Taylor Swift made a surprise appearance Thursday at a commissioned art mural in Nashville a day before her scheduled big announcement. The “Reputation” singer posed in front of the giant mural in a beautiful lavender crop top and skirt combo, Entertainment Tonight reported. Artist Kelsey Montague completed the wall mural, which features cats, rainbows, butterflies and flowers. The theme of the mural matches the theme Swift has been sharing on her social media in advance of her Friday announcement. A few minutes before Swift appeared at the mural, she went live on Instagram to reveal her plans to her fans. (RELATED: Taylor Swift’s Latest Pop Essay Has Everyone Thinking She’s About To Drop A New Album) “We’ve commissioned this butterfly mural to be painted on a wall in Nashville,” Swift explained. “We put clues about the song and new music in the mural.” Montague had no idea what she was painting the mural for and didn’t know until Swift showed up at the site. (RELATED: Taylor Swift Goes To Recording Studio, Appears To Address Rumors Of New Music Coming Soon) “I had no idea this was all happening today,” Montague said. “ABC [told me they] actually commissioned the mural for the NFL draft. I came out working on a piece just for them, and they told me they wanted rainbows, cats, stars and hearts in it. It just all came together last minute.”<doc-sep>The Tennessean Taylor Swift visited a mural in Nashville on Thursday after fans spent hours there waiting for her to appear. Rumors had drawn hundreds of Taylor Swift fans to Nashville's Gulch neighborhood Thursday morning after a mural linked to Swift that debuted last week got an update, potentially linked to Swift's mysterious social media countdown teasing a surprise coming Friday, April 26. Just before noon, Swift appeared in a two-piece lilac outfit and posed in front of the mural before taking photos with fans. Earlier in the morning, two artists had added the word "ME!" to the mural, a colorful, building-tall set of wings from street artist Kelsey Montague that appeared last week. Swift thanked Montague in a tweet after her appearance, also teasing an interview on ABC later that evening. “So... @kelsmontagueart helped me pull off the best surprise clue reveal today in Nashville!” she wrote. “Thank you to everyone who showed up, I’ve never been more proud of your FBI level detective skills. Next clue: I’ll be joining the magnificent @robinroberts for a chat tonight on ABC” Swift launched earlier this month a countdown on social media that ends April 26 at midnight E.T., leading many to believe new music could be imminent. It’d be Swift’s first release since parting ways with Nashville label Big Machine Records last year to join Universal Music Group. Want news from USA TODAY on WhatsApp? Click this link on your mobile device to get started More:The craziest Taylor Swift fan theories about her mysterious April 26 release Maddie Gann, a 20-year-old Belmont student from Chicago, was among the fans on hand that morning. She had a final in venture management at 2 p.m. but couldn’t miss a chance to see Taylor. “I love her music, and she’s great to her fans so I know if she sees us she would come and talk to us and it’d be really great to talk to her,” Gann said. Mary Cooke Wiley came from work in MetroCenter when she saw the notifications Swift may be here. "I had to leave. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity if she is here. I came out specially because I feel like I grew up with Taylor Swift," she said. The wings wouldn't be Montague’s first interaction with Swift, either. In 2014, the “Delicate” pop star posted an Instagram photo featuring Montague’s #whatliftsyou New York art. Swift released her sixth studio album, “Reputation,” in November 2017 and supported the album on a record-breaking stadium tour that stopped in Nashville last summer.<doc-sep>Taylor Swift surprised fans in Nashville Thursday, appearing with no prior confirmation in front of a large butterfly mural that had earlier been rumored to be linked to an upcoming big announcement from the pop star. The mural with its large, brightly colored butterfly wings, first appeared in Nashville's Gulch neighborhood last week, sparking rumors of a Swift connection. Fans flocked to the mural Thursday morning when the artwork was given additional details, less than 24 hours before Swift is scheduled to make an announcement, or release new music, according to the Desert Sun. Appearing at the mural, Swift told the crowd of more than 200 fans that another hint to whatever this news is will premiere on ABC Thursday night between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET, according to Taylor Swift fan Twitter account, @Swift_Alert. She also applauded the audience for decoding the mural clue, which Swift acknowledged had no confirmed connection to her upcoming announcement. "You guys are amazing for figuring this out because no one knew we were coming," she told the crowd. "No one knew this was a part of the campaign and what we're doing. You figured out the clue. You're the best. I love you so much." The mural's artist, Kelsey Montegue, added the word "ME!" to the middle of the wings on Thursday morning as a crowd of Swift fans gathered. Many fans theorized that "ME!" could be the name of Swift's upcoming single, which would kick off the TS7 era. A Taylor Swift fan account posted this image on Twitter of the mural as it was Thursday morning: Taylor Swiftâs mural in Nashville has been unveiled?! âME!â Is in the middle... #TS7 pic.twitter.com/UMQ105vqQz — Taylor Swift News (@Swift_Alert) April 25, 2019 Swift fans have been following a detailed clue trail, and many Nashville locals found another piece in the puzzle before Swift's involvement was confirmed. Swift's Instagram account exploded with bright pastels over the past few weeks, and the mural is no different. The super-sized butterfly wings were painted on a pink wall, and included the bright colors the star had been wearing and showing since she teased April 26 as an important date. The mural also has symbolic hearts, 13 of them in the fashion of Swift's ever-present favorite number, which have also been featured in the April 26 build up. Swift appeared at the Time 100 Gala on Tuesday wearing a diamond-studded heart ring, similar to one in an image she posted on her Instagram. She also performed a set of acoustic songs with a new guitar, one with glittery, pink hearts painted on the instrument's face. Other images of cats and flowers are seen throughout the mural, two other living things the singer has used in promotional images. There are also seven stars in the mural, which some fans explained could signify the seventh album cycle for Swift, in a vocal Twitter conversation. Swift's team did not respond to Newsweek's request for comment on the possible connection. No other murals of similar design have been reported in other areas or cities. The artist, who has around ninety thousand followers on Instagram, originally told reporters on site that the mural is in connection with the 2019 NFL Draft, which begins Thursday, and which will also be carried by ABC, the very network Swift mentioned fans to watch Thursday for the next clue.