No clowning this time, y’all. TS12 is officially on its way. In the wee hours of Aug. 12, Taylor Swift revealed the title of her twelfth album, The Life of a Showgirl, and from that moment, it’s been all TLOAS, all the time. Naturally, fans are freaking out about the upcoming release — and, more importantly, trying to gather every morsel of information that they possibly can. If that sounds like you, you’ve come to the right place.
I know it feels a bit blasphemous to say, but it hasn’t actually been that long since Swift released new music, considering The Tortured Poets Department came out only a little over a year ago, in April 2024. But this is Swift we’re talking about — one of the most prolific artists in modern history. Fans have been hoping to hear news of a new album basically from the moment the TTPD hype started to subside. And now, Ms. Swift is delivering in spades.
It all started on Aug. 11, when the Taylor Nation Instagram account posted what was clearly a teaser for TS12: “Thinking about when she said ‘See you next era…’ ❤️🔥,” the caption read, accompanied by exactly 12 photos of Taylor wearing various orange outfits from the Eras Tour. On the same day, the IG account for Jason and Travis Kelce’s New Heights podcast revealed “a VERY special guest” would be on its Aug. 13 episode, with multiple hints that the guest would be Swift. Less than 24 hours later — at 12:12 a.m. on Aug. 12, to be exact — Swift revealed the title of her new album and confirmed she will be on New Heights‘s Aug. 13 episode to discuss the album. And once that podcast episode dropped, all hell broke loose (in the very best way).
Here’s what else has been revealed about The Life of a Showgirl so far.
The Life Of A Showgirl release date
In the Aug. 13 episode of New Heights, Swift revealed TLOAS will be released on Oct. 3 (yes, Mean Girls day, for those who celebrate). Fans had a good sense that the album was coming at some point between now and mid-October, since the pre-order page for the album on Swift’s website confirmed the album would ship before Oct. 13. Now, they have confirmation.
As for when Swift will drop any singles from the album, that’s still up in the air — but, of course, Swifties have theories. One clue comes from a teaser playlist shared by Swift’s official account on Spotify. The playlist, titled “And, baby, that’s show business for you,” contains a total of 22 songs, starting with the song “22.” Some believe this is a hint that a single from the album will drop on a date including the number 22, which could be Aug. 22 or Sept. 22. Fans will just have to wait for Swift to share yet another countdown clock… or break the internet with a surprise drop.
The Life Of A Showgirl Album Art
In true Swift fashion, blondie went big with the concept art for TLOAS, sharing a variety of album covers and additional photos on Aug. 13. The vibe? Bling, colors, and quite a bit of sexiness. Best believe she’s still bejeweled.
The Life Of A Showgirl tracklist
Along with the album release date and art, Swift also revealed its tracklist on Aug. 13, this time via an Instagram post. The album contains 12 tracks, in the following order:
- “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” feat. Sabrina Carpenter
The song titles already have fans buzzing over what they’re going to be about, with theories and ideas and hopes abounding. One thing is for sure: They’re going to be pop bops. Swift wrote this album with Swedish producers Max Martin and Shellback, who she’d previously teamed up with on what she called some of my favorite songs that I’ve ever done before,” including “Blank Space,” “Style,” and “Wildest Dreams,” among many others.
She wrote the songs while she was literally living the life of a showgirl, on the European leg of the Eras Tour in the spring and summer of 2024. “I’d do, like, three shows in a row,” she said. “I’d have three days off. I’d fly to Sweden, go back to the tour … I was physically exhausted at this point in the tour, but I was so mentally stimulated and so excited to be creating.”
On New Heights, Swift said the album “comes from like the most infectiously joyful, wild, dramatic place I was in in my life. And so that effervescence has come through on this record.” Her BF Kelce added the songs are “a lot more upbeat, and it’s a lot more like fun, pop, like excitement. I think it’s a complete 180 from a lot of the songs on Tortured Poets for sure.” (Oh, to be someone Swift loves and shares early listens of her albums with…)
As for the Sabrina Carpenter feature on the eponymous twelfth track, fans called that. Many were convinced that at least one song would feature Carpenter, since a photo of Swift with Carpenter was included in the Taylor Nation post teasing the new era.
One note that may disappoint Swifties: On the podcast, Swift noted that these are the only songs that will be on the album. “This is 12. There’s not a 13th … there’s not other songs coming,” she said. However, she also promised big things with this album, including “melodies that were so infectious that you’re almost angry at it, and lyrics that are just as vivid, but crisp and focused and completely intentional.” So you know what? It sounds like Swifties are going to get fed regardless.