"Thinking about when she said, ‘See you next era…’”

It was August 12, 12:12 PM ET, when the Taylor Swift website sparkled with orange and mint green glitter in celebration of her new album. The Life of a Showgirl, Swift’s now 12th studio album, shocked fans and rocked the internet.

In the past 20 years, Taylor Swift has released 15 albums (four being re-recordings, eleven being originals), and on August 12th, she decided to add one more to the mix. Being announced using a clip from the Kelce Brothers podcast, New Heights, Swift had her fans scrambling to watch the episode that would be released the next day at 7 ET. On this podcast, Swift talked with Jason and Travis Kelce about many things, such as sourdough, her and Travis’ relationship, reclaiming her masters, her life during/after the Eras Tour, and how they would help her write this sparkly album.

“I would say it’s about everything that was going on behind the curtain,” Swift stated on the podcast, “I was basically exhausted at this point in the tour, but I was so mentally stimulated and so excited to be creating.” The singer went on to explain how this album, being released on October 3rd, would be about her life as a “showgirl” on the nearly two-year-long tour she named The Era’s Tour. Discussing the mental toll of show life, Swift made it clear that this album would delve into the in-depth impact of the tour the internet loved had on the performer. 

In addition to the release date, Swift also revealed the album cover, track list, and collaborations that would comprise the album. The cover depicts Swift in a rhinestone dress, floating in a body of water —a picture that Swifties have found to have similarities to the Sir John Everett Millais painting ‘Ophelia,’ which shows the love interest of Prince Hamlet from William Shakespeare's play, drowning in a river. This photo and its relation to Swift are not only similar to other Easter eggs the pop singer has used before, but also resemble some of the track names Swift announced the same day.

 “This is 12. There is not a 13th… there’s no other songs coming,” Swift made very clear to fans in the podcast. The album, being produced by Max Martin, Shellback, Taylor Swift, Mert Alas, and Marcus Piggot, will have 12 tracks. These tracks will have the titles of “The Fate of Ophelia,” “Elizabeth Taylor,” “Opalite,” “Father Figure,” “Eldest Daughter,” and “Ruin The Friendship.” Also, “Actually Romantic,” “Wi$h Li$t,” “Wood,” “CANCELLED!,” “Honey,” and “The Life of a Showgirl” featuring Sabrina Carpenter. 

This glitter-filled album has been public for a little more than a week and has already sold out 4 CD variants and three vinyl variants. It’s simple to say that fans are ecstatic about this album arriving in just over a month. We can tell already that this album, and other surprises that may come, will be a hit around the world on October 3rd.