Taylor Swift announces first new song since her wedding

Taylor Swift has announced a new song, the first since she tied the knot with NFL player Travis Kelce in what was dubbed America's royal wedding.

The song, titled Patient Zero, is due to be released on Friday, US Eastern time.

It was announced in true Swift fashion early Tuesday morning, local time, with the pop powerhouse launching a cryptic countdown clock on her website.

Her dedicated fans, known as Swifties, quickly got to work trying to decode whatever news was coming, noting that her official Instagram bio changed to read, "And, baby, that's sh0w business f0r y0u," with each "o" replaced with a zero.

Now it seems clear the gesture referenced the new song's title.

Once the countdown timed out, her website updated to reveal three limited-edition CD variants of the new track: one with a double-sided cover, plus an acoustic and piano version, for $US3.99 ($5.60) each.

It is her first new song since marrying Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden in July.

Swift's last album, The Life of a Showgirl, was released last October, and she contributed a song to the Toy Story 5 soundtrack in June.

News dropped ahead of Swift's history-making MTV VMAs

On Monday, it was announced that Swift will receive the inaugural Artist Director Honors at the MTV VMAs on Sunday, becoming the most awarded artist in VMA history.

Swift is tied with Beyoncé for the title. They have 30 each.

The new award aims to recognise artists "whose work behind the camera has expanded the possibilities of music video and advanced the art of visual storytelling".

Swift has nine nominations at this year's award show, following only Madonna, who leads with 11.

Her appearance at Sunday's show raised the spectre of further announcements, as Swift has been known to make news onstage.

Announcement follows Swift's 2026 Emmys pre-taped skit

At the Emmys last week, Swift appeared in a pre-taped skit, playing a rookie in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit office.

Mariska Hargitay's Olivia Benson went through two large crime boards to make connections between Swift's songs and the Emmy-nominated shows to see if she would attend the telecast.

One of the detectives called it a "rabbit hole." In reality, Swift was at Arrowhead Stadium during the award show, sitting alongside Tom Cruise to watch the Chiefs open the NFL season against the Denver Broncos.

In one pointed moment, Swift looked to the camera and appeared to utter a series of hints: "Saccharide. Ares. From the Vineyard. North or South," she said. Fans have been urgently trying to decode the message since.