As she sang on the song “exile”: “I gave so many signs.” But did she? Did Taylor Swift hint that The Life of a Showgirl, her just-announced 12th studio album, was imminent, or were the fan theories based on leaks, rumors, innuendo, and pure speculation?
Honestly.… It’s a lot to unpack, and we are not going to get into every single square inch of conspiracy here. But now that the album has been confirmed, there are some things that seem to be pointing us toward information about the new project, so let’s get into that, shall we?
All the Taylor Swift new-album Easter eggs in her August 12 playlist
The richest text is a playlist Swift posted just after announcing the name of the album. It starts with the song “22,” contains 22 songs, and is an hour and 22 minutes long. So TLoaS either contains 22 tracks, will be released on the 22nd, or possibly both, right?
Second, let’s take a look at which of her own songs Swift chose. She’s officially over her “Taylor’s Version” era, LOL (except for “Message in a Bottle,” which only appeared on the TV of Red); she’s also using tracks from Red, 1989, and Reputation, which are in alphabetical order; and Swifties may have noticed that all the songs were written with and produced by the one and only…Max Martin.
Michael Buckner
Yes, pop fans, we won. One of the most common criticisms of Swift’s double album, The Tortured Poets Department, was that Swift and her longtime creative collaborator Jack Antonoff seemed to have stopped growing together and were creatively stuck in the sound they’d been developing since 1989. Not that it was bad, but that they had stopped evolving. So whether or not the return of Max Martin means there will be no Jack Antonoff or less Jack Antonoff.… It’s nice to see some Martin!
The Taylor Swift album release dates are likely in the fall
You can preorder a physical copy (on vinyl, CD, or cassette) of TLoaS on Swift’s website now, and the site advises that the item ships “before October 13” but that this does not constitute any announcement about a release date. With that said.… It’ll be sometime in the fall because of course it will be. It’ll be a Grammy-friendly date in the fall.
Are there any Taylor Swift new-album Easter eggs in her outfits?
From what we can tell…naur. The era officially kicks off with her upcoming appearance on New Heights, where she’s wearing a white blouse and a skort. Everything else has been strictly off-season. Sure, she’s worn some sparkles here and there, but let’s be real—Tay Tay has always liked sparkles.
