The Life of a Showgirl is Taylor Swift's twelfth studio album, following her record-breaking 2024 release, The Tortured Poets Department. The album was announced on August 13, 2025, during an appearance on New Heights, the sports podcast hosted by Jason and Travis Kelce, in what became the most-watched podcast premiere in history.
Taylor has described the project as capturing the "exuberant and electric and vibrant" energy she experienced during the Eras Tour, calling it "the most infectiously joyful, wild, dramatic place" of her life. She explained that after the emotional weight of The Tortured Poets Department, she wanted to create something that reflected the pure joy and theatrical energy of performing night after night.
"This album is about embracing the spectacle, the glamour, and the pure rush of being on stage," Swift shared. "After pouring my heart out so vulnerably on my last album, I wanted to celebrate the other side of this journey—the lights, the costumes, the electricity of connecting with audiences around the world. It's about finding magic in the performance itself."
The 12-track album, produced with longtime collaborators Max Martin and Shellback, marks a deliberate return to infectious pop melodies and represents Swift's most visually striking era yet, complete with provocative showgirl-inspired artwork that critics are calling her most glamorous aesthetic to date.
1. The Fate of Ophelia
The opening track and first single draws on Shakespeare’s tragic heroine from Hamlet as a symbol of heartbreak, fragility, and lost agency, all of which are recurring themes in Taylor Swift’s work. The parallels between Ophelia’s emotional unraveling and Swift’s own experiences seem intentional, especially given her history of referencing Shakespeare, from “Love Story”’s nod to Romeo and Juliet to Hamlet’s “all’s well that ends well” in “All Too Well.” It's also noted that the album’s cover echoes Millais’s famous painting of Ophelia, further deepening the connection.
Enter the Body by Joy McCullough
Beneath a stage trapdoor, Juliet, Ophelia, and Cordelia gather with the silent and mysterious Lavinia nearby; many others linger in the shadows around the room. As Shakespeare's most famous and beloved dead girls begin to recount their lives, the probing questions they ask of each other encourage them to delve into their own motivations, beliefs, choices, and lack thereof. They begin imagining what would and wouldn't have changed if they'd been given agency over certain decisions and the ability to speak their minds, to be more than just props for their fathers' aspirations. This exploration of their own limitations in the original stories parallels the relationships between fathers and daughters, Shakespeare and his creations, and the ways young women are often used to serve many purposes except their own.
2. Elizabeth Taylor
The second track is named after the legendary actress. The song pays tribute to Taylor as a symbol of resilience, glamour, and public scrutiny. Swift has described Elizabeth Taylor as “one of the most ultimate, quintessential showgirls,” noting how she lived under an intense microscope yet handled it with humor and continued creating remarkable art. Swift sees parallels between Elizabeth Taylor’s life and her own, framing the track as a love song filtered through that shared experience. The song also connects thematically to the album’s opener, “The Fate of Ophelia,” especially given that Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor’s on-again, off-again husband, once starred in a production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the very play referenced in that first track.
Marisol Acts the Part by Elle Gonzalez Rose
Actress Marisol Polly-Rodriguez might be entering her flop era. After wrapping up a hit show, she’s neither booked nor busy. Not to mention, her former co-star turned boyfriend, Miles, recently dumped her for being an “unserious” performer. Can you imagine?
To prove to Miles—and online trolls—that she takes her craft very seriously, Marisol lands a role on the same upcoming drama series he does. But with the eccentric director constantly rewriting her lines and a snobby castmate trying to upstage her, Marisol quickly realizes that her hope of nabbing an award nomination might be a pipe dream.
The only person she doesn’t have to put on a performance for is the show’s leading lady, Jamila. Marisol hasn’t been able to look away from her since their first audition. Falling for Jamila wasn’t part of Marisol’s plan, but even the most dedicated actors go off script sometimes, right?
3. Opalite
The third track captures the quiet resilience and luminous calm that comes with finding the right person after enduring hardship. The track continues her tradition of using color to express emotion, much like the fiery passion of “Red” or the dreamy intimacy of “Lavender Haze.” Swift explained that the title was inspired by her fiancé Travis Kelce’s birthstone, the opal. “Opalite” refers to the man-made version of the gem, which she saw as a metaphor for choosing happiness rather than waiting for it to arrive by chance. She described the song as “infectiously, contagiously happy,” calling it an expression of joy that is earned rather than accidental. The idea of a synthetic gem became a symbol for how happiness, like Opalite, can be created intentionally.
