All the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Easter eggs in 'Christmas in the Spotlight'
- Lifetime released "Christmas in the Spotlight" this year.
- It's about the world's biggest pop star falling in love with a football player. Sound familiar?
- The movie is filled with Easter eggs and references to both Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
Many have said that the relationship between Taylor Swift, one of the most — if not the most — popular musicians in the world right now, and Travis Kelce, a hugely successful NFL player, feels straight out of a romantic comedy.
The holiday movie geniuses over at Lifetime certainly did — and that's why "Christmas in the Spotlight," a Lifetime Christmas movie about a pop star and a football player falling in love, has been brought into the world.
Screenwriter Eirene Tran Donohue told USA Today that Christmas and Taylor Swift are the "two great loves of my life."
"I think this movie does stand if you've never even heard of Taylor Swift or Travis Kelce," she said. "I think that Swifties will enjoy it and understand that it was made with love and that it is not an attack on her and it's not trying to be exploitative," she continued.
Although there are some key differences between our main characters, Bowyn and Drew, and Swift and Kelce, the references to their real lives abound.
Here are all the Easter eggs we found in "Christmas in the Spotlight."
Swift has directed the videos for "I'm Only Me When I'm With You," "The Best Day," "Mine," the vertical version of "Delicate," Me!," "You Need to Calm Down," "Lover," "Christmas Tree Farm," "The Man," "Cardigan," "Willow," "Anti-Hero," "Bejeweled," "Lavender Haze," "Karma," "I Can See You," "Fortnight," and "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart."
Bowyn also flexes her bicep, which Swift did when she performed "The Man" on tour.
Of course, "Fifteen" is a song from Swift's album "Fearless." Mira fittingly calls her jacket "a classic."
Bowyn also later notes she became famous when she was 15.
The number 13 is basically holy in the Swift fandom.
Swift was born on December 13, and has since made it a huge part of her relationship with fans. For years, she even drew a 13 on her hand for every concert, which meant that fans still did it at the Eras Tour, years after she stopped.
The very first lyrics of "Teardrops on My Guitar" are "Drew looks at me/I fake a smile so he won't see."
It's a reference to Swift's real-life classmate, Drew Hardwick, whom she had a crush on.
Unlike Jason and Travis Kelce, who never played on the same NFL team, Rob and Drew play for the same "NFO" team: the Bombers.
Is that a reference to the beloved Swift song "Daylight," which states that she "once believed love would be burning red" — or "black and white" — "but it's golden"? Perhaps.
In real life, Jason Kelce has three daughters, with one more on the way.
In-universe, they're called Arrowheads because of Bowyn's name containing the word "bow," as in bow and arrow.
There are plenty of colleges, including Harvard University and New York University, where you can take a class about the career and music of Taylor Alison Swift.
Drew also calls Bowyn a "feminist icon" and a "queer ally," which Swift has also been called in the past.
One of Swift's most important collaborators of the last four years has been Aaron Dessner, a member of the band the National.
The National has also appeared on Swift's "Coney Island." Conversely, Swift was featured on the National song "The Alcott."
She also appeared on two songs by Dessner's other musical project, Big Red Machine: "Birch" and "The Renegade."
The username "starryeyes23" could refer to a line from "Delicate": "Starry eyes sparking up my darkest night."
In fact, "starry eyes" have been mentioned a few times through Swift's discography. She says she thought she was "better safe than starry-eyed" on "loml," and that someone was "gazing at me starry-eyed" on "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived."
Another commenter, "joynoise89," references the year Swift was born, 1989, which is also the name of her fifth album.
A third commenter, "skyesnation43," might be a reference to Taylor Nation, an official account run by her marketing team.
There's a Swift song on "Midnights" called "Bigger Than the Whole Sky."
Of course, Bowyn's is a bit more low-budget.
Much like Kelce, Drew attends one of Bowyn's shows and decides to broadcast his crush on her on the internet. However, unlike Kelce, who did this on his podcast "New Heights," Drew posted on Instagram.
