Swifties are having a heyday dissecting the lyrics on Taylor Swift’s tenth album Midnights. It’s been pointed out that in the song “Snow on the Beach” the singer namedrops another iconic popstar, Janet Jackson. Now, Jackson has responded to the song, and it looks like she loves it.
The “Rhythm Nation” singer posted a TikTok reaction to the song. She’s smiling throughout, bopping along to Swift’s and Lana Del Rey's soothing voices. Jackson is specifically listening to the part where her name is mentioned. Check it out:
@janetjackson ♬ original sound - Janet Jackson
It looks like she approves of the song. As she’s bopping along to the chill tune she whispers, “that’s nice.” The song is super sweet, and Jackson’s mention is incredibly clever. To break it down a bit, the lyrics in the song say:
But your eyes are flying saucers / from another planet / Now I’m all for you like Janet / Can this be a real thing? Can it?
According to Genius, this line is a nod to Jackson’s song “All For You” which is about being fully committed and devoted to your significant other, especially at the beginning of a relationship. In an Instagram post explaining the song, Swift says “Snow on the Beach” is about “falling in love with someone at the same time they’re falling in love with you.” She says it’s a “cataclysmic” moment and describes it as a dream, so Jackson's name being mentioned makes total sense.
Swift’s latest album has a lot of fun references and collaborators. She mentioned that the show Mad Men inspired the song “Lavender Haze.” Also there we some cool cameos throughout the album, from actors Zoë Kravitz and William Bowrey (AKA her longtime boyfriend Joe Alwyn) credited as songwriters on “Lavender Haze” and “Sweet Nothing,” respectively. Also, Dylan O’Brien played drums on “Snow on the Beach.” The call out to Jackson in the same song was the cherry on top of the myriad of fun names associated with Midnights.
Swift has a storied history of using real names in her songs, a few mentions include Tim McGraw, the HAIM sisters, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' children, Drake and now Janet Jackson.
There are plenty of nice name drops and inspirations throughout Swift’s music however, some people have been the alleged subjects of some of Swift’s darker songs, which are also some of her biggest hits. While he isn't specifically name-dropped, it’s well-known that “All Too Well” is likely about Jake Gyllenhaal, which awkwardly came up earlier this year. Other exes who Swifties think various songs are about, include Joe Jonas, John Mayer and Harry Styles. It's also speculated that other songs are about her feuds with Scooter Braun and Kanye West.
While Midnights is the biggest thing for Swift this year, she’s worked on various projects throughout 2022. She made her way onto the 2022 movie schedule by appearing in the star-studded movie Amsterdam, and she wrote an original song for the movie adaptation of the bestselling book Where the Crawdads Sing.
I’m sure we’ll learn more about fun Easter eggs in Midnights as Swift continues to promote her new album. Along with Swift's various upcoming projects, I’d imagine she’ll likely announce a tour soon, but in the meantime, you can check out the Reputation tour with a Netflix subscription. She has a reputation for bringing in special guests to perform with her, so who knows, maybe Jackson will show up.
