Topline
Taylor Swift announced her newest album, titled ‘The Life Of A Showgirl’ shortly after midnight on Tuesday, ahead of an appearance on boyfriend and NFL star Travis Kelce’s ‘New Heights’ podcast, where she teases the unveiling of the album cover.
Taylor Swift performs onstage during “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
Key Facts
The album’s name was announced on the superstar musician’s website at 12:12 a.m. ET, as ‘The Life Of A Showgirl’ is her 12th studio album.
The website mentions no release date, but the store page notes pre-order copies of the album will ship “before 10/13/2025.”
The cover art of the album is blurred out in the various promotional photos—which the website notes will be revealed at a later date.
On Instagram, Swift shared a clip of her upcoming appearance on the “New Heights” podcast alongside the Kansas City Chiefs’ star, where shows off the new album to Kelce’s brother and former Philadelphia Eagles player Jason Kelce.
This is swift’s first album release since the end of her Eras Tour, which became the highest-grossing tour of all time.
Swift’s social media team had teased the album launch on Monday with a post on the official Taylor Nation account on X, saying: “Thinking about when she said ‘See you next era…’”along with photos of Swift wearing orange-colored costumes—which appears to be the primary color of the new album.
What Else Do We Know About Swift’s Podcast Appearance?
The next ‘New Heights’ podcast episode, where Swift will appear as a guest, is set to release on Wednesday. The podcast’s official Instagram page has shared a clip of the upcoming episode with the caption “Taylor’s about to do a f*cking podcast!”
How Big Was Taylor Swift’s Last Album?
Swift’s eleventh album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” released on April 19, 2024 amidst the “Eras Tour” and quickly became a commercial smash hit. It broke streaming records on Spotify, becoming the first album to register 300 million streams in a single day and 1 billion streams in the first week. In another first, the album’s songs also took up all of the top 14 slots on Billboard Hot 100’s chart.
Forbes Valuation
According to Forbes estimates, Swift is worth $1.6 billion, making her the wealthiest female musician in the world. The singer attained billionaire status in October 2023, in the middle of the Eras Tour, becoming the first musician to attain the status based purely on the value of her music and concert tours. When it ended in December last year, the Eras Tour had grossed a record $2 billion in ticket sales.
Key Background
The new album announcement comes two and a half months after Swift bought back the rights to her first six albums from the private equity firm Shamrock Capital—which had acquired the master recordings in 2020 from music executive record executive Scooter Braun. Braun had purchased the rights from Swift’s former label, Big Machine Label Group in 2019, in a transaction which the singer described as the “worst case scenario” for her. Swift’s deal with Shamrock, announced on May 30, ended the years long dispute over the ownership of Swift’s master recordings, which had prompted the singer to release re-recorded versions of her early albums with the moniker “Taylor’s Version.” The superstar musician now has full ownership of her entire catalog, including the rights to the master recordings of her first six albums: “Taylor Swift,” “Fearless,” “Speak Now,” “Red,” “1989” and “Reputation.”
Further Reading
Taylor Swift’s Team Teases Her ‘Next Era’—All The New Music Rumors, Explained (Forbes)
