Taylor Swift The Life of a Showgirl: New album drops sending Swifties around the world into frenzy
The world’s biggest popstar Taylor Swift has officially entered a new era with the release of her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl.
The 14-time Grammy award-winning artist’s fandom, colloquially known as “Swifties”, have had their calendars marked since August when she shockingly announced the album on fiancé Travis Kelce’s podcast, New Heights.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am to share this with you, an album that just feels so right,” she wrote on Instagram to her 282 million followers.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“A forever thank you goes out to my mentors and friends Max and Shellback for helping me paint this self portrait...If you thought the big show was wild, perhaps you should come and take a look behind the curtain...”
Clocking in at 41 minutes and 40 seconds, the 12-track record marks Swift’s shortest album since her self-titled debut in 2006.
The tracklist features songs such as Eldest Daughter, CANCELLED! and Wi$h Li$t, with cultural references woven throughout – from a song named after American actress Elizabeth Taylor to a nod to George Michael’s hit Father Figure.
The lead single, The Fate of Ophelia, draws on the Pre-Raphaelite depiction of Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, an image also reflected in the album’s cover art.
Its title track, featuring fellow pop-sensation Sabrina Carpenter, closes out the album.
Swift made the album with collaborators Max Martin and Shellback while undertaking the European leg of her unprecedented Eras Tour, which historically grossed over $2billion and became the highest-grossing tour of all time.
“I would be playing three shows in a row, I’d have three days off. I’d fly to Sweden, go back to the tour, and I was pretty exhausted at this point in the tour, but I was so mentally simulated and so excited to be creating,” she said on New Heights podcast.
The Life of a Showgirl tracklist
- The Fate of Ophelia
- Elizabeth Taylor
- Opalite
- Father Figure
- Eldest Daughter
- Ruin The Friendship
- Actually Romantic
- Wi$h Li$t
- Wood
- CANCELLED!
- Honey
- The Life of a Showgirl (featuring Sabrina Carpenter)
“This album is about what was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during this tour, which was so exuberant and electric and vibrant.”
The highly anticipated album was shaping up to be a chart-topper even before today’s release.
This week Spotify announced The Life of a Showgirl had become the first album in history to exceed 5 million pre-saves, breaking the previous record held by her last album, The Tortured Poets Department.
According to the Recording Industry Association of America, The Life of a Showgirl’s expected success will make Swift the first female artist to surpass 100 million career album sales.
The sheer volume of recent music releases is proof in the pudding of Swift’s expected chart dominance – with more than 70 artists including Olivia Dean, Doja Cat, Mariah Carey, and Tate McRae dropping music in the last week to, presumably, avoid Swift-supremacy.
The Pennsylvania-born songwriter is about to embark on a busy few days of album promotion, with appearances on The Graham Norton Show, The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers.
Fans will also be flocking to cinemas this weekend to attend the album’s official release party – an 89-minute screening of The Fate of Ophelia music video and unknown behind-the-scenes footage.
Originally published on PerthNow
