Taylor Swift’s new era kicks off with midnight release of new album ‘The Life of a Showgirl’

“Cancelled!” — stylized in all capital letters — fully embraces that theme by tackling Swift’s life as one of the biggest celebrities in the world. The three-and-a-half-minute track is about a narrator who embraces controversy, singing in the chorus, “Good thing I like my friends canceled.”

This isn’t the first time Swift has written a song about being “canceled.” Her sixth album, “Reputation,” was a response to her feeling like she had a fall from grace following her success with “1989.”

Speaking about that moment in her career to Vogue in 2019, Swift said, “A mass public shaming, with millions of people saying you are quote-unquote canceled, is a very isolating experience.”

With “Cancelled!” — just as she did with “Reputation” — Swift reclaims the narrative and celebrates people who stood by her. She specifically sings about someone joining her in the state of being “canceled” and says she prefers people close to her “cloaked in Gucci” — likely referencing the fashion house’s controversies from over the years — “and in scandal.”

Read the full story here.

“Wood” is the ninth track on the Grammy winner’s new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” which arrived today after weeks of anticipation. “Wood” is the shortest title on the LP and also happens to be the shortest song at just two and a half minutes long.

Despite its brevity, the song still packs a punch with tales of chasing luck in relationships only to realize she had everything she needed with fiancé Travis Kelce. And yes, there are a few double entendres in the lyrics, as the title might suggest.

“Seems to me that you and me we make our own luck,” Swift sings. “New Heights of manhood / I ain’t gotta knock on wood.”

Even artist Nicki Minaj weighed in on the song in a post on X, writing "Oh Taylor #WOOD was EXACTLY what I needed tonight. Thank you."

Read the full story here.

In the hours before the release of “The Life of a Showgirl” at midnight, clips from Swift’s promotional radio tour in the U.K. are rolling in.

One clip from Magic Radio features the pop star chatting with journalists Gok Wan and Harriet Scott about her approach to the record-breaking “Eras” tour.

“Every one of us on that tour operated from a standpoint of like, the crowd is your king,” the singer said.

“I think that’s sort of the manifesto of how I approached this tour. There wasn’t the option of, if I’m sick, I’m not going on stage. There wasn’t an option of I’m feeling terrible, I’m not doing the show tonight. The crowd is your king. It’s not the other way around.”

For some working Swifties, today is a national holiday.

6% of workers plan to take the day off today because of the “Life of a Showgirl” album release, according to a study from BambooHR. Roughly a third of salaried workers consider themselves Taylor Swift fans, the study found.

For those who do show up to the office, don’t expect peak performance. 10% of fans say their office has a dedicated Taylor Swift Slack channel, and it will likely be abuzz with album chatter today.

Swift herself, of course, is an eldest daughter — her only sibling, younger brother Austin Swift, is 33. Of course, Swift doesn’t always write autobiographically from her own perspective, though she did call this album a “self-portrait.” But as the album’s fifth track — a place typically reserved for Swift’s most gut-wrenching works — fans knew to prepare for something emotional.

The song has proven a moving ballad, seemingly about dropping artifice and being unquestionably there for someone. In contrast to the upbeat, pop-heavy album, Swift is accompanied on acoustic guitar and piano as she sings about the core traits of eldest daughters — specifically highlighting their loyalty.

She also makes a reference to marriage — fitting as she just announced her engagement to football star Travis Kelce — as well as youngest children, which her fiancé happens to be.

Across social media, many described the track as one of their favorites on the album thus far. It particularly resonated with people who are eldest daughters in their families.

Read the full story here.

For Angelenos who had FOMO over the New York Spotify event, there’s a West Coast alternative coming soon.

TikTok will hold a fan activation for “The Life of a Showgirl” at the Westfield Century City mall on its first floor through Oct. 9.

“The Set is Yours—Lights, Camera, Create,” the mall’s website states.

The event appears to already be sold out on Eventbrite for all the available dates and time slots. However, organizers said there will be walk-up registration for those who still want to try and check it out.

Fans across the globe celebrated the release of Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” with listening parties and late-night purchases.

