Taylor Swift shocked her loyal fans on Monday with a countdown leading down to the announcement of her new album: The Life Of A Showgirl.
The 35-year-old pop superstar’s website initially featured a countdown over a glittering orange background and the cryptic text below: ‘Expires August 12 at 12:12AM ET’ the release date is yet to be confirmed.
The excitement-inducing countdown appeared after Swift left fans convinced that was preparing to release new music after a recent tease from the Empire State Building.
Taylor’s website crashed immediately after the timer ran out, stymying many of her devoted fans, but the X account for her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s podcast shared a clip of her announcing the new LP.
‘So I wanted to show you something,’ Taylor said in a clip as she sat next to Travis. Then she pulled out a white case with ‘TS’ written on the side in orange block letters.
‘This is my brand-new album, The Life Of A Showgirl,’ Taylor said proudly as she held up a vinyl version of the album, which was censored in the video.
Travis’ brother Jason Kelce let out a piercing scream of joy as soon as the album title escaped her lips.
‘TS 12!’ Travis cheered excitedly, referencing The Life Of A Showgirl’s status as her twelfth studio album, as the announcement clip came to an abrupt end.
Fans may be forced to wait until the New Heights episode drops on Wednesday to see an uncensored version of the album artwork.
Once Swift’s website was back online, it had transformed into a ‘pre pre-order’ store for the upcoming album.
She was offering a $30 vinyl version of the album, a $13 CD that came with a double-sided poster decorated on either side with photos of the hitmaker and a $20 cassette version designed to appeal to fans with a retro streak.
Each display featured a heavily blurred version of what appeared to be the album cover, and the description promised that the various formats would have unique cover designs.
The vinyl version appeared to be tailored to collectors, as it was described as being printed on ‘Portofino Orange Glitter Vinyl,’ which was described as translucent orange vinyl decorated with gold glitter.
After the announcement, fans began speculating about possible guest appearances on The Life Of A Showgirl, even though Swift has given any indication of who might join her on the album.
However, she may have given a hint about the album’s producer with a Spotify playlist released on Monday in advance of the announcement.
Eagle-eyed fans noted that every song an the playlist had been produced by Max Martin.
The pop music maven used to be a major collaborator with Swift, but the two haven’t worked together since recording music for 2017’s Reputation, and Martin was notably absent from the sessions to rerecord songs he had previously worked on.
After the announcement, fans shared their excitement on social media.
‘OMG OMG TAYLOR SWIFT’S NEW ALBUM — THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL — TS 12!! 🥹❤️ I’m so happy!!!’ one user gushed on X.
Another fan posted a clip of Oprah Winfrey being overcome with emotion and juxtaposed it against Taylor’s new preorders.
One disappointed Swiftie admitted that they ‘missed’ the album announcement because they were ‘doing mcat practice questions,’ adding, ‘they really don’t tell you about the sacrifices of a premed until you’re in it 😔.’
Several fans also noted how different the album release was compared to previous announcements due to Taylor’s decision to share the news on her boyfriend’s podcast.
‘Announcing your album on your boyfriends and his brothers podcast…what’s happened to my taylor swift,’ wrote one concerned fan.
Several other users poked fun at how Swift’s website couldn’t handle the throng of traffic it attracted.
One poster shared a gif of Kieran Culkin from Succession in which he looked morosely at a computer screen showing him nothing but bad news, captioning it, ‘Taylor Swift’s website administrator.’
On Monday, the official X account for the iconic New York City skyscraper shared an image of the building, seemingly taken in February, with its top part lit up with orange lights, and the caption, ‘See you next era.’
Many believed the post signaled Swift’s next musical chapter following her extremely successful Eras Tour, and the consistent use of orange suggested a connection with her upcoming website reveal.
The official account for the Eras Tour even commented on the post, writing, ‘Yessss’ with an orange heart emoji.
Swift’s last musical release was her 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department, which came out in April 2024.
Following the post, excited Swifties took to the comments, with one writing, ‘Do you know something we don’t, Empire State Building?!’
‘Oh that lead single is coming,’ someone else chimed in.
‘TS12 listening party at the Empire State Building when?’ another questioned.
‘What do you know? OMG!’ added a shocked fan.
‘Guys IT’S HAPPENING,’ gushed another overwhelmed user.
‘I love New York supporting our beloved @taylorswift13!!!!’
‘I LOVE that the Empire State Building is a swiftie.’
The Empire State Building’s lights have been changed to different colors to recognize special occasions, holidays, and organizations in the past.
The building was illuminated in orange in February to honor Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, the Israeli mother and sons who were taken hostage and killed during the attacks on October 7.
Adding fuel to the speculations about Swift’s potential 12th studio album was a recent announcement from her boyfriend Travis Kelce, with many fans correctly predicting that Taylor would appear on his podcast for the first time to announce her new music.
Swifties were left convinced that the songstress was finally making a highly anticipated appearance on Travis and his brother Jason’s New Heights podcast after the hit show dropped a cryptic clue on Monday morning.
New Heights’ official X account shared a post revealing that the podcast would return from its temporary summer break for a one-off episode with a ‘VERY special guest’ on Wednesday at 7pm ET.
The image they selected happened to feature a black silhouette and a bedazzled orange background, seemingly teasing Swift may be joining them.
Others pointed to a clue in Jason’s choice of clothing, as the retired Philadelphia Eagles legend was wearing a T-shirt from Swift’s merchandise line.
And, despite the podcast’s attempts to protect the guest’s anonymity, not only were the pop sensation’s fans convinced she would be returning to the public eye on the show but that she has a very specific reason for stepping back into the spotlight.
Some theories suggested she might be announcing a Super Bowl Halftime performance, an NFL theme song, a re-recorded album, or even an Eras Tour documentary, though fans seemed particularly happy to learn that Swift would be releasing a new album.
New Heights’ announcement was followed by a teaching post from Taylor Nation — the singer’s in-house marketing and public relations team — which read: ‘Thinking about when she said “See you next era…”‘
The account added fuel to the fire by following it up with four images of the ‘Anti-Hero’ hitmaker in orange outfits — the same color as the background of New Heights’ promo graphic.
Two more batches of four similar photos followed, taking the total to 12, which would be the number of the singer’s next album.
‘TS12 IS ACTUALLY COMING THIS IS NOT A DRILL WHATS THE PROCEDURE!!,’ one fan wrote.
‘She’s announcing ts12 on the pod isn’t she…….,’ another social media user questioned.
‘travis looking to his left with his Taylor Smile, jason wearing merch, i can see the bangs from a mile away……but most importantly, the background… …..ts12 confirmed to be orange alert the troops,’ a third theorized.
‘We’re gonna get the ts12 announcement on the 13th day of August on an episode of New Heights WHAT IS LIFE,’ gushed another fan.
Many Swifties believed that orange would be the new color scheme of the 14-time Grammy Award winner’s 12th studio album ‘era,’ and her website’s redesign seems to support that belief.
