Taylor Swift has the internet in an upheaval once again. The megastar announced her upcoming 12th studio album, "The Life of a Showgirl," completely out of nowhere during an appearance on the "New Heights" podcast (which is hosted by her NFL beau, Travis Kelce, and his brother, Jason Kelce), and naturally, Swifties have been clamoring to dissect every tiny detail available about the album's release ever since. Fans spotted plenty of Easter eggs during Swift's Eras tour, and as it turns out, the singer-songwriter
might have been teasing her new album even back then.
Those who are confused or surprised by "The Life of a Showgirl's" striking orange aesthetic and all the excitement surrounding it simply haven't been paying enough attention. Swift started wearing more orange outfits on tour in May 2024, leading to increasing speculation that it would be the color of her next big "era." The singer seemingly confirmed this when the globetrotting, history-making jaunt ended in December 2024 and she exited the stage through an orange door with the farewell message: "See you next era." It's now officially arrived, and orange has never looked this good.
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The Number 12 Is A Big Deal For Taylor Swift
When Taylor Swift started a countdown on her website prior to the pop star's first ever podcast appearance fans understandably got very excited. The official announcement appeared on her website at exactly 12:12 a.m. Eastern Time on August 12. Notice a pattern? After the album's cover reveal, Swift also confirmed that the record will feature 12 tracks (of course it will). "There's no other songs coming," she disclosed on "New Heights." The "Shake It Off" hitmaker also may or may not have teased the album back in February, during the 2025 Grammy Awards, when she wore stunning red earrings embedded with 12 gemstones each. It's no secret that Swift has used numbers in the past to convey cryptic messages to her fans, and she's done it again here. Rumors swirled that the release of the singer-songwriter's 12th album was imminent in May 2025, when Swift announced that she'd bought back the master recordings of her first six albums.
In an open letter to her fans, the Grammy winner admitted that she'd often been "thiiiiiiiiiiiis close" to clinching the deal, and that she'd finally managed to close it. Fans quickly pointed out that she used 12 "i"'s when she wrote "this," with one penning on X, formerly known as Twitter, "I feel like ts12 just got so much closer." This might seem like a stretch, but Swift did take to her Instagram Stories to compliment her bestie Selena Gomez on her new album in March with the message, "I LOVE THIS ALBUM SO MUCH. OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDDD," (via Page Six). Those 12 "Ds" are no coincidence.
The Initial Announcement Wasn't Posted On Taylor Swift's Social Media Accounts
Taylor Swift's latest album announcement was different from all of her previous ones in that she didn't post about it the moment it was revealed to the world. Instead, the news was shared by "New Heights" on its own social media as Swifties kept feverishly refreshing the singer's Instagram page. To fans, it didn't come as too much of a surprise that the "Blank Space" hitmaker would let her partner do the honors, though. While there have been rumors that Swift and Travis Kelce's relationship might be on the rocks, it's clear to her superfans that the celebrity couple is as madly in love as ever and that, crucially, Swift's relationship with Kelce is different than all her others.
"How can you not be happy for Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift? Love shines through when you see them," one such Swiftie pondered on X. "Find someone who looks at and loves you the way Taylor Swift does for Travis Kelce," another added. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end gushed about his girlfriend's incredible stage presence during an interview with GQ earlier this month, pointing out, "People gravitate towards how she performs and how she makes it feel like the entire stadium is in this little room with her."
Likewise, while engaging in some playful banter on "New Heights," the prolific singer-songwriter sweetly told her beau, "You're so handsome." Later on, Travis's brother and co-host, Jason Kelce, joked that he should leave them alone. Needless to say, at this point, we wouldn't be surprised if Travis was the one to announce Swift's 13th studio album (and Swifites know how much her lucky number means to her).
Read the original article on The List.