Fans buying Swift's new album in New York City. Valerie Terranova / Getty Images

A listening party for Swift’s new album at the Astor Theatre in Melbourne, Australia. William West / AFP via Getty Images

Fans gathered to celebrate the release of the new album in Mexico City. Claudia Rosel / AP

“The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” is expected to debut at $35 million to $40 million this weekend, according to Variety, putting Swift on track to earn another No. 1 box office debut following her theatrical release of “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.”

The 2023 concert film, which had a $93 million debut, became the highest-grossing concert film in the United States as Swifties flocked to theaters with their bedazzled bodysuits and friendship bracelets.

“The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” however, is playing in theaters for only one weekend. Swift posted to her social media accounts on Sept. 19, inviting fans to the film, which she described as a “dazzling soiree.”

Theaters will premiere her music video for “The Fate of Ophelia,” as well as new lyric videos, explanations of what inspired the songs and exclusive behind-the-scenes video.

“Dancing is optional but very much encouraged,” Swift wrote.

When asked about touring, and whether she has "the itch for another something soon," Swift told BBC Radio 1 host Greg James that another tour is not in the cards just yet.

“No, no I’m going to be really honest with you," she said. "Like, I am so tired when I think about doing it again. Because I’d want to do it really, really well again.”

In her interview with Greg James, Taylor Swift shared how fiance Travis Kelce reacted when she first played him her new songs.

“I’d just like, play it for him," she told the BBC Radio 1 host."And I knew that this was the kind of album that he was going to love the most. He’s like, so supportive of all of it. But he’s a real vibes guy. He is an exclamation mark."

Swift's media tour is officially in full swing, with her first interview since the album drop broadcasting live on BBC Radio 1.

After inviting BBC Radio 1 presenter Greg James to her wedding, Swift recalled in her latest interview with James a years-old incident in which he remarked to her that she might “need to have a shower now.”

Swift had just finished performing at BBC Radio 1’s 2018 Biggest Weekend event, and she was dripping in sweat. In their latest interview about her new album, Swift expressed her surprise that so many fans thought the comment was a “greatly offensive thing.”

“People don’t need to bubble wrap me in their minds as much as they do,” she said, laughing. “I’m a pretty tough broad. And also, that wasn’t even weird.”

James told her he’s still getting backlash for it to this day — “the funniest way to be canceled,” according to Swift — and the two clarified that the exchange was truly just a bit.

At 33 Taps in downtown Los Angeles, “The Life of a Showgirl” is playing on half the TV screens in the bar, while the other half play clips of old music videos by Swift.

General manager Annette Morales said she and her entire staff of Swifties were eager to host a listening party for the album drop. As the release time neared, the football game on the screens was replaced with Swift. At 9 p.m., the speakers began blaring the new tracklist, starting with “The Fate of Ophelia.”

“We have the best sound system, and we’re all gonna just listen and enjoy and it’s gonna be amazing,” Morales said ahead of the album release.

To celebrate the theme of the night, the bar served an orange TLOAS-themed cocktail called “The Showgirl.”

“The expectations were really high, and I knew that going into it, but I’ve just been a fan of hers for so long anyways that I knew I was gonna be excited no matter what,” said Ruthie Weeks, 22, a longtime Swiftie at the event. “But I think it’s a really great album.”

33 Taps was among the many bars across the country that held events in honor of the new album.

Union Station in Kansas City is ablaze in orange, the official color of “Life of a Showgirl.”

“Tonight, we shimmer in orange with green as we celebrate a dazzling new Era and The Life of a Showgirl!” the station said in a post on Instagram.

Swift’s fiancé, Travis Kelce, is a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs.

The venue is also showing "The Official Release Party of a Showgirl" through Sunday, as well as a special "new laser show" in their planetarium.

Eliotte Nicole, one of Taylor Swift’s backup singers and dancers, posted her excitement for the album to Threads.

"This #Showgirl is ready to hear some new musical magic from my girl @taylorswift" she wrote.

"I love leading a #LifeofaShowgirl and am so grateful to step on stages and screens around the world!" she added. "Tonight is a celebration of that and so much more! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I know I will!"

