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 Kayla Wong and Raven Minyard, BA

Last Updated: October 27, 2025 Fact Checked

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Release & Roll-Out

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Tracklist

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Fan Reactions

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Album Announcement

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Easter Eggs

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Video

Baby, let the games begin because Taylor Swift has a new album! 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, The Life of a Showgirl, would be dropping on October 3. Now that the album is officially out, we can't wait to dive into the meaning of the songs, fans' reactions, and more, with expert insights from Taylor Swift content creators! Keep reading for the latest news and updates on The Life of a Showgirl.

What is Taylor Swift’s new album about?

Taylor Swift fandom content creator Sofia Montañez says Life of a Showgirl focuses on Swift's life behind the scenes as a pop star. It has a more joyful, exuberant tone than some of her earlier albums. It also features many songs about Swift’s relationship with her now-fiancé, Travis Kelce.

Section 1 of 5:

“The Life of a Showgirl” Release & Roll-Out

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“The Life of a Showgirl” was released on October 3, 2025. Fans eagerly awaited the album’s release, which occurred at 12 AM EST on October 3, 2025. The album became the most pre-saved album of all time, breaking the record previously set by The Tortured Poets Department, and the first album to surpass 5 million pre-saves.^{[1]
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Research source} Here’s what Swift did to keep her fans excited leading up to the album:
- Album variants: After releasing four variant CD covers when the album was announced, Swift went on to release 4 limited edition vinyl LP covers. Each announcement came with a sparkly countdown on her website.
- Google searches: If you searched “Taylor Swift” on Google, the screen displayed orange confetti and the flaming heart emoji with the phrase “And, baby, that’s show business for you.”
- Spotify playlist: Swift curated a Spotify playlist containing all 22 songs she produced with Max Martin and Shellback prior to The Life of a Showgirl, from the albums Red, 1989, and reputation. The playlist was promoted on billboards in Nashville and New York City.
- Pop-up events: Spotify and TikTok hosted pop-up events in LA and New York City featuring various sets inspired by the album. These sets contained several Easter eggs, like lyrics from the album.
- Scrambled lyrics: The Apple Music lyric pages of several songs capitalized certain letters that, when unscrambled, revealed lyrics from The Life of a Showgirl.
- Interviews and appearances: On the morning of October 3, interviews with Swift aired on BBC Radio 1, Capital, Heart, Hits Radio, Magic, and Z100. Swift is also scheduled to appear on The Graham Norton Show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Late Night with Seth Meyers during release week.
Meet the wikiHow Experts

Kayla Wong is a Taylor Swift fandom content creator. Her account, @headfirstfearless, breaks down Swift’s lyrics, milestones, fandom lore, and more.

Sofia Montañez is a Taylor Swift fandom content creator. She shares fashion videos recreating Swift’s looks on her account, Swift Better Have My Money.

Maria Ceschan is a Taylor Swift content creator who manages several accounts celebrating Swift’s music, lyrics, and fandom culture.

Section 2 of 5:

“The Life of a Showgirl” Tracklist

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The Life of a Showgirl features 12 songs. After Swift surprised fans by releasing a total of 31 songs onThe Tortured Poets Department, many fans speculated whether The Life of a Showgirl would be a double-release. However, the album only features 12 songs, says Taylor Swift fandom content creator Kayla Wong.^{[2]
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Expert Source

Kayla Wong
Taylor Swift Fandom Content Creator

Expert Interview} In the album announcement, Swift said 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.”^{[3]
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Research source} The tracklist is as follows:

Section 3 of 5:

“The Life of a Showgirl” Fan Reactions

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Fan reactions to The Life of a Showgirl have been mixed. Usually, Swifties are united in appreciating Taylor Swift’s new albums, but this isn’t the case with The Life of a Showgirl. Fans used to the poetic lyrics of albums like folklore, evermore, and The Tortured Poets Department are disappointed in the album’s more simplistic lyrics. Fans who enjoy Swift’s more upbeat albums, like 1989 and Lover, think the album is fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously.^{[4]
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- Fans have already begun to speculate about what each song is about. Many suspect “Father Figure” is about Scott Borchetta, the CEO of Swift’s first record label, who sold her masters.^{[5]
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  Research source} Others think it could be about Swift’s supposed feud with Olivia Rodrigo.
- “Wood” seems to be the most divisive song on the album, as it’s Swift’s most sexually explicit song to date. Some fans like how cheeky it is, while others think it’s corny and immature.
- Some Charli XCX fans are upset by “Actually Romantic,” which is a diss track toward the singer and a response to Charli XCX's song “Sympathy Is a Knife.”^{[6]
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Section 4 of 5:

“The Life of a Showgirl” Album Announcement

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Taylor Swift announced The Life of a Showgirl on August 13, 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 was released on October 3, 2025.
- 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 in her store.^{[7]
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Swift promoted the album on Travis Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast. In a 124-minute episode, Swift joined her now-fiancé Travis Kelce and his brother Jason to discuss 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 23 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:^{[8]
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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.”^{[9]
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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, says Wong.^{[10]
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  Kayla Wong
  Taylor Swift Fandom Content Creator
  
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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.^{[12]
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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 pop star 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 it's a random tidbit of info, Kelce’s sentiment and kind heart have swept the world off its feet.^{[13]
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Section 5 of 5:

“The Life of a Showgirl” Easter Eggs

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Swift left several Easter eggs about the new album prior to its release. 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 was no different! Each day, Swifties caught on to new sneaky clues Swift left about the meaning of The Life of a Showgirl. 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.^{[14]
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  Research source} This was definitely an easter egg, says Taylor Swift fandom content creator Sofia Montañez.^{[15]
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  Sofia Montañez
  Taylor Swift Fandom Content Creator
  
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  - 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.”
- Orange confetti on the Eras Tour: Montañez explains that Swift used orange confetti at some of her stops on the Eras Tour, which was likely an easter egg for her upcoming album.^{[16]
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  Sofia Montañez
  Taylor Swift Fandom Content Creator
  
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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.
- Twelve I’s in her masters 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!^{[17]
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- Swift’s plaid outfits: Taylor Swift content creator Maria Ceschan says “around this time last year, [Swift] really started going hard on wearing plaid,” and fans “were like, ‘this has to mean something, what does it mean?’" While she says some people can go too far with the easter eggs, Ceschan said it did mean something. “National Plaid Day is October 3rd, and that's when the album ended up dropping,” so “obviously [Swift] was…peppering things in there.”^{[18]
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  Maria Ceschan
  Taylor Swift Content Creator
  
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- The “Bejeweled” music video: According to Montañez, the concept for Showgirl appears in Swift’s “Bejeweled” music video from 2022!^{[19]
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  Sofia Montañez
  Taylor Swift Fandom Content Creator
  
  Expert Interview} In the video, Swift wears a lot of showgirl-inspired outfits. Plus, her “fairy godmother” in the video is played by Dita Von Teese, who is known for her theatrical burlesque shows.
- 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!
- "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart" song: In hindsight, Ceschan says this was a really big clue as to what was to come in Showgirl. She says the song is “so showgirl themed sonically,” and how Swift depicted it on the Eras Tour only amplified it.^{[20]
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  Maria Ceschan
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  Expert Interview}