Taylor Swift has officially entered a new era. The superstar announced new album, The Life of a Showgirl. Swift shared the news on her social media accounts at approximately 12:12 a.m. to mark her 12th LP.
The singer uploaded a teaser video from her upcoming appearance on the New Heights podcast. In the short clip, Swift sits next to 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 Jason. “This is my brand new album, The Life of a Showgirl.” The actual album cover is blurred out in the clip, and set to be unveiled during the actual podcast.
The superstar sent Swifties into a frenzy Monday morning when both the New Heights podcast and Taylor Nation teased the announcement with cryptic social media posts. The sports-focused podcast, hosted by Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce and his brother Jason, teased the singer’s appearance on Wednesday’s episode with a thumbnail that was littered with Easter Eggs — from the sparkly, orange background to Jason’s Midnights T-shirt, and of course, a shadow that could only be the pop star herself. By Monday night, Swift had unveiled a countdown on her website and confirmed her appearance on the Kelce brothers’ podcast.
The singer-songwriter’s previous release was 2024’s The Tortured Poets Department. The news was unexpected as Swift announced the project at the 2024 Grammy Awards while she accepted the award for Best Pop Vocal Album. Swift kept the surprises coming when she revealed the project was a double album and unveiled The Tortured Poets Department:The Anthology a few hours after the original was released. The release of new music coincided with the final legs of Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour, making the past two years incredibly momentous for the megastar.
Swift continues to be unstoppable. Earlier this year, she celebrated a major feat when she bought back the master recordings for her first six albums and finally gained control of her entire music catalog. “All of the music I’ve ever made now belongs to me,” the singer wrote in a letter on her website at the time. The news was especially monumental given the six year battle over her masters, which led her to launch her highly successful re-recording endeavor and release Taylor’s Versions of Fearless, Red, Speak Now, and 1989.
Since 2020, Swift has released four full-length projects of new songs and four re-recorded albums. The singer-songwriter has addressed her creative output in recent years. “This is the proudest and happiest I’ve ever felt, and the most creatively fulfilled and free I’ve ever been,” the singer told Time in 2023. During her tour stop in Tokyo, the singer echoed that sentiment in a speech before “Champagne Problems”: “Everyone’s like, ‘Why do you make so many albums?’ Man, because I love it! I love it so much!”
