Taylor Swift has officially revealed her highly anticipated 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, set for release on October 3, 2025. The announcement came during her appearance on New Heights, the podcast hosted by her boyfriend Travis Kelce and his brother Jason. Alongside the reveal, Swift shared the album cover, track list, and details about its creative direction.
The striking cover, photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot, shows Swift floating underwater in a bedazzled dress, the title displayed in shimmering orange font. Swift explained the concept as “glamorizing all aspects of how the tour felt” and capturing an intimate offstage moment. “The album isn’t really about what happened onstage, but what happened offstage,” she said.
Taylor Swift’s New Album Celebrates Life Behind the Curtain
Recorded in Europe during her record-breaking Eras Tour, which grossed over $2 billion in 21 months, The Life of a Showgirl offers a behind-the-scenes look at Swift’s life on the road. “It comes from the most infectiously joyful, wild, dramatic place I was in my life,” she told the Kelce brothers. “And that effervescence has come through on this record.”
The album consists of 12 tracks—a symbolic nod to this being Swift’s 12th record—and is intentionally focused in scope. Unlike her 2024 release The Tortured Poets Department, which featured 31 songs across two parts, Swift says there will be no companion album or surprise drop. “There’s not a 13th song. This is the record I’ve been wanting to make for a very long time… every song is here for hundreds of reasons.”
Co-produced with longtime collaborators Max Martin and Shellback, the LP features vibrant pop melodies and sharply crafted lyrics. The closing title track includes a collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter, while the tracklist also boasts notable titles such as Elizabeth Taylor, Cancelled!, Actually Romantic, and a cover of George Michael’s 1987 hit Father Figure.
Swift described the album’s musical goal as combining “melodies so infectious you’re almost angry at them” with “vivid, crisp, completely intentional” lyrics. She emphasized that quality and thematic cohesion were top priorities, likening the record to a perfectly completed puzzle.
Fans can look forward to multiple formats upon release, including an orange glitter vinyl, cassette, and CD edition. Merchandise pre-orders became available following a countdown timer on her website, which briefly crashed due to high demand.
With The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift continues her tradition of evolving her sound and storytelling, offering an intimate portrait of her life in one of her most celebratory and theatrical eras yet.
Tracklist:
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The Fate of Ophelia
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Elizabeth Taylor
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Opalite
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Father Figure
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Eldest Daughter
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Ruin the Friendship
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Actually Romantic
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Wi$h Li$t
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Wood
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Cancelled!
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Honey
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The Life of a Showgirl (feat. Sabrina Carpenter)