Here's what Drew wrote: "Thank you, Bowyn for an amazing show and making my niece's dream come true. Swing by Bay Springs someday to watch the Bombers rock the stadium. The beer is on me!"
And here's what Kelce said on "New Heights": "I've seen you rock the stage at Arrowhead. You might have to come see me rock the stage at Arrowhead and see which one's a little more lit."
Bowyn appreciates Drew asking before touching her first. You might remember that a radio DJ sued Swift in 2015 for defamation after she claimed he had inappropriately touched her at a meet-and-greet in 2013. She counter-sued for battery and sexual assault, eventually winning a symbolic $1.
In real life, Kelce never got to meet Swift at her Kansas City concert. He said on "New Heights" it was because Swift didn't meet anyone at her concerts because she had to save her voice.
Swift's publicly known exes include actors and musicians including Jake Gyllenhaal, Joe Alwyn, John Mayer, Harry Styles, and Matty Healy.
Although Swift has a relationship with football, even debuting the second single from "Reputation," "…Ready for It?," on ESPN during a college football match, she has never performed at the Super Bowl.
Both Travis and Jason Kelce have appeared in their fair share of ads, especially the former. iSpot.tv pointed out he's appeared in 130 ads — more than anyone else in the NFL.
"Baby, let the games begin," is a lyric from "…Ready for It?" and were the first words heard during the "Reputation" tour in 2018. During the "Reputation" segment of the Eras Tour, "…Ready for It?" was the first song.
When Bowyn finally calls Drew, his niece picks up and says, "Uncle Gonzo can't come to the phone right now. He's dead!"
In Swift's song "Look What You Made Do," she sings a similar phrase: "I'm sorry, the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, 'cause she's dead."
In "But Daddy I Love Him" from "The Tortured Poets Department," there's the lyric, "Me and my wild boy/And all of this wild joy."
During the Eras Tour, she mashed this song up with "So High School," which is thought to be about Kelce.
In Swift's inescapable hit "You Belong With Me" from "Fearless," she sings, "She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers."
Also, not for nothing, one of Swift's closest friends and collaborators, Jack Antonoff, releases music under the name Bleachers.
One of the most memorable parts of the music video for "Look What You Made Me Do" takes place in an airplane hangar. There, the different versions of Swift argue.
Swift has also been in the headlines in the past over the use of her private plane, which was also seen in the Netflix documentary "Miss Americana."
Bowyn calls herself a "tough kid," as in, "I'm a real tough kid/I can handle it." Drew notes that she looks like she's having the time of her life, as in "I can read your mind/She's having the time of her life."
She tells Drew she can't remember if singing was ever fun. Swift sings a similar musing in the "TTPD" song: "I forget how the West was won/I forget if this was ever fun."
She also says she started performing at 13.
No one loves to leave secret messages, puzzles, Easter eggs, and anagrams more than Taylor Swift, who has self-identified as a "mastermind."
As Swift sings in the song "So Long London," "And I'm just getting color back into my face/I'm just mad as hell 'cause I loved this place."
Snakes were a huge part of the "Reputation" era, as Swift was called a snake by Kim Kardashian and then reclaimed the reptile for the album.
Before Kelce (and Matty Healy), Swift was in a six-year relationship with actor Joe Alwyn. They were intensely private and rarely photographed together. The two never walked a red carpet together, though they did sit together at the 2020 Golden Globes.
Sure, cardigans are popular, but no one has been more associated with the cardigan in recent years than Taylor Swift.
The lead single from her 2020 album "Folklore" was "Cardigan," which peaked at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and was nominated for both song of the year and best pop solo performance at the Grammys.
Since then, Swift has released various era-specific versions of the cardigan she wore in the music video for Swifties to purchase.
On "The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology," there's a song called "Cassandra."
Aimee is a reference to the song "Thank You Aimee," while the name Hannah is mentioned in "But Daddy I Love Him," in which Swift sings, "Sarahs and Hannahs in their Sunday best/Clutching their pearls crying 'What a mess.'"
