Earlier this week, Taylor Swift fans (and aren't most of us?) got some celebratory information. The pop queen announced she would be releasing a new album called The Life of a Showgirl. What did not come with the announcement, though, was the release date for the record or the cover art.
Instead, the artwork was teased in a short clip posted on Instagram by her official handle, coupled with the official IG page for the New Heights podcast. That pod is hosted by Swift's boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and his brother, Jason. The short video shows Swift holding an album, but the cover is blurred.
Swifties could safely assume that watching the Wednesday episode of the podcast, with Taylor Swift as a guest, would give us a lot more information. We only knew that, according to Swift's official site, pre-orders of The Life of a Showgirl would be shipped before October 13.
Taylor Swift delivers more information about upcoming album The Life of a Showgirl
As Swift likes to use a lot of number symbolism with her music, one might have assumed that, since this is her 12th studio album, maybe the record was going to be released on October 12th. Though, to be fair, December 12th would make even more sense.
Now we know a lot more. Taylor Swift announced on the New Heights podcast that her new album will drop on October 3. The album will have 12 songs in total, which makes sense as this is her 12th studio album, and Swift really likes numbers.
The tracklist is as follows:
- The Fate of Ophelia
- Elizabeth Taylor
- Opalite
- Father Figure
- Eldest Daughter
- Ruin the Friendship
- Actually Romantic
- Wi$h Li$t
- Wood
- Cancelled!
- Honey
- The Life of a Showgirl featuring Sabrina Carpenter
The album will be produced by Max Martine, Shellback, and Swift. This is a break from the pop queen's most recent work, in which the album was produced in part by Jack Antonoff.
We also learned that the orange-colored theme to the new album has no particular meaning. Swift just likes the color. Plus, we learned that Chiefs coach Andy Reid helped get Swift and Travis Kelce together as Reid had been long-time friends with Swift's father, Scott.
Taylor Swift has produced 11 original studio albums, all except her self-titled debut record hit No. 1 on the Billboard album charts, and she has delivered five re-recorded records, all of which hit No. 1. She has also released four live albums. Swift has sold an estimated 200 million records worldwide, and that number will grow further with the release of The Life of a Showgirl.