I think we’ve all been anxiously awaiting Taylor Swift’s next big move. Tom Hiddleston, in particular, is probably sweating bullets right about now. When will Taylor release her next album? How many blind-item songs will there be? What kind of promotional tour will she do? What will those interviews sound like? Yes, it’s going to be crazy. I theorized at some point that Taylor is breaking her cycle of releasing a new album every two years, always in October or November – my theory is that she’ll release a new album next spring. Well, it might be sooner than that! Because Tay-Tay is making moves to dominate next February. She’s just signed on to perform at the big pre-Super Bowl event in Houston.

Time to shake it off! Taylor Swift will headline an AT&T DIRECTV pre–Super Bowl show the night before the big game in Houston, Texas, on Saturday, February 4, the company announced on Tuesday, October 4. Whether she will debut new music is yet to be determined! The performance is in conjunction with an exclusive multi-year deal that Swift, 26, just signed with AT&T. A custom 64,000-square-foot venue is being built just for the star, and fans will have a chance to get tickets throughout a variety of AT&T promotions and campaigns.

“We’re thrilled to reach a deal to bring Taylor and her unique talents to her fans and our customers in new and exclusive ways,” AT&T CEO John Stankey said in a statement on the company’s website. “We’re excited to get event tickets into the hands of Taylor’s fans and exclusive content from the event to our customers and celebrate the combination of one of the world’s biggest artists with one of the world’s biggest sporting events.”

Swift already has major sponsorship deals with Apple Music and Diet Coke. She became a brand ambassador for the Coca-Cola company in 2013. Its arch rival, Pepsi, has sponsored the Super Bowl halftime show for years. This is Swift’s first big music announcement since ending her 1989 world tour in December 2015.

[From Us Weekly]

Her brand-ambassadorship with Coke has long been the “excuse” for why Taylor has never been invited to do the Pepsi-sponsored Super Bowl Half-Time show, although there are many theories floating around that Taylor has actually shown some interest but the NFL didn’t want her. Just like there are theories that Taylor offered a song for the Olympics but NBC went with Katy Perry instead. I have no idea if any of that is true. Anyway, the bigger story here is that Taylor scored another lucrative endorsement deal, and that she’s making the kinds of moves that would seem to indicate that she’s going to release a new album… soon. Maybe January/February? Which means that Taylor might appear on January magazine covers, which come out in December. Swiftmas!!!

Photos courtesy of PCN, Fame/Flynet.