With “The Life of a Showgirl,” Swift “hits all her marks,” according to a review by Rolling Stone.

“Notably, the popstar chose not to work with longtime producer Jack Antonoff, and instead forged a reunion with studio genius Max Martin and Shellback,” author Maya Georgi wrote. “But their return isn’t just a callback to the grandiose synth-bangers of 1989 or warehouse-ready electric grit of reputation. Instead, the trio takes from all they’ve each learned in the eight years apart to chart a whole new path.”

The Independent gave the album similar praise. Swift "delivered songs about newfound love, in which she confessed to her trepidation at making herself so vulnerable while also detailing how said relationship helped muffle all the outside noise," Roisin O’Connor wrote.

Variety said “The Life of a Showgirl” is “such a contagiously joyful record, even her score-settling detours sound sunny.”

The New York Times ranked the album as a Critic’s Pick, writing in the review that it's "a catchy and substantive but unflashy album, it takes the songwriting intimacy of her “Folklore”/“Evermore” era and renders it with more clarity and oomph."

The Los Angeles Times, however, was less impressed. Pop music critic Mikael Wood wrote that the album "isn’t as sharp as it could’ve been."

The album has a runtime of 41 minutes and 40 seconds. Here's a breakdown of the length of each track:

• "The Fate of Ophelia": 4:01 minutes
• "Elizabeth Taylor": 3:46 minutes
• "Opalite": 3:28 minutes
• "Father Figure": 3:55 minutes
• "Eldest Daughter": 4:06 minutes
• "Ruin the Friendship": 3:40 minutes
• "Actually Romantic": 2:43 minutes
• "Wi$h Li$t": 3:27 minutes
• "Wood": 2:30 minutes
• "CANCELLED!": 3:31 minutes
• "Honey": 3:01 minutes
• "The Life of a Showgirl": 4:01 minutes

Swifties have officially entered their own "showgirl" eras.

“OK. 10 seconds in and my whole life changed,” a user said on X.

Others shared their early favorite picks on the album.

“I fear I was correct about Eldest Daughter. I am ruined,” another user said on X. “Eldest daughter has me with watery eyes,” said another.

Some praised Max Martin and Shellback, producers on the album who have collaborated with Swift in the past on some of her most iconic songs.

“MAX MARTIN THE VIRTUOSO YOU ARE,” a user said in all-caps on X.

Swift has christened the album with an Instagram photo dump, complete with a fittingly cryptic caption. The post features multiple photos of Swift in shimmery and feathery showgirl outfits.

“Tonight all these lives converge here

The mosaics of laughter and cocktails of tears

Where fraternal souls sing identical things

And it’s beautiful

It’s rapturous.

It is frightening,” Swift wrote in the caption.

Swift finished the post with a heartfelt tribute to the producers who collaborated with her on the album, Max Martin and Shellback.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am to share this with you, an album that just feels so right,” Swift says. “A forever thank you goes out to my mentors and friends Max and Shellback for helping me paint this self portrait.”

She posted the same images and caption on X.

Leave it to Taylor Swift to break the internet (again).

Some online expressed frustration that Spotify appeared to be down as they tried to stream the album right at midnight.

Several users reported that they received "something went wrong" or "couldn't find that album" messages when they opened the app.

NBC News has reached out to Spotify for comment.

The streaming service posted about the album at 12:02 a.m. ET, urging users to "listen now on Spotify." Many replied, calling out the company for their inability to access the album.

The NBC News Taylor Swift live blog crew is now streaming the album and awaiting any surprise announcements ...

Minutes before the album is officially set to drop, many people on X who use Apple Music to stream said they were already able to access the new tracks.

NBC News has reached out to Apple Music for request for comment regarding the purported early availability.

Are you ready for it?

As soon as pictures of Swift on "The Graham Norton Show" popped up online, Sarah Chapelle, also known as taylorswiftstyled to her 371,000 followers on Instagram, already had identified the designer behind her dress.

In her Instagram post, Chapelle said Swift wore a $1,875 David Koma black dress with a crystal-embellished collar.

