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What to think of Taylor Swift’s new album?
Just a few months after wrapping up her highly-publicised Eras Tour, Taylor Swift is already back. She has just released a new record, The Life of a Showgirl, on October 3rd, 2025. A title that hints at a record that will be very different from the introspective The Tortured Poets Department, released in April 2024. Here’s our review.
By Violaine Schütz.
Published on 3 October 2025. Updated on 7 November 2025.
The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift’s new hit record
Following the release of The Tortured Poets Department in April 2024 and the end of the highly-publicized and lucrative Eras Tour in December 2024, Taylor Swift is already back. As always, the singer teased her comeback perfectly. Last summer, Taylor Nation, the website of her community management team, posted images of her wearing orange tones with the caption: “Thinking about when she said ‘See you next era…’” It seemed to be a nod to the colours of the Kansas City Chiefs, the NFL team where the singer’s partner Travis Kelce plays. Namely red and yellow, which produce orange when combined.
Then, on Monday, August 11th, Taylor Swift’s official website displayed a countdown set to end at 12:12 am EST on August 12th, 2025. That’s when the title was revealed. The singer’s twelfth studio album will be called The Life of a Showgirl. It is already available for pre-order on her website, in vinyl, CD, or cassette formats. While no official release date has been announced yet, the orange glitter vinyl editions are expected to be shipped before October 13th.
A well-thought marketing strategy
In a clip from the New Heights podcast set to air this week, hosted by Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, American football player Travis Kelce, and his brother, Jason Kelce, the star shows a blurred image of her vinyl cover on screen. Swifties were already in a frenzy, hunting for the tiniest Easter egg.
Finally, on August 13th, Taylor Swift revealed the art cover and release date of her project – October 3rd, 2025. Shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, the album cover shows the singer underwater, wearing a rhinestone-studded corset. On Instagram, she shared additional images in outfits reminiscent of cabaret dancers. The ultra-glamorous shots evoke the worlds of Cabaret, Moulin Rouge, Showgirls, The Last Showgirl, and also the Shakespearean character Ophelia, who drowned.
The, the singer gradually unveiled multiple vinyl covers, further fuelling excitement around the project. A a result, he glittery orange hue, now part of this new era’s DNA, popped up everywhere, from Ikea to Starbucks. And her album became the most pre-saved release of 2025 on Spotify.
A release party in theaters
The pop star will celebrate the album’s release in grand style in U.S. movie theaters from October 3rd to 5th, 2025. During a screening expected to last around an hour and a half, exclusive footage of the album’s creation will be shown, along with lyric videos for the tracks on The Life of a Showgirl. She will also give a few interviews on carefully selected American talk shows.
In short, no one does marketing like Taylor Swift. She no longer needs to release a single in advance to get people excited. Her album is an event in itself and she knows it. More than seventy artists – among them Doja Cat – have apparently postponed their own releases to avoid being overshadowed by her aura.
But is the album worth all the hype? The tracklist features 12 songs, like Elizabeth Taylor, Father Figure, which might include a sample of George Michael’s track of the same name, and The Fate of Ophelia. The latter will be released as the album’s first music video. And this video will be unveiled during a release party hosted by Taylor Swift herself.
A duet with Sabrina Carpenter
Another surprise? Producer Jack Antonoff, the star’s longtime collaborator, will not appear in the credits. As suggested by a playlist she shared on Spotify, Taylor Swift has enlisted two hitmakers, the legendary producer Max Martin and musician Shellback. The two are known for the star’s hits Shake It Off, Blank Space, Don’t Blame Me and Bad Blood.
One might have expected The Life of a Showgirl to be packed with upbeat, synthetic pop hits. But that’s not the case. This mid-tempo, rather mellow album leans more toward soft rock and melancholic pop. A few country touches remind us of her music debuts, and some funk-pop on the track Wood are reminiscent of the Jackson Five.
The climax of the album is the duet with Sabrina Carpenter on the title track, The Life of a Showgirl. In the past, she brought her protégé on stage multiple times during the Eras Tour. This track confirms the strength of their friendship and is one of the most beautiful songs on the album. Other highlights include the infectious The Fate of Ophelia, driven by 1980s-inspired rhythms, Elizabeth Taylor, featuring the already iconic line “Ooh, oftentimes it doesn’t feel so glamorous to be me”, and Opalite.
A romantic album with a few diss tracks
As for the main themes, the use of orange seemed to suggest that Taylor Swift would fully embrace her showgirl persona on this album. A side of herself she had already showcased on her spectacular Eras Tour in 2023 and 2024. With countless costume changes, choreography, massive stage design, and over three-hour-long performances, the star proved she had become a true entertainer.
Instead, The Life of a Showgirl tackles her life offstage during that tour, as she mentioned in an episode from the New Heights podcast on August 13th. Through raw, intimate lyrics, she repeatedly declares her love for her fiancé, Travis Kelce. On the sensual and upbeat Wish List, she sings with joy: “I just want you / Have a couple kids, got the whole block looking like you.” This album also features her most overtly sexual track to date, Wood, filled with playful double entendres about the male anatomy. An erotic register that suits her well, and one that her friend Sabrina Carpenter would certainly approve of.
A beef with Charli xcx?
But she also tackles heavier themes, like the challenges she is facing in the music industry, and draws the portrait of a disillusioned, melancholic showgirl settling scores with the entertainment industry. While her music is often upbeat, the lyrics are much darker. On the lively Father Figure, she seems to allude to the purchase of her early masters.
Actually Romantic could well be a scathing diss track aimed at Charli xcx, who reportedly called her a “boring Barbie.” Cancelled! feels like a reference to her now-broken friendship with Blake Lively, or her longstanding conflicts with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. In the end, The Life of a Showgirl proves that Taylor Swift can still surprise us. Even if her album isn’t quite as dazzling or hard-hitting as its glittery aesthetic might have suggested.
The Life of a Showgirl de Taylor Swift, available now.
