Taylor Swift reveals ‘Life of a Showgirl' album release date, cover art and track list on Travis Kelce's "New Heights" podcast
It's no longer a cruel summer. Taylor Swift officially announced her new album The Life of a Showgirl on Aug. 12. And one day later, she shared more details about the upcoming work — including the cover art, track list and release date — as well as other surprises during her appearance on boyfriend Travis Kelce's podcast, New Heights.
Fans noticed Swift was up to something earlier in the day, when a cryptic countdown was posted on Swift's "Taylor Nation" Instagram Story. The countdown led to 7 p.m. — when the New Heights podcast episode was set to drop.
The post showed a glowing orange door, the same one that appeared on stage behind Swift during the Eras tour, as well as a link to Swift's website, which featured the same image, with the door slowly descending.
Over the course of four hours, on every hour, four squares with locks at the center appeared next to the door. First there was an orange lock, then pink, then blue and finally white. Eagle-eyed fans noticed that in the center of each lock, where a key would be placed, was the same shape as the stage layout at the Eras tour.
When 7 p.m. arrived, Swift's website revealed the cover of The Life of a Showgirl, which featured Swift in a sparkling outfit, laying in a pool of green water. The four squares corresponded to deluxe editions of the album. All are available until Aug. 16, while supplies last.
Swift's Instagram post also revealed the release date of the new album: Oct. 3.
Swift also provided followers with the album's track list:
The Fate of Ophelia
Elizabeth Taylor
Opalite
Father Figure
Eldest Daughter
Ruin the Friendship
Actually Romantic
Wish List
Wood
CANCELLED!
Honey
The Life of a Showgirl, featuring Sabrina Carpenter
The producers of the album are Max Martin, Shellback and Swift herself.
Also at 7 p.m. came the drop of Swift's special episode of New Heights, hosted by Swift's boyfriend Kelce and his brother Jason Kelce. Swift discussed the Eras Tour, reclaiming her masters and her relationship with the NFL player in the episode.
Swift also talked about what inspired the 12 songs that were written during her time on tour, calling it a look at what went on "behind the curtain" in her personal life.
She said that unlike her albums Midnights and The Tortured Poets Department, which came with surprise additional songs, there would only be the already revealed 12 tracks on this album. Swift explained that the new work "comes from the most infectiously joyful, wild, dramatic place I was in in my life, and so that effervescence has come through on this record."
She also teased that there is additional photography and a poem on the inside of the album that will be revealed when the record drops.
Swift added that while past albums were more lyrically focused, Showgirl will boast "infectious anthems" that will have "lyrics that are just as vivid but crisp and focused and completely intentional."
Swift's initial album reveal came in the form of a teaser for the podcast episode — but the clip, dropped on social media at 12:12 a.m., held back some key details. The podcast clip showed Swift holding the album, but with the cover art blurred out, revealing only the green-and-orange color scheme.
Swift, who completed her worldwide Eras tour in 2024, has long dropped "Easter eggs," or clues about her future work, for fans. The Life of a Showgirl album drop is no exception. A video posted to social media ahead of Swift's Miami performance on Oct. 18, 2024, showed the artist standing in front of section A12 — a clue as to when her album announcement would arrive. That night, she also performed her 1989 album set in orange and green — the colors of the Miami Hurricanes, in whose home stadium Swift performed, and also a hint at the aesthetic of the album to come.
Swift has been regularly spotted in orange-and-green outfits over the past year, possibly foreshadowing the color scheme of the album. And one of the bigger clues came in the official music video for 'I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,' which featured backstage moments from the Eras tour. In the video, dancers rehearsed using orange feather fans — a prop that was never used on stage. The Eras tour performance of 'I Can Do It With a Broken Heart' featured Swift at her most "showgirly" — and she even had Kelce join her onstage during her June 23, 2024, show in London for the song.
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