The pop star likely changed for her other appearances that were also taped today and will air tomorrow. But so far, her showgirl era is looking classy but sparkly.

The son of the late actor Elizabeth Taylor, whose name is the title of the second song on the new album, is excited for the new track. Christopher Wilding told TMZ that he views Swift as a “rare, positive role model for young girls”

Elizabeth Taylor’s son reacts to upcoming Taylor Swift song

01:43

Outside of the stadiums, the spotlight has continued to land on Swift in college classrooms across the country.

This fall, students enrolled in Michigan State University’s new “Society and the Individual: The Taylor Swift Phenomenon” course will explore a variety of contexts surrounding Swift’s career and cultural impact.

“One of the fun parts is that we know there is a new album coming (Life of a Showgirl), so we will get to apply our interdisciplinary analysis to the album (and the media reaction!) right away,” assistant professor Emily Muhich, who is teaching the course, said in an interview with the university.

The class is the latest in a string of Swift-themed courses that have been introduced at academic institutions in recent years, including Harvard University, New York University, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Florida and the University of California, Berkeley.

Clown masks: on. It’s the dawn of a new album, and still Swifties can’t get enough. Will the obsession with “Reputation (Taylor’s Version)” ever come to an end? 

When Swift was still re-releasing her old albums, fans were sent into frenzy after frenzy, misplacing false Easter eggs together to convince one another the new version of the old album would be coming soon. 

That was until Swift announced she had reclaimed her master recordings, seemingly putting an end to the “Taylor’s Version” era. 

While Swift never confirmed or denied whether the last two albums (“Reputation” and “Taylor Swift”) would ever be re-recorded and re-released, she did tease that those two “albums can still have their moment to re-emerge when the time is right,” perhaps hinting at the future release of vault tracks from those time periods. 

Apple Music is ready for “Life of a Showgirl.”

Ahead of Swift’s 12th album drop at midnight, Apple Music launched a dedicated Taylor Swift radio station called Swiftie Radio.

“Today’s the day!” the company said in a post on X announcing the station.

Elizabeth Taylor is one name that’s practically synonymous with “showgirl,” and now the late actor can be immortalized as one in song on track two of Swift’s latest album. 

The late actor’s former personal assistant Tim Mendelson told USA Today that Taylor’s estate couldn’t be more thrilled that she’s being name-dropped in Swift’s latest release.

“I think she would’ve loved Taylor Swift,” Mendelson said. “I think they could have been friends.”

One longtime Swiftie, Ben Stafford, and his friends have decked out their apartment with orange balloons and teal streamers, along with printed pictures of “The Life of a Showgirl” album art.

“We’ve been doing this every time Taylor drops an album. We love to go all out, set up decorations. We made some T-shirts this year that we’re all gonna wear,” Stafford, 22, said in an interview. “This has definitely been a tradition that I’ve been doing with my friends for the past years, and it’s something I look forward to every time Taylor puts out new music.”

To stay on theme, he said, they’re serving Aperol spritz cocktails alongside an array of snacks Stafford is calling “Bites of a Showgirl,” which include orange candy and cupcakes with orange icing.

Others online have similarly shared photos of their own TLOAS-inspired party balloons, props and feathery outfits as they prep for the celebrations ahead.

In a post on the podcast's X account, the “New Heights” podcast shared a fun "The Life of a Showgirl" listening tip.

The show's Aug. 13 episode featured an interview with Swift, during which she teased her new album.

The podcast said if fans start rewatching (or watching) the episode at 10:31:52 PM ET, they will end up being able to stream the album at the same time Swift is seen on the podcast pulling out the album.

One of the unsolved mysteries circulating through the Swifternet is why on Earth the numbers 4 and 7 keep appearing throughout the album’s promotion. 

Swift’s most obvious reference to the numbers came when she was on the “New Heights” podcast announcing the album. She thanked her future brother-in-law for screaming for “47 seconds” in her honor in introducing her. Then, later in the podcast, she joked that the Eras Tour took place in 47,000 countries — in reality it was just 21 countries. 