All the Love Under the Vast Sky edited by Kip Wilson
Love can be many things – all-consuming, fleeting, vengeful, selfless, toxic, uplifting, and always, a core part of the teen experience that leaves an indelible mark. This enchanting, genre-crossing anthology delivers something for every reader with unique characters, global settings, and a dazzling mixture of myth, historical, speculative, and contemporary fiction.
With the turn of a page, get swept away by unexpected love blooming between two princes from enemy Mesoamerican nations in the 15th century, who'd rather make music rather than war; cheer for a timid bearded lady who was shunned by her family and runs away to find belonging and safety at the circus during the 1800s experience the heartbreak of saying goodbye to a beloved pet; breathlessly watch a myth unfold as a siren bound to the water falls in love with a winged forest spirit, their love seemingly impossible from the start. Root for a girl who emerges from grief and battles with chronic pain to discover how to love herself and life again.
Love is complicated, and this anthology embraces the messiness and the joy of all kinds of love.
4. Father Figure
The fourth track reimagines George Michael’s 1988 hit, using its title and tone to explore power dynamics and control in the music industry. Swift explained that her take flips the idea of a father figure to highlight shifting power structures, a theme many interpret as a nod to her experience with figures like Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun.
Heir by Sabaa Tahir
An orphan.
An outcast.
A prince.
And a killer who will bring an empire to its knees.
Growing up in the Kegari slums, AIZhas seen her share of suffering. An old tragedy fuels her need for vengeance, but it is love of her people that propels her. Until one hotheaded mistake lands her in an inescapable prison, where the embers of her wrath ignite.
Banished from her people for an unforgivable crime, SIRSHA is a down-on-her-luck tracker who uses magic to trace her marks. Destitute, she agrees to hunt down a killer who has murdered children across the Martial Empire. All she has to do is carry out the job and get paid. But when a chance encounter leads to an unexpected attraction, Sirsha learns her mission might cost her far more than she's willing to give up.
QUIL is the crown prince of the Empire and nephew of a venerated empress, but he’s loath to take the throne when his aunt steps down. As the son of a reviled emperor, he, better than anyone, understands that power corrupts. When a vicious new enemy threatens the survival of the Empire, Quil must ask himself if he can rise above his tragic lineage and be the heir his people need.
5. Eldest Daughter
The fifth track continues Swift’s tradition of placing her most emotionally vulnerable songs in the track five position. The song explores the mental weight of being an oldest child and sister and how that sense of responsibility shaped her approach to fame. Swift described it as a love song about the roles people play in public versus who they are privately, noting how difficult it is to be sincere in a culture that rewards being detached and unbothered. She explained that the song reflects the moment someone gets close enough to earn your trust and you finally admit that you care.
Run Like a Girl by Amaka Egbe
Dera Edwards knows her life is over when she's shipped off to live with her estranged father in the middle of White Suburbia. To make matters worse, Dera learns that her new school doesn’t have a girls’ track team, shattering her dreams of getting a track scholarship and, one day, competing in the Olympics.
Not one to give up easily, Dera joins the boys’ team instead. But while she has the school administration’s blessing, her new teammates and classmates are less than welcoming. Between that and her frustratingly distant father, Dera is positive her junior year is ruined.
Just as she starts to accept her status as an outsider, Dera’s approached by her classmate Rosalyn, who wants to feature Dera’s story in her blog. Eager to change the narrative and spend more time with Rosalyn's gorgeous cousin Gael—also known as one of the few teammates who will talk to her—Dera agrees.
But when she goes viral and gains attention across the state, Dera’s new notoriety opens the door for trolls both online and at school. Paired with her deteriorating relationship with her father, she soon finds everything to be too much. Will Dera be able to keep outrunning her problems, or will her dream be the very thing that derails her?
6. Ruin the Friendship
The sixth track expresses regret over not pursuing a former friend romantically, who may be Jeff Lang, the suspected muse behind the Red (Taylor’s Version) track “Forever Winter.” Swift described the song as a wistful look back at moments of hesitation, when fear or anxiety stopped you from acting on your feelings. It explores the idea that revealing those feelings or taking a chance might have risked ruining the friendship, and asks what would really have been so bad about that. Ultimately, the song tells a beautiful story about embracing opportunities when they arise and not living with the regret of wondering what might have been.
