Taylor Swift has confirmed she will release her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, following intense speculation among fans.
The announcement came just after midnight on Tuesday through a video clip aired on New Heights, the podcast hosted by her partner, NFL star Travis Kelce, and his brother, former player Jason Kelce.
In the clip, Swift holds up a vinyl record with its cover completely blurred.
“This is my brand new album The Life of a Showgirl,” she says, while Travis exclaims, “TS12!”
Her official website simultaneously launched pre-orders showing blurred images of a record, CD, and cassette tape overlaid with a glittery orange lock, with a note saying artwork would be revealed at a later date.
The site confirmed the album will ship before October 13 but stressed that this is “not the release date.”
According to AFP, speculation began on Monday when Swift’s marketing team posted a carousel of 12 images on social media with the caption: “Thinking about when she said, ‘See you next era…’.”
Fans quickly noticed that longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff, who has shaped much of Swift’s recent sound, is not involved in the project.
The build-up intensified when news broke of her podcast appearance, coupled with a countdown on her website.
The Life of a Showgirl will follow her 2024 release, The Tortured Poets Department, which sold 1.4 million copies on its first day and broke Spotify’s single-day streaming record.
Swift’s new era comes after a comparatively quiet start to 2025 following the conclusion of her record-breaking Eras Tour in December 2024.
That tour spanned 149 shows across 53 cities, drew nearly 1.2 million fans in the UK alone, and generated an estimated £1 billion for the UK economy.
Globally, it grossed $2 billion, making it the most lucrative tour in music history.
In May, the 14-time Grammy Award winner made industry history by buying back the rights to her entire back catalog, ending a long-running feud over her masters.
Since 2021, she has re-recorded four of her first six albums as “Taylor’s Versions” and pledged the remaining two will re-emerge when the time is right.
Now officially a billionaire, Swift holds numerous accolades, including Artist of the Decade (American Music Awards), the most MTV Video Music Awards in history, and a record-breaking four wins for Album of the Year at the Grammys.