Literary-inclined Swifties also pointed out that in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” audiences learn that Ophelia has drowned in Act 4, Scene 7. Swift’s song “The Fate of Ophelia” is the first song off the new album, and it will have a music video released in movie theaters this weekend. 

Taylor Nation, an official account from Swift’s team, posted a schedule for the release week that looked like a time card with stamped holes. One of the holes is punched on Oct. 4 above the word “standby.” 

Swift loves to play with numbers in her Easter eggs, leaving many wondering what exactly does 47 has to do with “The Life of a Showgirl.”

"The Graham Norton Show" host may be one of the first to have listened to "The Life of a Showgirl."

Norton, who taped his segment with Swift today, shared in an Instagram post yesterday that he got early access to the album.

In the post, which featured a selfie of Norton wearing headphones, he wrote: "Can you guess what I’m listening to??? #lifeofashowboy Roll on Friday!!

A sparkly orange and teal background is now available as a chat theme for users to select on Instagram and Facebook Messenger.

Spotify’s immersive pop-up experience for “The Life of a Showgirl,” which ran from Tuesday through today in New York City, was decked out with photo ops featuring exclusive Easter eggs about the album’s lyrics.

On one mirror appeared the line “Oftentimes it doesn’t feel so glamorous to be me,” which fans quickly searched up on Apple Music to try to link to a specific song on the track list.

The lyrics “Keep it 100” and “I heard you calling” were similarly written on objects within the pop-up. Other lyrical teasers included “Everyone’s unbothered til they’re not” in signage above a teal and orange stage, as well as “You wanna take a skate on the ice inside my veins?” written on a napkin underneath a wine glass overflowing with pearls.

Glamorous feather-adorned outfits and strings of pearls were also on display throughout the pop-up, according to photos and videos taken by fans.

Here’s a list of the 11 albums that preceded “The Life of a Showgirl” in Swift’s discography, in case you forgot. 

• “Taylor Swift” (or “Debut”) — 2006 
• “Fearless” — 2008
• “Speak Now” — 2010 
• “Red” — 2012 
• “1989” — 2014 
• “Reputation” — 2017 
• “Lover” — 2019 
• “Folklore” — 2020 
• “Evermore” — 2020
• “Midnights” — 2022
• “The Tortured Poets Department” — 2024

The fourth track of Swift’s album takes inspiration from English music icon George Michael’s 1987 hit “Father Figure.” The late singer’s estate said it was “delighted” when Swift and her team requested approval this year to incorporate an interpolation of the classic song into a song of the same title in “The Life of a Showgirl.”

“When we heard the track we had no hesitation in agreeing to this association between two great artists and we know George would have felt the same,” his estate wrote on social media. “George Michael Entertainment wishes Taylor every success with The Life of a Showgirl and Father Figure.”

Swift produced her latest album with Max Martin and Shellback, returning to the Swedish duo who produced many of the most pop-heavy hits on “Red,” “1989” and “Reputation.”

Martin and Shellback produced “We Are Never Getting Back Together,” her first song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and they were a major influence on Swift’s first true pop album, “1989.”

In one interview, Swift recalled performing what she called a “Max Martin medley” one night at an Eras Tour show in Stockholm, dedicating her acoustic set to several songs they had worked on together.

“He knew how high the stakes would be if we were to work together again,” Swift said. “And I just wanted to do that to let him know that I was so excited about the idea of us working together again, and I think that was what did it, honestly. I think that’s what locked it in.”

Meanwhile, TLOAS’ showgirl-inspired visuals were created by photographers Mert Alaş and Marcus Piggott. Sabrina Carpenter is also a featured artist on one of the tracks.

In the days following her album release, Swift will take over TV screens and radio waves across the country.

She is set to appear on several talk shows. First up: "The Graham Norton Show" tomorrow. The last time she appeared on the BBC show was in October 2022. U.K.-based fans will be able to watch the broadcast live in London at 10:40 p.m. local time. For everyone else, our guess is that it won't take long for clips to circulate online.

On Monday, Swift will take “The Tonight Show” stage for the seventh time. Fans learned about the appearance through an Instagram clip featuring host Jimmy Fallon spinning a roulette wheel before he landed on every Swiftie’s favorite number: 13.