Chad is a nod to something Swift said about people who were mad the NFL was showing her too much during football games — she called them "dads, Brads, and Chads" in an interview with Time.
And Marcus is a nod to another "Anthology" song, "Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus."
There's a popular video of what seems to be Kelce spotting Swift at a Chiefs game and lighting up.
Of course, this is a nod to "Reputation."
This also connects to Swift — she has a song from "Lover" called "The Archer." During performances, she also does the same archer pose.
Swift sings about a similar desire in "Delicate" from "Reputation": "This ain't for the best/My reputation's never been worse, so/You must like me for me."
This movie aired on Lifetime, so no profanity allowed, but there is a video of Swift attending a Chiefs game where she screams a more R-rated version of this phrase after Kelce scores a touchdown.
On "TTPD," there's a song called "The Alchemy" that's widely believed to be about Kelce. The newscasters also reference a winning streak, which could be referencing a lyric from the song: "These blokes warm the benches/We've been on a winning streak."
The Kelce brothers have been vocal about how much they love that Swifties have been getting into football due to their relationship, and they even dedicate a segment on their podcast, "No Dumb Questions," to explaining rules to them.
According to this movie, Bowyn is a billionaire and doesn't need the PR, just like Swift.
"Frontlines, don't you ignore me/I'm the best thing at this party," Swift sings on the song "You're Losing Me."
"Alice in Wonderland" is an important text to Swift. She has a song called "Wonderland" on "1989."
She also references "Alice" in the "Evermore" song "Long Story Short." "And I fell from the pedestal/Right down the rabbit hole," she sings.
Swift originally wrote the song "Better Man" in 2016, but decided to give it to the country band Little Big Town, who went on to win a Grammy for it.
When Swift began re-releasing her albums, she included "Better Man" as a bonus track on "Red (Taylor's Version)" in 2021.
After Bowyn has a minor freakout about her relationship with Drew, Mira says, "You gotta calm down," a sly reference to this "Lover" track.
She also tells Bowyn "you know all too well" about bad relationships, — Swift's most beloved song by fans is probably the "Red" song "All Too Well."
On his side of the freakout, Drew tells his family, "I am calling my own shots." Swift sings "And you can't wait to move out someday and call your own shots" on the "Speak Now" song "Never Grow Up."
He also says Bowyn "gets rid of my doubts and fears."
In the album booklet for "Fearless," Swift wrote about what being fearless actually meant to her.
"To me, 'fearless' is not the absence of fear. It's not being completely unafraid. To me, 'fearless' is having fears. 'Fearless' is having doubts," she wrote.
Bowyn's ex-boyfriend Hudson leaks a taped conversation the two had, which he heavily edited to make it seem like Bowyn insulted Drew.
An edited recording of a conversation between Swift and Kanye West regarding his song "Famous" re-started their feud in 2016 (which began at the VMAs in 2009) and led to the public turning on Swift and declaring that she was "over."
In both cases, the unedited versions of the conversation eventually were released, vindicating Bowyn and Swift, as Variety reported.
The bridge of the "Midnights" song "You're on Your Own Kid," goes like this: "'Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned/Everything you lose is a step you take/So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it/You've got no reason to be afraid."
Fans seized onto the "friendship bracelet" line and began trading bracelets at the Eras Tour, usually with references to lyrics or inside jokes in the Swift fandom. These bracelets became so associated with Swift that a giant bracelet began moving from stadium to stadium during the tour.
Swift and Kelce also attended a fundraiser together in April, and footage of them went viral. It's also when Kelce called her "my significant other" for the first time.
Obvious football reference aside, "Hold on to the memories/They will hold on to you" is a fan-favorite lyric from "New Year's Day" off "Reputation."
She also sings "Say you'll never let 'em tear us apart/And I'll hold onto you while we run" on the "Red" song "Run."
That's a direct reference to a lyric from the "Speak Now" song "Mean," which asks why a music critic who wrote negatively about Swift's performance at the 2010 Grammys "gotta be so mean."
Two years later, she performed "Mean" at the Grammys, and it won best country solo performance and best country song.