A countdown to 12.12am on Taylor Swift’s website has culminated in the surprise announcement of her 12th studio album.
The Life of a Showgirl is available to pre-order on vinyl, CD and cassette on Swift’s website. Its official release date is yet to be confirmed, but the site states orders will be posted before October 13.
Swift’s website crashed as fans eagerly awaited the end of the countdown, but the news was confirmed at 12.12am (Eastern Time) in a short clip from her boyfriend’s New Heights podcast.
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Swift appeared alongside Travis Kelce, an NFL star, and his brother, Jason Kelce. “So I wanted to show you something,” Swift said, before holding up a green briefcase with her initials written on in orange letters. She then held up the new record, which was blurred out. The full podcast episode — and potentially the cover — will be released on Wednesday.
The record will be Swift’s follow-up to 2024’s The Tortured Poets Department, which was an enormous commercial success while not quite scaling the critical heights of some of her earlier work.
At the Grammys, Swift has won two album of the year awards in the last five years and has established herself as the dominant force in pop music.
Her Eras tour, which began in March 2023, grossed an estimated $2.2 billion, shattering the previous music industry record.
Swift, 35, announced in May that she had bought the rights to her first six albums in what was reported to be a nine-figure sum. The deal ended a years-long battle over her master recordings and left her in full control of one of the most valuable catalogues in music.
“To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it,” she said at the time. All I’ve ever wanted was the opportunity to work hard enough to be able to one day purchase my music outright with no strings attached, no partnership, with full autonomy.”
Swift has been dating Kelce, 35, since 2023. Kelce plays for the Kansas City Chiefs and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in NFL history. Swift has appeared in the crowd at his games, including the most recent Super Bowl in February.