Taylor Swift to appear on ‘The Tonight Show’ on Monday

01:18

“Baby, that’s show business for you,” he said as three glittery showgirls walked by.

Later in the week, on Wednesday, Swift will appear as the sole guest on “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” as announced by another cryptic clip of Meyers in a sparkly burnt orange cardigan — the same sweater Swift has also been seen wearing. The so-called “TAY/kover” will be her third appearance on the show.

The pop star is also expected to do several radio interviews, including with: the BBC's "Radio 1 Breakfast" (which will happen at 2 a.m. ET) and WHTZ-FM of New York (7:50 a.m. ET) on "The Elvis Duran Show."

Fans have been eagerly awaiting the release of Swift’s 12th album since the big announcement on the “New Heights” podcast in mid-August. But will “The Life of a Showgirl” surpass the sales of her previous projects?

Early tracking suggests it's possible. Spotify said yesterday the album is No. 1 on the countdown chart.

Here are all of Swift’s bestselling albums ranked to date, according to data from the Recording Industry Association of America.

• “1989” (2014): 14 million units
• “Fearless” (2008): 11 million units
• “Red” (2012): 8 million units
• “The Tortured Poets Department” (2024): 8 million units
• “Taylor Swift” (2006): 8 million units
• “Midnights” (2022): 7 million units
• “Reputation” (2017): 7 million units
• “Lover” (2019): 7 million units

It’s the life of a devoted fiancé for Travis Kelce, who has gushed over his girl’s new album every chance he gets. 

The week after Swift announced the news on “New Heights,” Kelce said Swift walked away from the episode “absolutely ecstatic and excited and happy.” He added that she had “so much fun” dropping Easter eggs and announcing the new album.

“I keep listening to this album, and I know she mentioned that it’s going to be a lot more pop beats and everything, but it’s just, it’s still so poetic,” he said on the first episode after Swift’s appearance, adding that it has “just so much fun to listen to” and that he has “been dancing all throughout the house” while listening.

During that episode, he revealed that at the time, “Opalite” was his favorite new track. He also said “Showgirl” is a good album to work out to. 

It’s safe to say Caitlin Clark will be listening to “The Life of a Showgirl” tonight. The point guard ended her news conference today by thanking the media — and plugging the new album.

“Make sure you listen to ‘Life of a Showgirl’ tonight,” she said, according to a clip of the news conference posted online.

Clark has made her excitement about the album known since the initial reveal of Swift’s 12th album.

“AHHHHHHH!!!!!! LFGGGGGG” the Indiana Fever star said in the comments of the "New Heights" podcast episode that featured Swift.

Swift's promotional tour has officially begun.

Though most of us won't get to catch the pop star on "The Graham Norton Show" until tomorrow (or later, for those not in the U.K.), images from her appearance have already surfaced.

From left, Taylor Swift, Cillian Murphy, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith and Domhnall Gleeson appear on "The Graham Norton Show" in London on Thursday. Matt Crossick / PA Images via Reuters Connect

Swift appeared alongside actors Cillian Murphy, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith and Domhnall Gleeson.

Several lucky audience members posted about the taping, sharing some takeaways (and spoilers about the album!) on X today.

People, some dressed in showgirl-themed attire, have been showing up in the masses at the Spotify pop-up in New York. Watch more below.

There is no such thing as a Taylor Swift album release without the singer’s signature hint-dropping to fans, and the “Blank Space” singer was back to her old tricks this week. 

At Spotify’s pop-up event for “The Life of a Show Girl” in New York City, fans spotted phrases scattered throughout the venue that are likely to be lyrics featured on her latest album. 

Written in lipstick on a mirror were the words “oftentimes it doesn’t feel so glamorous to be me.” They also spotted “I heard you calling” written on an ornament that looked like a megaphone. 

The phrase “keep it 100” was written on a hand mirror, which fans remembered from an Instagram caption from Travis Kelce this year. 

Strange happenings also went down over on Apple Music, where songs from Swift’s album “reputation” had seemingly random capitalization in the lyrics. 

