Taylor Swift sent fans into overdrive last night when she announced her 12th studio album, โThe Life of a Showgirl,โ while appearing on Jason and Travis Kelceโs podcast, โNew Heights.โ
But the pop superstar left fans with more questions than answers,specifically: When will the album actually drop?
In the clip, which dropped at 12:12 a.m. on Aug. 12, Swift brought out a briefcase emblazoned with an orange โT.S.โ before pulling out a blurred vinyl record.
โSo I wanted to show you something,โ she said. โThis is my brand new album, โThe Life of a Showgirl.โโ
While vinyl, cassette, CD and official posters are available for pre-order on her website, which will ship before Oct. 13, 2025, Swift made it clear that this is not the official release date for her upcoming album. A disclaimer on her website reads, โThis is not the release date, official release date to be announced.”
The mystery deepens with all album artwork remaining blurred and locked behind an orange padlock, with another cryptic message promising the “album artwork and unique CD design to be revealed at a later date.”
Swift also changed her Instagram profile picture to the same image of this orange padlock.
But Swifties are already hard at work decoding potential clues regarding the release of the album.
Some fans believe they spotted hints as far back as 10 months ago, when Swift posted an Instagram video of herself walking through Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium ahead of another The Eras Tour show. As she walks, her cat in her arms, she briefly passes a sign reading “A12,” potentially hinting at her Aug. 12 announcement.
Fans are also claiming that she teased “Life of a Showgirl” in her “The Eras Tour” book. The final chapter of this book is called “Behind the Scenes,” and is a similar orange hue as all of the new album art teasers that have been revealed so far.
With the official release date of TS12 still under wraps, fan theories are running wild on social media. One elaborate TikTok theory has gained traction, analyzing the pattern of Swiftโs past album releases, all of which dropped on consecutive October dates:
- Oct. 21, 2022: “Midnights”
- Oct. 22, 2012: “Red”
- Oct. 24, 2006: “Taylor Swift”
- Oct. 25, 2010: “Speak Now”
- Oct. 27, 2014: “1989”
Another TikToker used Swift’s well-documented love of the number 13 and red hue symbolism in her music. The theory hinges on track two from her fourth album (“Red” from Red) and tenth album (“Maroon” from Midnights) both related to shades of red.
Eagle-eyed fans noticed two missing dates in this sequence: October 23 and October 26, leading many to speculate that โThe Life of a Showgirlโ could fill one of these gaps.
If the pattern continues with TS12’s second track also being red-themed, the TikToker came up with a math equation that seemingly hints that Oct. 26 is when TS12 could drop. “So all track twos on her 4th, 10th, and 12th album would be shades of red,” the TikToker wrote. “Whatโs 4+10+12? 26โฆ26/2 is 13!!!!โ
However, other fans are speculating the album could drop before the Oct. 13 shipping date for physical items, with one theory suggesting Friday, Oct. 10.
While it remains unclear whether these theories have any truth to them, one thing is certain: Swift has once again proven her mastery at keeping fans engaged, guessing and obsessed with every possible clue.
