Fresh off the news that MTV has created a new award specifically to bestow upon Taylor Swift at Sunday’s (Sept. 27) Video Music Awards, the artist has sent the music world into a tizzy by announcing that her latest single, “Patient Zero,” will be released two days earlier.
For now, there are no specific details about the song itself or its collaborators. Fans can order three limited-edition CD variants of “Patient Zero” for the next 24 hours exclusively from Swift’s web site; beyond the original take, they include separate acoustic and piano versions and will ship on Oct. 13.
“Patient Zero” follows Swift’s summer contribution to the film Toy Story 5, “I Knew It, I Knew You.” Her most recent full-length album, The Life of a Showgirl, was released in October 2025.
On Sunday, Swift will receive the first Artist Director Honors, in recognition of musicians “whose work behind the camera has expanded the possibilities of music video and advanced the art of visual storytelling.” Swift has been nominated seven times for Best Director at the VMAs and won on four occasions for such clips as “All Too Well (10-Minute Version,” “Anti-Hero” and “Fortnight.”
Madonna has a leading 13 nominations for the VMAs, which will be hosted by Snoop Dogg from Los Angeles’ Peacock Theatre. Swift has 11, including Video and Artist of the Year, plus Best Pop, Direction, Art Direction, Cinematography, Editing, Choreography and Visual Effects. She already has 30 competitive Moon Persons, meaning even one win would make her the most-awarded artist in VMA history.
