Since Taylor Swift began re-releasing her studio albums in 2021, Swifties have been waiting as patiently as a Swiftie can for reputation (Taylor’s Version) to finally hit streamers. For more than three years, they’ve monitored Swift’s social media, her Eras Tour sets, her outfits, and even her boyfriend’s outfits, searching for clues that rep (TV) is on the horizon.
So it should come as no surprise that they’ve discovered a new “clue” that has the fandom wringing their hands, wondering, “coincidence? Or confirmation?” Let me explain.
On Wednesday, October 9, Shawn Mendes revealed on his Instagram Stories that he would be delaying the release of his latest album, Shawn, which was originally supposed to drop on October 18. Per People, the musician wrote that he and his team made the decision to push the release date to November 15 because they “just need a little bit more time to bring some new inspirations and ideas to life.” He added, “I love you guys, thank you for being so patient. I can’t wait to see you guys at the next few shows.”
Then, it appeared that Joe Jonas had also delayed the release of his solo album, which was initially supposed to drop on October 18 as well. On Reddit, fans who had pre-ordered Music for People Who Fall in Love said they had received an email at the end of September noting that the album would not be released until 2025. On his website, a CD pre-order link states that the album will ship “no later than December 31, 2025.”
So that’s two different artists on two different labels (Mendes is signed to Island Records, and Jonas to Republic Records) who may have chosen to steer clear of October 18. Huh.
Let’s be clear: Delaying an album release isn’t all that uncommon in the music industry. Some artists have even developed reputations as perfectionists who will delay their releases multiple times in order to tweak and fine-tune the final product to their liking. There could very well be a logical reason that two artists who initially had an October 18 album release date would both postpone that has nothing to do with fear of a little competition.
