Taylor Swift visited a mural in Nashville on Thursday after hundreds of fans spent hours there waiting for her to appear.

Rumors had drawn the fans to the Gulch neighborhood throughout the morning after a mural linked to Swift's April 26 countdown that debuted there last week got an update.

Just before noon, Swift appeared in a two-piece lilac outfit and posed in front of the mural before taking photos with fans.

Eden Finn, 21, came from Hendersonville when social media buzz began to surface about Swift's appearance.

"It's a very down to Earth thing for sure," Finn said of Swift's appearance.

The music star took dozens of selfies with fans and was willing to get into the crowd that pressed in. A few sat on shoulders to get a better look.

"She just showed up. She doesn't have to do this. (Swift is) very up close and personal with all of her fans, which is very cool," said Danielle Messina, 23, visiting Nashville from Houston with friends.

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Earlier in the morning, street artist Kelsey Montague had added the word "ME!" to the mural, a colorful, building-tall set of wings that appeared last week.

Before her appearance, Swift confirmed on Instagram she was behind the art.

"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 mural," Swift said. "Let's just go see what happens."

Swift launched a countdown earlier this month on social media that was set to end Friday, April 26, at midnight Eastern time (11 p.m. Thursday local), 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.

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.

If Taylor didn't appear, Gann said she would head to her test. “Then I’m gonna go take a final. It’s better to show up and not have anything happen then to have it happen and not be there.”

Mary Cooke Wiley came from work in MetroCenter when she saw the notifications about Swift.

"I had to leave. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity if she is here. I came out specifically because I feel like I grew up with Taylor Swift," she said. "She's super relatable; she's incredibly smart in the way she can reach out to everybody."

Online reaction

Fans online joined in as well.

"I'm literally watching a live stream of a wall," one fan tweeted.

"If Taylor really is going to be announcing something at thz Nashville mural I'll die omg," shared another.

"Wait how did this mural thing even start?!? How do we know it’s about Taylor?" another wondered.

Wing murals

Thursday wasn't the first time artist Montague crossed paths with Swift. In 2014, the “Delicate” pop star posted an Instagram photo featuring Montague’s #whatliftsyou New York art.

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Montague is also responsible for another famed Gulch wings mural that often attracts a block-long line of visitors prepping for an Instagram-perfect pose.

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.

Matthew Leimkuehler contributed to this story.

Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com or 615-726-5939 and on Twitter @ AndyHumbles.