An unexpected member of the Tortured Poets Department has been revealed. Taylor Swift’s longtime friend Emma Stone is credited on one of her new songs, but fans are still trying to work out just what the bizarre shoutout means. No, Stone doesn’t have a straightforward songwriting or production credit — she’s credited with providing the “oddities” in one of the loudest Tortured Poets songs.
After a close reading of the lyric booklet in the physical copies of The Tortured Poets Department, Swifties noticed a familiar name on the “Florida!!!” page: Emily Jean Stone. (That’s Oscar-winner Emma Stone’s real name, BTW). But nobody’s really sure what “oddities” Stone provided for the song.
“Florida!!!” is a booming collaboration with Florence Welch, in which Swift and Welch sing about escaping to the state to avoid some drama and lie low. The most notable bit of production is the crashing cymbals in the chorus — could Stone have been behind that experimental touch? It’s not totally clear, but some Swifties have pointed out an “oddities” credit could acknowledge a musician creating an unconventional sound, so maybe?
Or maybe Stone just helped Swift come up with some ideas for the song. Swift has said “Florida!!!” was birthed from her love of Dateline. “People have these crimes that they commit; where do they immediately skip town and go to? They go to Florida,” the singer told Amazon Music. “They try to reinvent themselves, have a new identity, blend in. I think when you go through a heartbreak, there’s a part of you that thinks, ‘I want a new name. I want a new life. I don’t want anyone to know where I’ve been or know me at all.’ And so that was the jumping off point. Where would you go to reinvent yourself and blend in? Florida!”
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Was Stone watching Dateline with Swift when the idea for the song happened? Or maybe she’s the owner of that mysterious timeshare down in Destin. We may never know what “oddities” really mean unless Swift or Stone clarifies, but it’s nice to see the two stars’ friendship going strong. Stone and Swift have supported one another for over a decade and a half, and Stone is heavily rumored to be the inspiration behind Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) song “When Emma Falls In Love.”