From “You Belong With Me” to “Karma,” Taylor Swift has been topping the charts of the music industry for the past 17 years. It all started with her hit single, “Tim McGraw,” the first track on her debut self-titled album, Taylor Swift. Throughout her career, Swift has become one of the most successful female artists of all time. She now adds to that success with the release of her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl.
On August 13, 2025, Swift guest-starred on “New Heights,” her now-fiancé, Travis Kelce’s podcast. She took that opportunity to announce The Life of a Showgirl, reaching both the Swifties and football fans. On the podcast, she updated the world on her life after her record-breaking tour, The Eras Tour, talked about her newfound hobbies, and even read the track list of the upcoming album: “The Fate of Ophelia,” “Elizabeth Taylor, “Opalite,” “Father Figure,” “Eldest Daughter,” “Ruin The Friendship,” “Actually Romantic,” “Wi$h Li$t,” “Wood,” “CANCELLED!,” and “The Life of a Showgirl (featuring Sabrina Carpenter).”
Before any music had been released, Swift set multiple records with the new album. After the appearance on the podcast, Swift’s new album became Spotify’s most pre-saved album in a single day, on Aug 31, surpassing 5 million presaves before the release. Then, of course, on Oct 3, The Life of a Showgirl became Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day in 2025 so far. The lead single of the album, track one, “The Fate of Ophelia,” quickly earned the fame it deserved, becoming Spotify’s most-streamed song in one day on Oct 3, and most-streamed song in one week on Oct 9.
With the success of The Eras Tour movie, Swift was quickly topping the charts at the box office, with “The Release Party of a Showgirl.” In this hour-and-a-half movie, Swift debuted the music video and behind-the-scenes of “The Fate of Ophelia,” lyric videos for each track, and a short deep dive into her thought process behind each track. Swifties gathered for the first weekend of the release and experienced the magic of Swift’s music in the theater.
Like most artists, Swift also experienced much backlash for her album. While people are calling The Life of a Showgirl a “lyrical flop” or “cringy,” Swift simply doesn’t care. Making an appearance on the Zayne Lowe Show, Swift was asked about the hate she usually receives after an album release. “The rule of show business is, if it’s the first week of my album release, and you are saying either my name or my album title, you’re helping.” Even people posting their negative thoughts of the album on social media are helping Swift promote her album.
After 149 shows on The Eras Tour from March 2023 to December 2024, Swift has decided not to tour for her new album. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, she said, “No, I’m gonna be really honest with you. Like, I am so tired when I think about doing it again. Because I would want to do it really, really well again.” Swift explained that now that she is off The Eras Tour, she has finally returned to her everyday life. “I could only do the Eras Tour when I was on the Eras Tour, and that’s two years of having no other hobbies. And now I have the hobbies again, and making it everybody’s problem.” Swift had also mentioned that she wrote the entirety of The Life of a Showgirl while on The Eras Tour. On The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Swift explained why, saying, “This is my one thing.” She said she’s not good at any sports or anything to fill her time, so she spends it writing the hundreds of fantastic songs she’s released to us so far.
