Originally appeared on E! Online
Taylor Swift may have broken her poker face.
After announcing her new album The Life of a Showgirl, the singer has allegedly been “liking” posts with different fan theories, including one about how the record is subtly connected to Lady Gaga.
Rumors started swirling when Swifties realized Lady Gaga dropped her song “Applause” 12 years ago to the day on Aug. 12, the same day Taylor announced her 12th album. Another invisible string between the artists? Taylor used “Applause” as part of her intro playlist for the Eras Tour, with the track coming on just minutes before Taylor took the stage each night.
“Is this just the most insane coincidence,” one fan wrote on X Aug. 11, “or like is she clinically insane.”
Taylor gave that post a like, according to a screenshot shared by the user, hinting that her Easter Egg was planned years in advance.
While Taylor has kept quiet about details regarding her 12th album, which she announced in a teaser clip for her Aug. 13 appearance on Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce‘s New Heights podcast, Taylor and Gaga have sparked rumors of a collaboration before.
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Back in March, when Lady Gaga released her album Mayhem, fans believed they heard Taylor’s vocals on the track “How Bad Do U Want Me,” which also drew songwriting comparisons to 2022’s “Hits Different.”
At the time, one X user shared, “how bad do u want me being a straight up taylor swift song,” while another believed that the song was straight out of Taylor’s famous collection of unreleased songs, sharing, “why was gaga playing in taylor’s vault.”
However, Taylor was not credited on the song, and sources told Us Weekly and Page Six the rumors of her involvement were false.
But, the “Love Story” singer is known for her surprises, and with fans thinking the album will be full of “glitter gel pen” pop songs, a collaboration with the pop icon may not be out of the question—especially after Taylor released a Spotify playlist Aug. 12 featuring 22 of her songs produced by Max Martin and Shellback, the producers of some of her pop hits like “Bad Blood,” “I Knew You Were Trouble” and “Delicate.”
Another collaboration that fans think might be featured on the album? A song with Eras Tour opening act Sabrina Carpenter.
Johnny Nunez/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
After all, the “Espresso” hitmaker was featured in the 12th photo in Taylor Nation’s Aug. 11 post alluding to the new album, which was captioned, “Thinking about when she said ‘See you next era…'” While the first 11 photos were of Taylor wearing orange, the last photo was of the duo singing together.
Another potential clue lies on the homepage of Sabrina’s website, which features the date, “August 12th, 2025.” Fans on X were also quick to notice the connection. As one put it, “EXCUSE ME???? SABRINA COLLAB IS REAL.”
For more easter eggs ahead of the album release, read on.
Taylor Swift Put Up a Countdown Clock
Taylor Swift wouldn’t have had a countdown clock on her website ticking down to “12 AT 12:12 AM ET,” set against a glittery orange background, for no reason.
Taylor’s Version of an Elaborate Album Tease
On Aug. 12, 2024, Taylor was photographed in a matching plaid miniskirt and cropped jacket—but there was nothing clueless about it.
As pointed out by super-sleuth Kristen (@perfectlyfine89), not only could it be construed that Taylor is making very purposeful eye contact with the camera, but also the orange and green print of her outfit matches the color palette of the cover of The Life of a Showgirl, which Taylor revealed exactly one year later on Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast.
In an episode teaser posted at 12:12 a.m. ET on Aug. 12, 2025, Taylor picked up a mint-green briefcase emblazoned with “T.S.” in orange and pulled out the cover of what will be her 12th studio album. Blurred for now, but obviously green and orange.
Of course, Taylor is pretty mad about plaid, and she also wore a tartan print to the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards—where she said the fateful words “my boyfriend Travis.”
Did Taylor Swift Subtly Reveal the Release Date of The Life of a Showgirl?
The Life of a Showgirl is already available to preorder from Taylor’s website, which notes that whatever hard copy you desire—vinyl, CD or cassette—will ship before Oct. 13.
Fair enough, Taylor’s connection to the number 13 well-established. But, as Kristen also noticed, Oct. 3 (a.k.a. 10-3) not only adds up to 13, it’s both National Plaid Day and National Boyfriend’s Day. See above.
Orange You Glad the Fans Are Always On It?
Hindsight is always 20/13 in the Taylorverse. On the morning of Aug. 11, the official Taylor Nation social accounts posted a carousel of 12(!) pics showing Taylor onstage in a variety of orange ensembles, captioned, “Thinking about when she said ‘See you next era…”
Travis Kelce’s Key Assist
Travis and Jason made a half-hearted trick play when they teased a “VERY special guest” on a “special episode” of New Heights—dropping Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. ET, mind you—including what to even amateur Swifties was obviously a silhouette of Taylor in the post.
New York Hearts Taylor Swift Right Back
The top of the Empire State Building was preemptively lit up orange in honor of the occasion. The official X account for the New York City landmark posted a photo of the color-coordinated building on Aug. 11 at 1:45 p.m. ET, captioned, “See you next era.”
Low-Hanging Orange Fruit
A TikTok from Oct. 18, 2024, her first Miami show of the Eras Tour, showed Taylor standing in front of section A12 (Aug. 12, album 12?!) at Hard Rock Stadium.
Then she proceeded to wear a glittery orange bodysuit when she declared, “Miami, we are so back!” and then a green skirt and orange bustier during the 1989 portion of the concert, not to mention a very show girl-esque white feathery costume as she belted “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart”?
Her way of saying that her next album was finished and this is what it looks like?
To be fair, orange and green are also the official Miami Hurricanes colors—but hey, two things can be true at the same time.
Spotted on Spotify
There’s already a Spotify playlist prophetically titled “And, baby, that’s show business for you,” featuring the now emblematic orange T.S. initials against a green background.
There are, ahem, 22 existing Taylor songs, all produced by Swedish hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback (a.k.a. Karl Johan Schuster), bolstering fans’ speculation that she wrote the entirety of The Life of a Showgirl while on tour in Europe and these two helped her pull it off.
Did You Catch These Possible Variants?
Fans noticed that the background of the New Heights podcast featured multiple boxes in orange, red, white and purple bearing her initials “T.S.”—hinting at possible variations of the album or more music to come.
Let’s Applaud These Lady Gaga Collab Rumors
Taylor herself liked a fan theory on X (formerly Twitter) that pointed out how Lady Gaga released her song “Applause” 12 years to the day on Aug. 12 when Taylor announced Life of a Showgirl. The significance? Taylor had used “Applause” as her lead-in song before opening the Eras Tour each night, along with Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me.”
Taylor liked a fan’s post that hinted at a possible Gaga collab: “Is this just the most insane coincidence or like is she clinically insane.”
Get a Taste of This Sabrina Carpenter Theory
Swifties began speculating Sabrina Carpenter may be involved on Life of a Showgirl after she appeared in the 12th slide of a photo gallery from Taylor Nation teasing the next era. Not to mention, Sabrina unveiled a message on her website with the date Aug. 12.