But of course nothing is random to Swifties, who managed to decode the phrase “they don’t make loyalty like they used to” from the alphabet scramble. 

One of everyone’s favorite Tay-Daughters has proven herself also a showgirl.

Sabrina Carpenter, fresh off of a new album herself, is a featured artist on the album’s final track, “The Life of a Showgirl.” 

Swift is no stranger to a collab with friends (see: “us.” by Gracie Abrams) and she has been known to bring a friend or two onstage to accompany her during live shows, but the duet is a first for Carpenter and Swift. 

It remains to be seen (heard) what the song will sound like or whether Carpenter will be given the Lana Del Ray treatment. But if one thing is clear, it’s that Carpenter, like Swift, likes to put on a show, so this album closer is sure to be a banger.

Despite her global jet-setting, Swift is still a product of her environment.

In a study published in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, researchers analyzed Swift’s interviews to track the evolution of her accent from 2008 to 2019. They found that her vowel pronunciation aligned more with a Southern dialect during her time in Nashville, but she appeared to return to her native accent upon relocating to Philadelphia, where she was raised. The trend later continued in New York City — so much so that the researchers found it “tempting to interpret it as a hyper-correction away from the Southern dialect.”

Her voice also took on a significantly lower pitch during her time in NYC, where she, for a time, was more outspoken about social issues affecting women and musicians, something researchers noted could have been intentional to “convey her competence to speak on [these themes] with authority.”

“Her adaptive use of these dialect features builds on foundational work to demonstrate how the ways that talkers use their spoken language to convey identity and community belonging are malleable across the lifespan,” the researchers wrote in their analysis.

A Vermont ice cream shop has created nine unique flavors inspired by past Taylor Swift recordings to celebrate the release of her new album, “The Life of a Showgirl.” WPTZ’s Yamuna Turco reports:

Vermont creamery whips up custom Taylor Swift flavors

01:26

In order, the tracks are:

1. “The Fate of Ophelia"
2. “Elizabeth Taylor”
3. “Opalite”
4. “Father Figure"
5. “Eldest Daughter"
6. “Ruin the Friendship”
7. “Actually Romantic"
8. “Wi$h Li$t"
9. “Wood"
10. “CANCELED!"
11. “Honey”
12. “The Life of a Showgirl (Feat. Sabrina Carpenter)"

“The Life of a Showgirl” is the most pre-saved album on Spotify. It also just helped the music superstar become the first female artist to exceed 100 million album sales.

Swift’s 12th album is the first to be released after the “Love Story” singer gained ownership of her entire catalog, a music career that spans nearly 20 years.

Swift announced in May that she was able to purchase the masters of her first six records from Shamrock Capital. She was unable to purchase the rights before her first label, Big Machine Records, was sold in 2019 to a holding company partly owned by music manager Scooter Braun.

Braun later sold Swift’s catalog to Shamrock Capital, after Swift publicly declared she would re-record those six albums to keep ownership of her life’s work. She released four of the six albums before she was able to buy the masters back, each reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

The announcement also came months after Swift concluded her Eras Tour in December. The tour, which ran for nearly two years and hit 50 cities on five continents for 149 shows, grossed more than any other on record. Swift took fans through a journey of all her albums during the three-hour set, then re-did the entire show after the release of her 11th album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”

Swift’s debut album in 2006 is the only one of her 11 studio albums never to have reached No. 1 on the chart, though it did break the Top Five at its peak. 

Swift’s recent — and first — podcast appearance on “New Heights,” hosted by Travis Kelce and his brother, Jason Kelce, broke the record for the most concurrent views for a podcast on YouTube, Guinness World Records announced.

A total of 1.3 million people simultaneously tuned in to the podcast when it aired on YouTube on Aug. 13, the world record counter shared.

Taylor Swift joins Kelce podcast to talk new album, relationship

03:28

The over two-hour podcast fed Swifties with details of Swift and Travis Kelce’s love life and the behind-the-scenes drama of Swift reclaiming her master recordings. Some other topics of discussion included the Eras Tour, Swift’s famous Easter eggs and Jason Kelce’s hatred of cats.

