The showgirl stole the show.
Taylor Swift appeared on the “New Heights” podcast Wednesday with her boyfriend Travis Kelce and his brother and co-host Jason Kelce.
Just as the episode featuring Swift’s podcast debut was released at 7 p.m. ET, she unveiled the cover art and track list for her upcoming album “The Life of a Showgirl” on social media and announced it will drop Oct. 3.
“And, baby, that’s show business for you,” the caption read.
The cover of Swift’s 12th studio album features her submerged in water wearing a bedazzled bodysuit, with the title written in orange glitter. The title track, the last of 12 songs on the album, features Sabrina Carpenter.
Here’s the full track list:
- The Fate of Ophelia
- Elizabeth Taylor
- Opalite
- Father Figure
- Eldest Daughter
- Ruin the Friendship
- Actually Romantic
- Wi$h Li$t
- Wood
- Cancelled!
- Honey
- The Life of a Showgirl (featuring Sabrina Carpenter)
The 14-time Grammy winner discussed her new album and other topics with the pair of Super Bowl champions, as Swifties also got to hear the first extended public discussion between the Hollywood couple.
“So, I wanted to show you something,” Swift said while opening a briefcase to reveal the album art that had been blurred on Tuesday’s teaser video. “This is my brand new album.
“It was something that I was working on while I was in Europe on the Eras Tour,” she said.
“I would be playing shows, I’d do like three shows in a row, I’d have three days off, I’d fly to Sweden, go back to the tour. And actually like working on this, I was physically exhausted at this point in the tour, but I was so mentally stimulated and so excited to be creating.”
Swift — in her famously elaborate fashion — announced the new album on her website the day before the podcast was released, with the news being revealed after a countdown timer expired on 12:12 a.m. ET on Aug. 12.
Swift’s website teased the cover art by displaying a mint green rectangle with an orange lock, an image that soon became Swift’s social media profile picture.
The “New Heights” podcast then promoted a mystery guest appearance on their next episode by posting an image with a silhouette that many believed to be Swift.
That was confirmed when the podcast’s social media accounts posted some teaser clips.
Swift announced her last album “The Tortured Poets Department” during the 2024 Grammy Awards in February. The album was released on April 19, 2004 – during Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour that ended in December.
Since the conclusion of her 21-month tour across five continents, Swift had mostly remained out of the public eye.
But the show must go on.
The pop superstar’s cameo and album reveal Wednesday on “New Heights” likely took the award-winning podcast to new heights, with over one million Swifties and other listeners tuning in on YouTube during the first hour of its release.
It was the first on-screen interaction between Swift and the Kansas City Chiefs star tight end that was made public since their romance began in 2023.
That was when Travis Kelce attended the Eras Tour in Kansas City and unsuccessfully attempted to give Swift a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it. Swift learned of his attempt and interest after he shared the story on an episode of “New Heights.”
Swift, discussing the moment publicly for the first time Wednesday on the podcast, called it a “wild, romantic gesture.” She joked that the podcast “got me a boyfriend” because Travis Kelce made it “his personal dating app.”
She added that the two then got to know each other in a very natural way.
“This is sort of what I’ve been writing songs about wanting to happen to me since I was a teenager,” Swift said.
Swift, in September of 2023, attended her first Chiefs game, sitting in a luxury suite at Arrowhead Stadium with Kelce’s mother Donna. Swift and Travis Kelce left the stadium together after the game in a convertible.
The following week, Swift attended Travis Kelce’s game at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey against the New York Jets, bringing along an A-list entourage that included Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman and others.
Swift attended 13 Chiefs games that season, capped with their 25-22 win over the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl, after which she celebrated on the field with Travis Kelce.
The following season, Swift attended many of the Chiefs’ home games and also made a return trip to the Super Bowl, which the Chiefs lost to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The couple, outside of their gameday appearances and other occasional public sightings, has mostly maintained their privacy despite being the entertainment world’s most high-profile couple.
Taylor Swift’s wildest dream came true. The singer announced on May 30, in a heartfelt letter shared to her website, that she bought back the rights to her music catalog, giving her control of her first six albums.
