Dixie Chicks perform onstage during Taylor Swift The 1989 World Tour Live In Los Angeles at Staples Center on August 24, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/TAS/Getty Images for TAS)

Country-pop superstar Taylor Swift cleverly nods to the Dixie Chicks in her imaginative video for the new single, “Me!” And in a new batch of interviews she there’s a very specific reason for including the “Easter egg” in her video.

“Me!” is the first taste of Swift’s upcoming seventh studio album and a high-energy collaboration with Panic! at the Disco frontman Brendon Urie. Speaking with ABC’s Robin Roberts during the 2019 NFL Draft broadcast in Nashville, Swift said the track is all about “individuality and really celebrating it and owning it.”

“With a pop song, we have the ability to get a melody really stuck in people’s heads and I just want it to be one that makes them feel better about themselves,” she said.

That celebration of individuality is something the Dixie Chicks have long been praised for – changing perceptions about female artists as creative powerhouses who played their own instruments in an era of high-flying vocalists like Faith Hill, Martina McBride and Shania Twain.

With that in mind, Swift told Entertainment Weekly the trio inspired her to “think bigger” when it comes to making her own albums. And that’s likely why they make subtle a cameo in the “Me!” video, appearing as a painting hanging on the wall of Swift’s apartment surrounded by cats.

“The Dixie Chicks were making such interesting music and doing it in such an unapologetically feminine, imaginative way,” Swift said. “I was very inspired by the album Fly and the aesthetics, because it was very clear they had really put a lot into the artwork. And so it got my brain thinking bigger in terms of, you know, you make an album, but then you can choose an entire look and color palette and aesthetic and symbolism and imagery and backstories — that you can really make an album even more of an experience if you so choose.”

Taylor Swift “Me!” music video; Photo via YouTube (Directed by Taylor Swift & Dave Meyers)

The hit maker went on to tell Roberts hiding little clues like the painting in her work is just part of the fun for her.

“The fans are amazing. I cannot believe how dedicated they are, how thoughtful, I can’t believe how much they care,” she said. “It makes it more fun for me to create music knowing that they’ll care about little Easter eggs or clues or hints.”

“Me!” is out now and has already cracked the Top 5 of Billboard’s all-genre Hot 100 chart.