Read the full story here.

To celebrate the release of Swift’s 12th album, DoorDash has graced in-app users with a 12% discount on selected orange items. Starting Tuesday, users could enjoy sales on everything from orange-flavored soda to orange beauty items to usher in this new colorful era, according to the company.

KitchenAid also unveiled a one-of-a-kind glittery orange mixer inspired by the album.

And starting tonight, users can take $12 off their Uber Comfort rides using the code SHOWBIZ, “because showgirls deserve extra room and a flawless arrival,” per Uber. The deal applies to just one ride per user until 12:01 Sunday.

Uber also announced that it is teaming up with animal shelters for a "showcats" collab. In partnership with Best Friends Animal Society, the company will hold cat adoption events in Los Angeles, New York City and Nashville, Tennessee. There, attendees can also create charm jewelry — such as bejeweled cat collars — and take photo booth pictures.

Orange is a color often associated with Halloween, pumpkins and the fall season. Now, it'll also be tied to Swift and "The Life of a Showgirl."

The cover of Swift's new album includes her seemingly submerged while wearing a jeweled top with her face slightly above water. “The Life of a Showgirl” is emblazoned in orange glitter. During her interview on the "New Heights" podcast, she said she chose orange as the color for the era because she "just always liked it."

“It feels like kind of energetically how my life has felt," she said. "And this album is about what was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during this [Eras] tour, which was so exuberant and electric and vibrant.”

Some eagle-eyed fans pointed out that there were also many instances where Swift wore orange throughout the Eras Tour, perhaps hinting about the showgirl album on the horizon. Swift told the Kelce brothers that she did, in fact, drop a major clue during the tour.

“I would leave the stage every night going down the elevator lift," she said. "That’s how every single Eras show ended, except for one, except for the last one, where I exited through a door, an orange door to be specific. And that actually was an Easter egg. Basically, the reason why I chose to exit that way is because I kind of wanted to give a little subliminal hint to the fans that I may be leaving the Eras Tour era, but I was also entering a new era.”

After having teased fans with a cryptic social media post, the pop star announced her 12th studio album on her website in August.

Swift’s social media profile pictures also changed to a mint green rectangle with an orange lock emblazoned in the center. It’s the same image in place of an album cover on her site.

The pre-orders will ship before Oct. 13, but the website said that is “not a release date,” adding that the official date will be announced later.

A countdown to the announcement first appeared on Swift’s website three hours before the news landed. Fans, who are used to Swift’s penchant for teasing new albums, were encouraged to stay up until 12:12 a.m. ET.

Read the full story here.

It’s a love story, and baby ... she said yes.

Earlier this year, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce transformed a garden into a love story by proposing to Swift. The news came after over two years of the couple’s being romantically linked. The music icon and the football star have made headlines worldwide since their relationship became public.

The massive diamond that rests upon Swift’s left ring finger is set in yellow gold, its bright sparkle featured in the couple’s engagement announcement on Instagram. Kelce purchased the ring — which features four prongs and a button back, or a small bezel around the stone — at Artifex Fine Jewelry, an online jeweler that claims to craft jewelry with natural stones.

Swift gave fans an inside look at the Summertime Spritz Pink Shimmer vinyl edition of “The Life of a Showgirl.” Catch a glimpse of the video below.

Taylor Swift directs herself in sneak peek of pink vinyl

00:44

“The Life of a Showgirl” releases when the clock strikes tonight at midnight ET, or if you live on the West Coast, it’ll be out at 9 p.m. PT. But true Swifties know that might not be it for the night.

On release day for her last two albums, Swift surprised fans with late-night (or early-morning) offerings by way of extra songs. “Midnights” had the “3 a.m. Edition,” which aptly released at 3 a.m. ET, and included songs like “The Great War” and “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve.” Her next album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” became “The Anthology” at 2 a.m. on release day in 2024, revealing a double album that was not advertised. It included songs like “The Black Dog” and “So High School.” 

Swift has said this album won’t be getting the same treatment, but she is always known to have a few tricks up her sleeve, so it could be a late night for many fans.