Taylor Swift The Life of a Showgirl may feature Max Martin and Shellback, new playlist hints

Taylor Swift has announced her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, during a teaser segment for her upcoming appearance on the New Heights podcast, hosted by Travis and Jason Kelce.

The 35-year-old singer presented the news in a video posted Tuesday (Aug. 12), where Jason Kelce remarked on a mint-green briefcase marked “T.S.” Swift confirmed it contained her new album. Travis Kelce responded, “TS12!” The album’s cover art remains obscured on her website, which now displays a blurred orange and green image and offers pre-orders for CD, cassette, and vinyl editions.

Also read: Taylor Swift's big surprise: New album ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ revealed. Is it a collaboration with Sabri


Billboards in New York and Nashville promoted a new Spotify playlist, And, baby, that’s show business for you. The 22 tracks in the playlist are all previous Swift songs produced by Max Martin and Shellback. The inclusion has fueled speculation that the producers, who collaborated with Swift on Red, 1989, and Reputation, are involved in The Life of a Showgirl.

Max Martin and Shellback connection to new album

Visual clues surrounding the album reveal a possible orange theme. On the New Heights set, books with orange covers were visible behind Swift, including works related to artists Jean-Michel Basquiat, Marc Chagall, Ruth Asawa, and Mark Rothko. A silver microphone and a football were also seen in the background.

Swift’s website featured a countdown beginning Monday (Aug. 11) with a glittery orange background and a mint-green clock, which ended at 12:12 a.m. Tuesday. The site states orders for The Life of a Showgirl will ship before Oct. 13.

In a podcast teaser clip, Swift told Travis Kelce, “That’s such a nice colour on you.” He replied, “Yes, I know. It’s the colour of your eyes, sweetie. It’s why we match so well.” Swift then said, “We’re about to do a f****** podcast!”

Her guest spot on New Heights was teased before the announcement. A promotional image featured her silhouette between screenshots of Travis and Jason Kelce, with the same glittering orange background and mint-green lettering.

The release date for The Life of a Showgirl has not yet been confirmed.