A new Taylor Swift era is upon us, and that means Swifties are pulling out their magnifying glasses. On Aug. 12 at 12:12 a.m., the singer unveiled her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, which will come out this fall with the exact release date to be confirmed soon. And naturally, fans are already coming up with some big theories using the few clues Swift has given us.
Following the announcement, Spotify billboards in Nashville and New York’s Times Square led to a new playlist created by Swift, which features exactly 22 songs from her catalog that were produced by Max Martin and Shellback. This seems like an obvious clue that Swift has reunited with the pop super-producers for the first time since her 2017 album, Reputation.
However, this development means that Swift might not be working with her frequent collaborators Jack Antonoff or Aaron Dessner on The Life of a Showgirl — or does it?
Is The Life of a Showgirl A Double Album?
Just two hours after releasing The Tortured Poets Department in April 2024, Swift revealed that it was actually a double album, unveiling a second part titled The Anthology with 15 more new songs. Some fans suspect she’ll pull off the same trick — or at least a similar strategy — with The Life of a Showgirl.
The rumored absence of Antonoff, who has worked on all of Swift’s albums since 2014’s 1989, and Dessner, who collaborated with Swift on her last four albums, has only fueled this theory. “Y’all act like she’s not going to release The Life of a Showgirl at midnight, followed up by The Death of a Showgirl at 3:00 AM with all of Jack and Aaron songs your little hearts desire,” one fan wrote.
There’s also been a lot of doubles in the album rollout, and it’s only been one day. The Life of a Showgirl was announced at 12:12 a.m., and is currently available for “pre pre-order,” not just a standard pre-order. A likely album release date is Oct. 10 (10/10), as Swift’s official store states that all products will be shipped before Oct. 13. Plus, the Spotify playlist begins with “22.”
Even if The Life of a Showgirl doesn’t turn out to be an entire double album like Tortured Poets, Swift may release a deluxe version not long after the album’s release, which she also did with the “3 a.m. edition” of Midnights in 2022. No matter how this album rolls out, Swift has some fun plans up her sleeve.
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