ELVIS AIN'T DEAD?

Some want to convince you that Justin Bieber is a lizard and Stevie Wonder isn't blind. Ellie Muir and Roisin O'Connor on the oddest music conspiracy theories that are out there

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The earliest conspiracy theories can be traced to ancient Rome, when it was widely believed that Emperor Nero faked his own death.

Some would say it's only natural to be a little bit nosy about the secret lives of those in the public eye. But to be a modern celebrity in 2025 means much more than that – whether you’re dead or alive, a flock of TikTok-wielding armchair sleuths are out there, probably making wild conclusions about you, using everything from hidden meanings in your reversed song lyrics to searching for signs in your body language.

The internet’s most recent theory goes beyond the death hoax theories. It concerns the rumoured feud between singer Selena Gomez and model Hailey Bieber, who is married to Gomez’s exboyfriend and fellow pop star, Justin Bieber. Pop culture agents on TikTok have concluded that Hailey placed a curse on Gomez to swap destinies with her and reap all of the goodness from her life. Is any of it true? Absolutely not. That’s why they’re called conspiracy theories.

Believe us, there’s plenty more out there. Below, we run through the biggest conspiracy theories in music, where they came from and if there’s any truth behind them (spoiler, they’re completely baseless)…

10. Taylor Swift and the 2024 presidential election

As the frenzy surrounding the 2024 Super Bowl reached a fever pitch, Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, found themselves the subject of multiple rightwing conspiracy theories.

A number of baseless rumours swirled, from claims that the pop star had played a part in Pentagon psychological operations to the allegation that she and Kelce were key to a plot to help thenpresident Joe Biden get re-elected.