Taylor Swift’s latest era is almost upon us. The superstar isn’t just releasing her 12th album in October – she also appeared Wednesday (Aug 13) on New Heights for the first time to discuss it at length.
Part of the rollout for the announcement of The Life Of A Showgirl involved the popular, typically football-focused podcast hosted by Travis Kelce – Swift’s boyfriend and Kansas City Chiefs tight end – and his brother, Jason Kelce, the former Philadelphia Eagles center. Her episode, which ran just over two hours on audio streaming and an hour and 45 minutes via YouTube, was particularly revealing.
Here’s everything you need to know about Swift’s episode.
THE BIG TAYLOR SWIFT TAKEAWAYS ARRIVED … SWIFTLY
1. Swift partially announced her new album The Life Of A Showgirl on the podcast, originally shared Tuesday in a preview clip. Swift told the Kelce brothers she wanted to show them something, revealing a mint-green briefcase that featured her initials in orange. Jason Kelce asked what’s in it, prompting her to pull out a vinyl record. “This is my brand new album, The Life Of A Showgirl,” she said.
2. In the full episode, Swift revealed she worked on the album in Europe while she was on the “Eras Tour” – flying between dates to record, truly embodying the album’s title, The Life Of A Showgirl. Then she read the track list. The entire album was completed in Sweden with producers Max Martin and Shellback.
3. Why orange? The colour embodies “what was going on in my inner life during this tour”, she said, before referring to Martin as her “mentor”. “These guys, they’re just geniuses,” she said of Martin and Shellback.
4. “Bangers”, is how she describes the album. She also said, “There aren’t other ones coming,” referring to a surprising double album like in the case of 2024’s The Tortured Poets Department. The release is 12 tracks – that’s it. And it arrives Oct 3. “I care about this record more than I can even overstate,” she said. “It’s a lot more upbeat,” Travis Kelce said, describing it as a “180 from Tortured Poets”. Swift agreed, adding, “Life is more upbeat.”
5. The album’s theme? “Everything that was going on behind the curtain,” she said.
6. The album’s goal? Infectious melodies and vivid lyrics, she explained.
7. The album’s cover? Themed after “the end of my day”, she said. “My day ends with me in a bathtub.”
8. She also shared personal information on New Heights, arguably in a way she hasn’t in years. For example: Her mum “got a new knee”, she said. And her dad had quintuple bypass surgery this summer. He had “five blockages in his heart” discovered through a stress test. “This was the summer of my parental upgrades,” she said.
9. She spent considerable time in Florida with Travis Kelce. She also said “our jobs are very similar”, it is “to entertain people for three hours in NFL stadiums”.
10. Jason Kelce asked his brother and Swift how they handle online chatter about their relationship. “We don’t, really. I don’t see a lot of things,” she said. “My name can be in the actual headline, and it’s none of my business.”
11. She shared her favourite segments from New Heights, her self-described “favourite podcast”. That is “new news”. She credited the podcast as getting her “a boyfriend”, and discussed how the pair started dating via friendship bracelet exchange. “If this guy isn’t crazy,” she joked, he’s the kind of guy she’s “been writing songs about”.
