For her 'Showgirl' era, Taylor Swift didn't have to do it with a broken heart

USA Today

2 days ago

If she could do "The Tortured Poets Department" with a broken heart, Taylor Swift is planning to show what she can do with a fully restored one.
The pop superstar made her highly anticipated debut as a guest on her boyfriend Travis Kelce's "New Heights" podcast on Aug. 13. As the episode began, the singer's website updated with an album cover of her submerged in bathwater in a bedazzled corset and a release date of Oct. 3.
Fans who wanted a physical copy of her 12th era waited in a virtual line to order one of four variants: "Sweat and Vanilla Perfume," "It's Frightening," "It's Rapturous" and "It's Beautiful."
"I am so grateful for the ability to create," Swift said acknowledging she's never taken it easy despite her astronomical success. "With the altitude I was reaching, there was more pressure every step of life. I was getting more creative control and freedom at times, and that is why it felt so much more special to keep working harder."
She wrote, sang and produced "Showgirl" during the European leg of the Eras Tour. The artwork represents the end of her nights on tour.
"My day ends with me in a bathtub, not usually in a bedazzled dress," she said. "I wanted to glamorize all the different aspects of how that tour felt."
Between stops, the singer with blistered heels and unrelenting stamina would fly in and out of Sweden to work with producers Max Martin and Shellback. The three of them collaborated on "Red" bops and the albums "1989" and "Reputation."
There are 12 tracks on "Showgirl," including the title track featuring Sabrina Carpenter. Another song is called "Cancelled!"
"That's a banger," Travis Kelce said as her No. 1 fan. He later clarified that there are 12 bangers on the album including: "The Fate of Ophelia" (a nod to Hamlet), "Elizabeth Taylor," "Opalite," "Father Figure," "Eldest Daughter," "Ruin the Friendship," "Actually Romantic," "Wi$h Li$T," "Wood" and "Honey."
Kelce's review: fun, pop and upbeat.
"This album is going to make you dance," Kelce said grinning ear-to-ear.
"He's like a human exclamation point," Swift told Jason Kelce.
Travis Kelce said she's "the best songwriter in the world."
Swift countered with "says my boyfriend."
Why 'New Heights'?
Travis Kelce and his brother, Jason Kelce, have hosted the "New Heights" podcast since 2022, but this was the first time Swift has been a guest on the show since she and Travis began their highly publicized romance in 2023.
Swift chose Kelce's podcast as a platform to reveal her next album and usher in a new era, rather than do so on her own social media channels or at a live event, because it's where their love story began.
Taylor Swift joins Travis Kelce on 'my favorite podcast' in latest 'New Heights' clip
Fans had been eagerly anticipating the start of her next era after the singer wrapped her wildly popular Eras Tour in December. Her previous album, "The Tortured Poets Department," dropped in April 2024 to critical acclaim and a Grammy nomination for album of the year.
Taylor Swift album comes after music catalog ownership announcement
"The Life of a Showgirl" will be Swift's first time releasing new music since she became the owner of her entire catalog. In May, she revealed she gained ownership of all her old albums following a dispute with former music manager Scooter Braun.
"All of the music I've ever made now belongs to me," she said at the time.
Taylor Swift announces new album: What to know about 'The Life of a Showgirl'
Before this, Swift had been in the process of rerecording her first six albums so that she would own all of her music. Swift's self-titled 2006 debut album and her 2017 album "Reputation" were the only ones that had not yet been rereleased.
In her May announcement, she told fans that she had already rerecorded "Taylor Swift" and may still put it out. She also said she had not yet finished rerecording "Reputation" but planned to eventually release previously unheard "vault" tracks.
Her family assists in running a slew of companies she operates in Tennessee. A few months after the Super Bowl, her brother, Austin, and mother, Andrea, flew to Los Angeles to meet with Shamrock Capital executives and discuss buying back her masters, a goal since Big Machine Records sold her work in 2019.
Swift fought back tears explaining the moment her mom called to tell her Shamrock agreed to sell.
"This changed my life," she said.
Peeling back the curtain
The back-and-forth cadence between Swift and Kelce is reminiscent of Swift's Myspace days when she would vlog about life as a teenager with her best friend Abigail Anderson. Yes, she misses the Eras Tour crowds and seeing the fans, but she also loves the downtime and spending time with loved ones.
Swift met Kelce after he used the podcast as a "personal dating app" prompting people in his circle to talk to people in her circle, including Chiefs Coach Andy Reid.
"This dude didn't get a meet and greet, and it's everyone's problem," she joked about Kelce.
As for hearing unwanted opinions on the internet or negative comments, she doesn't read them. Swift turned off her Instagram comments 10 years ago and offered advice to people who live online.
"Think of your energy as if it's expensive, as if it's like a luxury item," she said. "Not everyone can afford it."
Holding Kelce's hand, her vulnerability and willingness to be open shined in stark contrast to previous relationships. The transparency may be the biggest takeaway even though her fandom will be pausing the video and dissecting every pixel hoping to find "Easter egg" clues in the bookshelves behind the couple.
She spoke about her dad Scott's recovery from quintuple bypass and mom Andrea's knee replacement surgery. Both are doing well. Her dad is still handing out guitar picks, this time to hospital staff. "But he didn't have his pants on," she added.
Her favorite hobby is sourdough bread.
"I'm talking about bread 60% of the time," she joked before listing the varieties of bread she "kneads": blueberry lemon (Kelce's favorite), cinnamon raisin and rainbow funfetti. And a woman after a punster's heart, her favorite post-baking tradition is to come up with a witty reference to one of her hit songs: "Are you bready for it?" "Flour song is the slamming screen door." "It's a loaf story, baby just say yeast." "Should've said dough." "Loafing him was bread."
Contributing: Brendan Morrow