Bring on the burlesque. Bring on the cabaret. Bring on the Las Vegas of it all. Bring on The Life of a Showgirl.
In under two months’ time, the world will be introduced to Taylor Swift’s twelfth studio album: The Life of a Showgirl, complete with 12 tracks and some glamorous, glamorous art to go with it. Appearing on boyfriend Travis Kelce’s podcast “New Heights”—which the Kansas City Chiefs tight end co-hosts with his brother, former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce—Swift spoke about the record; also on Wednesday, she shared five photos to her Instagram, including The Life of a Showgirl’s album cover, which features the singer-songwriter partially submerged in water.
Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ album cover. Taylor Swift/Instagram
“My day ends with me in a bathtub, not usually in a bedazzled dress,” Swift said in the “New Heights” episode, which clocks in at just over two hours. Of the cover photo—shot by famed fashion photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott—“I wanted to glamorize all the different aspects of how the tour felt,” Swift said.
In one of the five photos, Swift debuts a dramatic hair transformation: a short black bob, worn alongside a costume with pink ostrich feathers—a custom look by The Blonds.
Taylor Swift transforms into her showgirl era for her new album, out October 3. Taylor Swift/Instagram
While the cover photo features Swift in a crystal-embellished Area dress, other photos include Swift lounging on a chair in a burgundy bodysuit (also by The Blonds) and fishnet tights; all of the looks, styled by Joseph Cassell Falconer, are arguably the most revealing Swift has ever allowed herself to appear in public.
Nothing Swift does—from Easter eggs everywhere to a hair transformation to get her more into the character of the era—is left to chance. She is methodical in her attention to detail. Swift chose to release The Life of a Showgirl on October 3 because the date, 10/3, adds up to 13—which is, of course, Swift’s lucky number. (There’s a reason why the “New Heights” episode came out on August 13, and in the episode, Swift and Kelce reference that her favorite number, 13, plus his jersey number, 87, equal a perfect 100.)
Taylor Swift’s album art for ‘The Life of a Showgirl’. Taylor Swift/Instagram
The overuse of 13 is “never not annoying,” Swift joked on the show. “Always gonna try to force a 13 into the situation. And this one was right there.”
As for the theme of the Showgirl era, Swift said on the podcast, “I would say it’s everything that was going on behind the curtain.” Her vision for the album is “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.”
Kelce added of his girlfriend’s record that the dozen tracks are “all 12 bangers. It’s a lot more upbeat and it’s a lot more like fun pop, like excitement. And so I think it’s a complete 180 from a lot of the songs on Tortured Poets, for sure,” referencing her 2024 album The Tortured Poets Department.
Taylor Swift’s album ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ and its 12 tracks. Taylor Swift/Instagram
“Life is more upbeat,” Swift added. “I have different goals with different albums. Tortured Poets Department, my goals were strictly lyrical. It was really a full catharsis, and I love to embrace the mess of writing from that perspective, of the rawness of that. I was feeling a complete pivot at this point in time, and I want the album to feel the way my life felt. And this completely matches the way my life has felt.”
Calling Showgirl “the record I’ve been wanting to make for a very long time” and one she is “so proud” of, she said that the music “just comes from, like, the most infectiously joyful, wild, dramatic place I was in in my life”—referring no doubt to not just her Eras Tour but also her new relationship with Kelce.
Taylor Swift in her ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ era. Taylor Swift/Instagram
Taylor Swift announcing ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ on the ‘New Heights’ podcast. Instagram/New Heights
“And it just basically was like, I was so proud of the music and so excited about this project from a creative standpoint that I was just like, all hands on deck,” Swift said of the project. “We’re going all out. This is a full send. I care about this record more than I can even overstate.”
“It’s the life behind it all, it’s the life beyond the show,” Swift said of The Life of a Showgirl.
