How Starbucks Is Really Celebrating Taylor Swift's Red Re-Release

Taylor Swift's relationship with Starbucks, in many ways, goes back to 2014 when she released her iconic album "1989." Swift's hit single "Blank Space" contained a commonly misunderstood lyric that brought the coffee chain some unintentional publicity. In a line in the chorus, Swift sings, "Got a long list of ex-lovers." But many fans instead heard, "All the lonely Starbucks lovers."

Swift leaned into the joke in a since-deleted tweet on Valentine's Day 2015. "Sending my love to all the lonely Starbucks lovers out there this Valentine's Day.....even though that is not the correct lyric," she wrote (via HITC). Starbucks even wrote back, tweeting, "Wait, it's not?" In another since-deleted tweet, Swift revealed that even her mom misheard the lyric. "'hahah it really does sound like Starbucks Lovers...' – my mom just now who is SUPPOSED TO BE ON MY SIDE Smh," she wrote, per HITC.

Then, in 2019, when Swift released her single "ME!," a hoax made the rounds on Twitter claiming that if you posted a screenshot of yourself playing the track with the hashtag #MEBUCKS, you would get a free Starbucks drink, Observer reported. But now, upon the re-release of Swift's album "Red," Starbucks and the singer are finally — and not accidentally — collaborating.

On November 12, Starbucks took to Twitter to announce a special drink: a Grande Caramel Nonfat Latte (Taylor's Version), a nod to the suffixes on her re-released albums and songs. According to CNN, this latte is Taylor Swift's favorite Starbucks drink. Stars — they're just like us! "Watch it all begin again..." Starbucks wrote on the Tweet, alongside a video of the special edition cup the drink seemingly comes in.

This isn't the first time Starbucks has done a drink collaboration with a pop star, either. In 2019, they teamed up with Ariana Grande to launch the Cloud Macchiato, a macchiato topped with cold foam. Grande's drink generated controversy, though, as it was not vegan-friendly despite the singer's own vegan status, according to TODAY. Hopefully, Swift's latte will be better received.

Musical collaborations seem to be frothy in the fast-food industry generally these days. McDonald's will be teaming up with Mariah Carey and launching a "Mariah Menu" in December, where they will give away a free item every day for 12 days leading up to the holidays. Apparently, the famed singer is a fan of the golden arches. "Some of my favorite memories with my kids are our family trips to McDonald's," she said in a press release (via CNN), "And of course, each of us has our go-to order. Mine is the cheeseburger, and I get it with extra pickles."