Taylor Swift Breaks Spotify Record With “Patient Zero” Surprise Release

September 26, 2026 6:32am Taylor Swift Gareth Cattermole/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management The previously unreleased song released by Taylor Swift yesterday as part of The Life of a Showgirl: Encore record has already scored some records of its own. Spotify says that one of the four Swift songs released yesterday – “Patient Zero” – immediately became Spotify’s most-streamed song by a female artist in a single day in 2026 so far. And Swift herself became the most-streamed female artist in a single day this year. We can expect more streamings of “Patient Zero” – along with the three other “new” songs included in The Life of a Showgirl: Encore expanded release, including “Babylon,” “Pink Clouding” and “Cleveland!” – when Swift unveils the full, world premiere music video for “Patient Zero” during Sunday night’s MTV Video Music Awards (on CBS and MTV, streaming on Paramount+ Premium in the U.S.). A teaser clip of the “Patient Zero” video dropped Thursday, and even that brief bit seemed to provide enough clues to keep Swiftophiles scrambling for hidden messages. We know stars Colin Farrell and Dakota Johnson made appearances in the clip, but that’s about all we know for sure. Watch on Deadline The Swifitian conjecture has been brewing since Swift appeared in a recent Law & Order: SVU-themed Emmy telecast skit with Mariska Hargitay. Some strange words spoken by Swift – “Saccharide. Aries. From the vineyard. North or south” – that have had die-hards deciphering ever since. Maybe all will be revealed Sunday. Or maybe not. Must Read Stories Read More About: Subscribe to Deadline Get our Breaking News Alerts and Keep your inbox happy. Sign Up