In the Orbit of You by Ashley Schumacher
It's been years since Nova Evans last saw Sam. She was too young then to understand why he had to move away―and what it had to do with the cuts and bruises he got from home and never wanted to talk about. All she knew is that they promised to find each other when they were older, something she thought was impossible thanks to her and her mom moving around constantly. Until she bumps into Sam in her new school, and realizes he has clearly forgotten their childhood promise.
Sam Jordan has a plan for his accept his college football scholarship, date his girlfriend Abigail, and―most importantly―hide how much he wants to do something, anything other than The Plan™ his parents and coaches have set before him. It doesn't matter if sometimes he finds himself thinking about the new girl he met in the cafeteria, a girl who reminds him of a past that hurts to remember.
When a school-wide personality test reveals Nova and Sam to be each others' top matches―not only that, but a match of 99%, the highest in the school―they begin to remember why they were such close friends, all those years ago. As well as the myriad of reasons this new-yet-familiar, magnetic, sparkling thing between them will never, ever work out.
7. Actually Romantic
The seventh song is widely believed to be a response to British artist Charli XCX’s 2024 song Sympathy is a Knife. Charli’s track is rumored to be about Swift and describes a complicated relationship where someone “taps my insecurities” but “couldn’t even be her if I tried.” The two artists previously toured together during Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour, but tensions grew publicly, fueled in part by their overlapping connections to members of The 1975, with Swift linked to frontman Matty Healy and Charli with George Daniel, who she married. Swift reflects on realizing that someone has had a one-sided obsession with her without her knowing. When that person begins showing resentment or frustration, she chooses to see it as love and attention. The song frames this kind of fixation as unexpectedly flattering and, in its own way, actually romantic.
Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi
Sana Khan is a cheerleader and a straight-A student. She's the classic (somewhat obnoxious) overachiever determined to win.
Rachel Recht is a wannabe director who's obsesssed with movies and ready to make her own masterpiece. As she's casting her senior film project, she knows she's found the perfect lead - Sana.
There's only one problem. Rachel hates Sana. Rachel was the first girl Sana ever asked out, but Rachel thought it was a cruel prank and has detested Sana ever since.
Told in alternative viewpoints and inspired by classic romantic comedies, this engaging and edgy YA novel follows two strong-willed young women falling for each other despite themselves.
8. Wi$h Li$t
The eighth track and also the last song Swift said she wrote for the album and described it as one of her personal favorites. She called it “so romantic” and praised its vivid imagery in the verses, which explore the kinds of lives people want to live. The song reflects on the many different dreams and aspirations people have, especially in today’s visually curated world where everyone’s lives are on display online. Swift explains that while everyone has different priorities and wishes, it is important to recognize and honor your own unique desires without comparing them to others. She hopes that everyone is able to get their wishes, but these are hers. Swift also said that as soon as they finished writing “Wi$h Li$t,” she knew the album was complete, saying, “Call it, take it to the morgue, toe tag, it’s done.”
The Boyfriend Wish by Swati Teerdhala
Deepa’s a hopeless romantic. And even though Deepa’s checklist for the perfect boyfriend is a mile long, her mom and dad’s fairy-tale love story makes her feel like romantic success ought to be a family trait. It’s why when her grandmother gives her a jasmine flower with the promise that it will fulfill her heart’s greatest desire, and then a new boy moves in across the street, Deepa knows—he must be her wish come true.
Rohit checks off every box on Deepa’s timelessly handsome, a thoughtful listener, and a romantic who knows his flowers. Deepa’s next-door neighbor (and constant tormentor) Vik also surprisingly approves, though she knows it shouldn’t be a mark against Rohit.
Is it luck or is it magic? Deepa doesn’t want to take chances, so when her grandmother warns her that the wish is only permanent if she seals it with a kiss, she knows she needs to move quickly. Rohit is the right boy in every way, so then why does Deepa not feel like he might not be the right choice?
9. Wood
The ninth track is laden with innuendos and sexual humor. The lyrics reference various superstitions, but Swift makes it clear she is no longer knocking on wood, as she believes all the bad luck is behind her. The song uses popular good luck and bad luck charms as a plot device to explore a sentimental love story, capturing the excitement and assurance she now feels with her partner.
Hit Me with Your Best Charm by Lillie Vale
Whimsical charm at the annual Fall Festival.
The legend of the wishing well hidden in a forest bristling with secrets.
