Shortly after Taylor Swift confirmed her 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl, fans began to spot mysterious billboards in New York City and Nashville. The billboards directed listeners to a brand new Spotify playlist titled “And, baby, that’s show business for you.”
Curated by Swift herself, the playlist features 22 of Swift’s songs from prior releases, opening with “22” and concluding with “Wonderland.” Curiously, all the songs featured were all produced by Max Martin and Shellback, who worked on Red, 1989, and Reputation. Although Swift has not confirmed many details about The Life of a Showgirl, many Swifties are predicting that the production duo is back on board this time around.
Martin and Shellback have been responsible some of Swift’s biggest hits, including “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “Bad Blood,” and “Shake It Off.” The producers notably helped Swift to transition from country to pop music on Red, her fourth album, which was released in 2012. More recently, Swift has been collaborating with Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, including on last year’s The Tortured Poets Department.
Last night, Swift announced her upcoming 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, officially entering her next musical era. The singer made the announcement in a teaser for the New Heights podcast. In the short clip, Swift sits next to her boyfriend and podcast host Travis Kelce as she opens up a mint green case with her initials on it in orange lettering. “I wanted to show you something,” she says to his brother, Jason Kelce. “This is my brand new album, The Life of a Showgirl.” The album cover is blurred out in the clip and is set to be unveiled during the actual podcast.
While an official release date for the album hasn’t been announced, signs point to a fall release date. On Swift’s website, fans pre-ordering the vinyl are assured it will “ship before 10/13/25,” while noting, “this is not the release date.”
Swift’s episode of the New Heights podcast will debut on Wednesday, Aug. 13. Swifties kicked into investigation mode on Monday morning when New Heights first began teasing the special guest appearance, which turned out to be the singer herself.