<doc-sep>While some Taylor Swift fans had guessed correctly that a mysterious butterfly mural in Nashville was somehow connected to the pop star, not even the muralist behind the work of art knew of Swift's involvement until the superstar singer surprised everyone by showing up at the mural on Thursday. Artist Kelsey Montague was commissioned by ABC and ESPN to create the mural. And while Montague had no idea about Swift's involvement in the art, she did follow a strict set of guidelines to create the bright butterfly wings on the wall in Nashville's Gulch neighborhood. Montague's sister and manager, Courtney Montague, told Newsweek about thes guidelines. "It was interesting because they said butterflies, stars, rainbows and hearts," Courtney explained. "And then it was specific about the number of hearts. And then they said cats, which we thought was interesting. Specifically, two cats and one kitten." Fans on Twitter pointed out the mural had 13 hearts, which famously followed Swift's favorite number, as well as seven stars. The stars could symbolize Swift's expected, yet unconfirmed, seventh album. For the cats, however, there is an unexplained surprise. Swift is known to have two cats, Olivia and Meredith, so the inclusion of a third kitten is unexpected. On Thursday morning, Montague was asked to add the text "ME!" to the mural. She arrived to find a crowd of Swift supporters. Still, the artist didn't know what the word is meant to indicate. "This morning we were told we needed to put up some letters, then we were told these were the two letters," explained Courtney. Even Swift didn't give the artist a hint to the meaning, though. "She only said, when she was here, to watch ABC tonight. I asked the ABC team 'Well, what does ME! mean?" and they said 'You have to watch ABC tonight.' I honestly don't know anything." For Montague, interacting with Swift was a dream come true. Five years ago, Montague commissioned her first wing mural in New York City, and Swift shared a photo. This indirectly helped launch Montague's career. Now, she has nearly 90K Instagram followers. So definitely is going to be a song about how much she loves her cats, there are a lot of cats in the mural AND THAT IS FINE BY ME BECAUSE I LOVE THOSE CATS TOO🥰 #TSMural @taylorswift13 @taylornation13 pic.twitter.com/6hVweVLhvg — Lalisa / miss americana (@wildestdreamsSG) April 25, 2019 "We never thought we'd get to thank her or meet her, or any of this. To have this, it's the most amazing thing ever," Courtney explained. "I know Kelsey thanked Taylor and said 'You've changed my life,' and Taylor said 'I'm a big fan of yours,' so Kelsey said 'I'm a big fan of yours.'" Swift has teased an announcement at midnight ET on Friday. Fans expect she'll release a new single.<doc-sep>
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: In advance of her new album release, Taylor Swift surprises fans at the new Kelsey Montague "What Lifts You Up" Mural on April 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. Swift commissioned the mural and put clues about her upcoming new music in the piece. (Photo by Leah Puttkammer/Getty Images) NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: In advance of her new album release, Taylor Swift surprises fans at the new Kelsey Montague "What Lifts You Up" Mural on April 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. Swift commissioned the mural and put clues about her upcoming new music in the piece. (Photo by Leah Puttkammer/Getty Images) Taylor Swift’s mysterious countdown clock is still ticking to midnight tonight, but the Reputation singer has revealed new clues to her upcoming music release through a surprise butterfly mural that showed up in Nashville, Tennessee on Thursday afternoon. Fans flocked to see the art piece Swift’s team commissioned from street artist Kelsey Montague ahead of the release of her new song. The Grammy winner, 29, herself then showed up to the site after its unveiling. “You guys are amazing for figuring this out because no one knew we were coming, no one knew this was a part of the campaign and what we’re doing,” she said, as shown through fan-shot video of her appearance. The image features a pair of giant, colorful butterfly wings with the caption “ME!” Rumors swirled for weeks that it was something to do with Swift, but, speaking to fans through an Instagram Story video, she confirmed. “We’ve commissioned this butterfly mural to be painted on a wall in Nashville and put clues about the song and the new music in the new mural,” she said. What does it all mean? Well, butterflies are transformative and earlier in her Instagram Story, Swift commented about an Instagram butterfly filter that’s “gonna change into something else tonight at midnight.” Midnight also coincides with whatever her clock is counting down to. “So, it’s kind of a morphing filter,” she adds. Will Swift have a transformation of her own through this new music? She teased to the Nashville crowd, “We’ve got another clue coming tonight on ABC, so make sure to watch.” Swift later replied to a tweet from ABC’s Good Morning America that she’ll “be joining the magnificent Robin Roberts for a chat tonight on ABC live from Nashville.” Incidentally, ABC will be airing the first round of the NFL draft, which is happening in Nashville and will be hosted by Roberts, starting at 8 p.m. Near the top of the broadcast, Swift made an appearance alongside Robin Roberts in a rainbow-colored sparkling dress, but she kept her secrets close, discussing Nashville’s importance in her career and teasing, “There are more clues to come.”