And Nova Marwood’s missing hiker father.
Every year without him, it gets easier to pretend Nova doesn’t believe in myth and magic. Easier to pretend she’s doing okay. Easier to pretend she doesn’t have a secret crush on the girl she fake-hates.
Kiara Mistry is the luckiest girl in town and the thief of every crush Nova had her heart set on first. In theory, Nova should resent Kiara. But it’s getting harder to deny her feelings.
When Nova lays an unintended hex on Kiara at the Fall Festival, and one misfortune after another swiftly follows, soon Kiara’s very survival at stake. To reverse the bad luck, Kiara’s exes turned BFFs commence a quest for the miraculous wishing well. There’s only one person who can get them there . . . Nova.
But to save Kiara—and maybe find her dad, too—she’ll have to believe in something much stronger than magic. Nova will need to believe in herself.
10. CANCELLED!
In the tenth track was described by Travis Kelce as a “banger,” the song explores the harshness of cancel culture and how easy it is to be wrongly judged. Swift’s own experience with cancel culture began in 2013 with backlash over her dating life and escalated after public feuds and controversies. After stepping back in 2016, she returned with reputation, addressing these moments in her music. In this song, she reflects on how these experiences shaped her, showing empathy for others facing similar scrutiny while emphasizing resilience and personal judgment over public opinion.
Follow Your Arrow by Jessica Verdi
CeCe Ross is kind of a big deal. She and her girlfriend, Silvie, are social media influencers with zillions of fans and followers, known for their cute outfits and being #relationshipgoals.
So when Silvie breaks up with her, CeCe is devastated. She's lost her first love, and now she can't help but wonder if she'll lose her followers as well.
Things get even messier when CeCe meets Josh, a new boy in town who is very much Not Online. CeCe isn't surprised to be falling for a guy; she's always known she's bi. And Josh is sweet and smart and has excellent taste in donuts... but he has no idea that CeCe is internet-famous. And CeCe sort of wants to keep it that way.
But when CeCe's secrets catch up to her, she finds herself in the middle of an online storm, where she'll have to confront the blurriness of public vs. private life, and figure out what it really means to speak her truth.
11. Honey
The eleventh song explores how Swift’s relationship with Travis Kelce has changed her view of words like “honey.” While these terms are often used as endearments, Swift explains they can sometimes feel condescending or disrespectful when used in the wrong way. The song reflects on how past negative experiences caused her to associate these words with hurt, but now, with a loving partner, she can appreciate their sweeter, traditional meaning. Swift describes the song as about healing old wounds through love and calls it one of her favorite, most joyful tracks on the album.
Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin
The sequel to Serpent & Dove, after narrowly escaping death at the hands of the Dames Blanches, Lou, Reid, Coco, and Ansel are on the run from coven, kingdom, and church—fugitives with nowhere to hide.
To elude the scores of witches and throngs of chasseurs at their heels, Lou and Reid need allies. Strong ones. But protection comes at a price, and the group is forced to embark on separate quests to build their forces. As Lou and Reid try to close the widening rift between them, the dastardly Morgane baits them in a lethal game of cat and mouse that threatens to destroy something worth more than any coven.
12. The Life of a Showgirl (featuring Sabrina Carpenter)
The twelfth and titular track explores the challenges of dedicating yourself fully to being a “showgirl,” telling the story of a young artist who meets celebrity Kitty Finlay. Kitty warns her that the life of a showgirl demands more than it gives, but the artist grows into a successful celebrity without regret. The track features Sabrina Carpenter, marking their first collaboration. Carpenter has admired Swift for years and opened for her on The Eras Tour, which inspired Carpenter’s own recent tour. The song ends with crowd noise from Swift’s last Eras Tour show in Vancouver, making it a deeply personal and emotional finale that connects the album to that important chapter in Swift’s career.
Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles
In a city covered in ice and ruin, a group of magicians face off in a daring game of magical feats to find the next headliner of the Conquering Circus, only to find themselves under the threat of an unseen danger striking behind the scenes.
As each act becomes more and more risky and the number of missing magicians piles up, three are forced to reckon with their secrets before the darkness comes for them next.
The Star: Kallia, a powerful showgirl out to prove she’s the best no matter the cost
The Master: Jack, the enigmatic keeper of the club, and more than one lie told
The Magician: Demarco, the brooding judge with a dark past he can no longer hide
Add a comment to: YA Friday: The Life of a Showgirl