*Can you catch all 13 Taylor Swift lyrics in this article?*
Come one, come all its happening again, Taylor Swift is releasing a new album after a year of well-deserved break post the completion of the Eras Tour.
And she is here to destroy records.
Twenty-two million views in total on a two-hour long sports podcast, which in of itself brought an entirely new audience, setting a world record for most concurrent viewers on said podcast (1.3 million).
Taylor Swift comes back stronger than a 90’s trend.
It was a cruel summer until August 11th, 2025, where Swifties could now live for the hope of it all. Taylor Swift announced her 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl.” on the New Heights podcast which famously stars her now fiancé, Travis Kelce.
The clip consisted of Swift holding a blurred album cover, only dropping the title. The fifteen second clip now has over 200 million views on Swift’s Instagram, breaking her record for the most viewed reel on her profile.
The podcast episode wouldn’t air until the next day, August 12th, but the preorder for the physical media would drop in tandem with the teaser clip.
All anyone knew was the title of the album. No one knew what the album cover looked like; no one knew the title tracks, nor what the album would sound like.
And yet, there was still an hour and a half long, virtual, line to check out on Taylor Swift’s official website.
She broke Spotify records for the most pre-saved album in eighteen days, surpassing the previous record she broke in twenty-two days while rolling out her 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” She wouldn’t have to knock on wood to know this album would be a hit.
I wish you would understand that Swift’s marketing for this album roll out was genius. She was pulling us into the fire of the mystery around what the album cover would look like, and the many countdowns dropping the different vinyl designs, seeing if you were ready for it, playing into the FOMO marketing strategy.
Everyone wanted to get every vinyl variation that she announced, as it was a limited pressing – having 1.2 million copies throughout the different variations being sold in just the first week.
Swift also announced “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” which took place in theaters. She created communities of fans to come together and watch never-before-seen music and documentary style videos about how she made the album which occurred this first October weekend (October 3rd through 5th).
Tickets were being sold for twelve dollars each (assumingly because it’s her 12th album) and in just domestic box offices, there was fifteen million dollars in sales in the first 24 hours.
The media had been eating this up, with select companies’ online platforms having changed their profile pictures or posted a meme to jump on the Taylor Swift train.
M&Ms, FedEx, and United Airlines, all posted a glittery orange related photo. The Empire State building itself changed its light color to orange.
Mr. BR, a science teacher at Lincoln, was in Times Square when the announcement of The Life of a Showgirl would take over the screens all around him. He shared that on his flight to Berlin; he bought the plane’s Wi-Fi so he could watch the entire New Heights podcast. Commenting that he “had no interest in the podcast previously.” Truly showing that Swift’s fans were going into new territory for her.
Call it what you want but Taylor Swift obviously knows what she is doing, some might even call her a “mastermind.” People are always speculating about what she has left in store.
And I’m sure you are just d-y-i-n-g in anticipation, but for now just bask in the afterglow.
Key:
1. “Come one, come all its happening again”
2. “And she is here to destroy [records]”
3. “[Taylor Swift] come[s] back stronger than a ‘90s trend”
4. “Cruel summer”
5. “Live for the hope of it all”
6. “Knock on wood”
7. “I wish you would”
8. “Pulling [us] into the fire”
9. “Ready for it”
10. “Call it what you want”
11. “Mastermind”
12. “D-y-i-n-g”
13. “Afterglow”
