Everything You Need to Know About Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl”

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Get the latest news and updates on Swift’s newest album!

Co-authored by Aly Rusciano

Last Updated: September 3, 2025 Fact Checked

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Album Announcement

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“New Heights” Recap

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Easter Eggs

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Video

Baby, let the games begin because Taylor Swift has a new album coming out! Time stopped for Taylor Swift fans (Swifties) all across the world at 12:12 AM August 12th when Swift’s website went blank, leaving nothing but a countdown and sparkly orange backdrop. When the countdown made that final tick, all was revealed: Taylor Swift’s twelfth album is dropping, and it’s called The Life of a Showgirl. So, what do we know about this monumental album? Keep reading for the latest news and updates on The Life of a Showgirl.

When is Taylor Swift’s new album coming out?

Taylor Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl, is coming out on October 3, 2025. The album includes 12 songs, with the title track featuring Sabrina Carpenter. Being her twelfth studio album, Swift claims this is the most focused album she’s ever released.

Section 1 of 3:

Taylor Swift Announces New Album

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On August 13, 2025, Taylor Swift officially announced that her newest album, The Life of a Showgirl, will be released on October 3, 2025. Coming 7 months after the global popstar’s final Eras Tour show, the news took fans by surprise, with many Swifties taking to social media to share their excitement and anticipation for Swift’s newest era. The leading album cover features Swift submerged in crystal clear water, adorned with a strappy silver-bejeweled dress that leaves little to the imagination. Surrounded by jagged mirror images and bold, orange glitter pen font, the cover art is a far shift from the gray, melancholic imagery of The Tortured Poets Department, Swift’s eleventh album.
- The Life of a Showgirl is available for preorder on Swift’s website.
- With the album announcement, Swift also released an additional four deluxe album editions for preorder, which featured different color themes, cover art, and additional images. These are currently no longer available for preorder.^{[1]
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The Tracklist The Life of a Showgirl features twelve songs, and Swift currently says there will be no surprises despite fan theories and speculation: “There’s not other ones [songs] coming. This is the record I’ve been wanting to make for a very long time.”^{[2]
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Research source} The tracklist is as follows:
- “The Fate of Ophelia”
- “Elizabeth Taylor”
- “Opalite”
- “Father Figure”
- “Eldest Daughter”
- “Ruin the Friendship”
- “Actually Romantic”
- “Wi$h Li$t”
- “Wood”
- “CANCELLED!”
- “Honey”
- “The Life of a Showgirl (featuring Sabrina Carpenter)”

Section 2 of 3:

Recap of Taylor Swift’s “New Heights” Episode

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Taylor Swift joined boyfriend Travis Kelce on Kelce’s podcast “New Heights,” which he hosts with his brother Jason Kelce. In the 124-minute episode, Swift discusses her relationship with Kelce, the Eras Tour, gaining her master recordings, and the vision for The Life of a Showgirl. The episode has since gained over 11.5 million views on YouTube alone, becoming the most popular episode of the podcast to date. If you don’t have two hours to watch or listen (although it’s totally worth it!), don’t worry because we have the biggest takeaways right here:^{[3]
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- The Life of a Showgirl will be upbeat and “danceable.” Swift details the vision she had for her newest album and how it was a joy to work with Max Martin and Shellback again, producers who worked with her on Red and 1989. Swift described the songs to have “melodies that [are] so infectious that you’re almost angry about it,” with Travis Kelce chiming in, “You are going to move. This album is going to make you dance.”^{[4]
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- Eras Tour “behind the scenes” is the theme. Swift explains that The Life of a Showgirl was written during the Eras Tour, so it details what life was like during the 21-month tour, specifically what was going on offstage.^{[5]
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- Swift gets emotional about buying her masters. In a raw segment, Swift tells the story of how she found out she’d finally gained ownership of her master recordings, something she’d been trying to do her whole career.^{[6]
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- Swift and Travis Kelce thank the podcast for their relationship. In 2023, Travis Kelce “shot his shot” with his audience after he was unable to give Swift his number during an Eras Tour show. The news quickly spread that Kelce wanted to date Swift, and since that first date, they’ve been inseparable.
- Swift is obsessed with making sourdough. What does a popstar do after touring the world for 2 years? She makes sourdough: “The sourdough’s taken over my life in a huge way. I’m really talking about bread 60% of the time now.”
- Travis Kelce wants an otter. The star football player went into detail about his dream of rescuing and adopting an otter. While random, Kelce’s sentiment and kind heart have swept the world off its feet.^{[7]
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Section 3 of 3:

“The Life of a Showgirl” Easter Eggs

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Swift has already left several Easter eggs about the upcoming album. Taylor Swift is known for her Easter eggs and dropping clues for fans years in advance, and the announcement of The Life of a Showgirl has been no different! Each day, Swifties catch onto new sneaky clues Swift left. Here are our current favorites:
- Ending the Eras Tour by walking through an orange door. Every night of the Eras Tour, Swift would end the show by descending from the stage. That is, except closing night. Swift walked back down the stage’s runway and through an orange door that had appeared.^{[8]
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  Research source} On the “New Heights” podcast, Swift explains, “That actually was an Easter egg…the reason why I chose to exit that way is because I kind of wanted to give a little subliminal hint to the fans that I may be leaving the Eras Tour era, but I was also entering a new era.”
- Twelve I’s in a letter. When Swift announced she had purchased her masters, she released a letter to fans. The letter features the phrase “Thiiiiiiiiiiiis close” in reference to releasing new music. That’s 12 I’s!^{[9]
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- A subliminal A12. In October 2024, Swift posted a TikTok holding one of her cats while walking through a stadium to promote the Miami leg of the Eras Tour. A noticeable seating sign that reads “A12” is in the background, which fans speculate meant “August 12th,” the new album’s announcement date.
- An orange Taylor in the “Anti-Hero” music video. In Swift’s “Anti-Hero” music video, the star is bullied by a party girl version of herself dressed in an orange and green bedazzled outfit. Perhaps this is a reference to Showgirl!