Karma
"Lost Album" Fan Theory
This article is about the fan theory. For the 2022 song, see Karma.
Karma is the name of a rumored, secret album that some fans speculated Taylor was working on during her 2016 hiatus. Despite the buzz, Taylor has made it clear she wasn’t creating new music at the time, making “Karma” more of a fan-theory legend than reality. The rumor has no connection to the actual song “Karma,” which later appeared on her tenth studio album, Midnights (2022), delighting fans who had long speculated about the mysterious title.
Table of Contents
Background
Across countless breakdown videos and Twitter threads, Taylor’s Easter egg–loving fans have pieced together clues about a “lost” album in her discography. Speculation suggests it might have been titled Karma and was intended to follow her pop blockbuster 1989 (2014). What actually unfolded after 1989 may explain why the alleged Karma album was never released—if it even existed. In 2016, Taylor faced a very public feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, prompting her to go radio silent for nearly a year until the release of 2017’s reputation. That period also included controversies over her perceived political neutrality during the 2016 election and alleged fallouts with members of her infamous “squad.”
Theory
Fans speculate that Karma was recorded in 2016—a turbulent year for Taylor. To set the scene: after the massive success of 1989, her full plunge into pop superstardom, Taylor spent most of 2015 on the road touring stadiums with “The 1989 World Tour.” But 2016 proved rocky. Earlier in the year, she appeared to have patched things up with Kanye West following his infamous 2009 MTV Video Music Awards interruption. But their friendly public interactions ended in February when West released “Famous,” which included the provocative lines “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/Why?/I made that bitch famous.”
Taylor spoke out against the song, sparking a back-and-forth over whether she had approved the lyrics. The feud reached a peak in July when West’s then-wife, Kim Kardashian, released Snapchat videos showing Taylor seemingly agreeing to the song over the phone. The controversy prompted Taylor to step away from social media and largely avoid public appearances for the rest of 2016. Until then, she had consistently released albums every two years, making the sudden gap in her discography unusual—and fueling speculation that she may have been quietly working on new material.
Amid all this, Taylor debuted a new look that hinted at a forthcoming era. That spring, she chopped off her long hair and bleached it—an edgier, punk-influenced style unlike her previous image. She showcased the transformation on the cover of Vogue, at Coachella, and at the MET Gala. Fans quickly noted that, historically, Taylor’s bold hair and style changes have often signaled the start of a new musical era, and 2016 was no exception. Her fashion leaned glam and sometimes punk, signaling a shift in both aesthetic and artistic direction.
Taylor spoke out against the song, sparking a back-and-forth over whether she had approved the lyrics. The feud reached a peak in July when West’s then-wife, Kim Kardashian, released Snapchat videos showing Taylor seemingly agreeing to the song over the phone. The controversy prompted Taylor to step away from social media and largely avoid public appearances for the rest of 2016. Until then, she had consistently released albums every two years, making the sudden gap in her discography unusual—and fueling speculation that she may have been quietly working on new material.
Amid all this, Taylor debuted a new look that hinted at a forthcoming era. That spring, she chopped off her long hair and bleached it—an edgier, punk-influenced style unlike her previous image. She showcased the transformation on the cover of Vogue, at Coachella, and at the MET Gala. Fans quickly noted that, historically, Taylor’s bold hair and style changes have often signaled the start of a new musical era, and 2016 was no exception. Her fashion leaned glam and sometimes punk, signaling a shift in both aesthetic and artistic direction.
Karma Is Real
The title Karma wasn’t purely a product of Swiftie speculation. At the time, Taylor herself was talking about “karma” frequently. For the same Vogue cover where she debuted her new look, she also participated in the magazine’s “73 Questions” interview on YouTube. When asked what her biggest life lesson had been, she made a point to highlight:
«Karma is real.»
The word itself is a common phrase and could have simply referenced her very public feuds with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. But it resurfaced a few years later in the video for the Lover single “The Man,” which marked Taylor’s directorial debut. In the video, she highlights the privileges men often take for granted. At one point, her male alter ego urinates in front of a wall graffitied with the names of the albums Taylor would later begin re-recording. Prominently in the center, the word “karma” appears next to a sign that reads: “MISSING: IF FOUND RETURN TO TAYLOR SWIFT.”
The Color Orange
After 2016, the color orange began appearing repeatedly in Taylor’s visuals, leading fans to associate it with the mysterious “lost” album and hunt for it in every video and performance. In the “Look What You Made Me Do” video, for instance, she wears a striking orange outfit while swinging in a giant birdcage—a moment widely interpreted as a metaphor for the album being trapped in vault purgatory (The song also famously features the lyric, “All I think about is karma.”).
Years later, orange was officially designated as the signature color for Taylor’s twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl (2025).
Years later, orange was officially designated as the signature color for Taylor’s twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl (2025).
Why the Theory Is Not True
Taylor rarely acts without intention, and every detail—from her bleached hair to the graffiti in her music videos—suggests she might have been contemplating a new direction in 2016. Still, the existence of Karma remains highly unlikely. Taylor herself had stated she would be taking a break from creating, and she was not seen entering or leaving recording studios. While she may have been jotting down ideas, there’s no evidence she was actively working on an album. When asked by Vogue in early 2016 about what was next for her, Taylor responded:
«I have no idea. This is the first time in ten years that I haven’t known. I just decided that after the past year, with all of the unbelievable things that happened...I decided I was going to live my life a little bit without the pressure on myself to create something. I’m always going to be writing songs. The thing is, with me, I could very well come up with three things in the next two weeks and then jump back into the studio, and all of a sudden the next record is started. That’s an option, too. But probably not for the moment. I would really like to take a little time to learn things. I have lots of short-term goals.»
Her hiatus from public life and music effectively lasted about nine months. She returned to work in September 2016, beginning the writing and recording process for her next album, which she had already decided would be called reputation.
General Information
| Associated Era | Music Hiatus (2016-2017) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Time Frame | 2015-2016 | ||
| Rumored Genre | Pop EDM | ||
| Producer | Taylor Swift | ||
TAYLOR SWIFT CHRONOLOGY | |||
| |||
73 Questions with Vogue
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