It’s been a fortnight and then some since we’ve gotten new Taylor Swift music, but the wait is finally over.
The pop superstar announced her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, at 12:12 a.m. on August 12 (get it?), with a surprise post on her website and Instagram. (You can already pre-order it here.) Swift dropped the announcement on boyfriend Travis Kelce’s podcast, New Heights, and shared a teaser clip of the full episode, which dropped on Wednesday with a lot more details about the upcoming album. Excitement began to build earlier in the day when Swift’s official fan engagement team, Taylor Nation, shared a series of twelve photos, with a caption that read: “Thinking about when she said ‘See you next era…’ ❤️🔥.” In each of the shots, Swift sported some variation of an orange outfit.
Meanwhile, Kelce announced that he and his brother were going to have a special guest on their podcast (and it was soon revealed to be Swift).
We rounded up everything we know about the album below.
When does the album come out?
The Life of a Showgirl will officially release on October 3, 2025. Is there a Mean Girls tie in somewhere with the project? We’ll just have to wait and see.
The cover art is spectacular.
The cover for The Life of a Showgirl features Swift like we’ve never seen her before. Dressed in a crystal ensemble, Taylor reclines in a pool of water, with only her face breaching the surface. The project’s title is emblazoned across the photograph in bold, sparkly orange.
The album includes 12 tracks.
See the full tracklist below.
- “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” (feat. Sabrina Carpenter)
Taylor has been teasing the album for a while.
Quickly, fans began to dig up Easter eggs that hinted at what was to come. For instance, Swift notably left through an orange door at the final show of her record-breaking Eras Tour. Meanwhile, her most-recent TikTok video, shared in October 2024, saw Swift walking in front of a sign that said: “A12.” Coincidence? It never is with Tay.
Throughout the first half of 2025, Swift stayed mostly quiet, remaining out of the spotlight save for rare date nights or evenings out with the girls.
Last year, when she released her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, it went on to sell over a million copies in a single week, becoming her seventh studio album to do so and extending her unmatched record. It also went on to receive five nominations at the 67th annual Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year (of which Swift has won four times—also a record). The prize ultimately went to Beyoncé instead, for her critically-acclaimed Cowboy Carter.
Along with releasing TTPD, Swift also wrapped up her Eras Tour last year, and it became the highest-grossing concert tour of all time. She celebrated its end with a photo book released around the holidays. The singer also recently bought back the rights to her original masters, all while continuing work on secret projects like an upcoming original film, which she is set to direct and write.
On top of all that, there have been murmurs that she is engaged—or en route to be engaged—to Kelce.
She may have an album dedicated to her love of midnights, but genuinely when does this woman ever sleep?
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.harpersbazaar.com ’
