Taylor Swift Unveils 12th Album “The Life of a Showgirl” — With Side of Glitter, Easter Eggs, Travis Kelce Teases

Taylor Swift is stepping into a new era — officially. At exactly 12:12 a.m. Tuesday, a countdown on her website hit zero, revealing her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl. While she hasn’t locked in a release date yet, Swift’s site promises vinyl editions will ship before Oct. 13.

Fans, naturally, had been on high alert. On Monday, Taylor Nation — the pop star’s own marketing machine — posted a TikTok carousel of 12 orange-hued images captioned,

“Thinking about when she said ‘See you next era…’” That same orange theme popped up minutes earlier on the “New Heights” podcast feed, hosted by her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and his brother, former Eagles center Jason Kelce. Cue the internet meltdown.

Turns out, the tease was real. Early Tuesday, the Kelces confirmed Swift will appear on Wednesday’s episode. In a promo clip, she pulls a copy of The Life of a Showgirl from a briefcase — though the cover art is still blurred, keeping the mystery alive.

For superfans and collectors, Swift’s pre-order page lists a “Portofino orange glitter” vinyl edition and an exclusive cassette version. Given her history, expect plenty of hidden clues and layered storytelling baked into the rollout.

The album follows last year’s The Tortured Poets Department, announced mid-Grammys and released during her $2.2B record-breaking world tour — the highest-grossing tour ever. But The Life of a Showgirl is more than just the next chapter — it’s her first release since regaining full control of her entire catalog.

In May, Swift confirmed she had purchased the rights to her masters from Shamrock Capital, ending a saga that began when Scooter Braun acquired (and later sold) her early work without her consent. Over the past few years, she’s been re-recording her first six albums, turning each “Taylor’s Version” into a blockbuster, chart-topping event — complete with vault tracks and fan-dissected Easter eggs.

So far, four have dropped, starting with Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version) in 2021, and culminating in 2023 with Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version). Along the way, she became the woman with the most No. 1 albums in history.

Now, with her masters in her hands, an NFL crossover in the mix, and a showgirl theme shimmering in orange glitter, Swift’s 12th era is poised to dominate — both the charts and the conversation.