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Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl is out now – shop the vinyl and merch
The singer’s latest record is titled The Life of a Showgirl
The hysteria across the internet today is down to one woman only: Taylor Swift. The singer has finally dropped her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, which is already being dissected and analysed online by her millions of fans, dubbed Swifties.
Set to be one of the biggest music launches of 2025, The Life of a Showgirl is her 12th album and features 12 songs – including the title track, which is a collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter, and Ophelia, inspired by Shakespeare’s tragic character, in the vein of her nostalgic song Love Story.
Social media is already alight with speculation that one song – Actually Romantic – is a direct diss toward Charli XCX, who reportedly sang about Swift in the song Sympathy is a Knife on her Brat record. Other talked-about tracks include Wood – an apparent homage to her fiancé Travis Kelce’s private parts.
Viral moments aside, Swift’s new record has split the critics. The Guardian has given it two stars, calling it “dull razzle dazzle’, while The Independent’s Roisin O’Connor gave it four, commenting that it’s “as compelling as she’s ever been – the star, the ringmaster and the circus all in one”.
The cover art is designed in a collage-style with a turquoise and orange colour palette, picturing Swift wearing a silver beaded bra top from Area and bracelets while partially submerged in water. On the New Heights podcast, Swift explained, “This represents the end of my night. So when I’m on tour, I have the same day every single day...And my day ends with me in a bathtub, not usually in a bedazzled dress.” Never one to do things by halves, there are three more alternative covers available as CDs on her website.
Here’s how to buy the new record, The Life of a Showgirl – plus how to shop merch.
‘The Life of a Showgirl’ vinyl
The cover artwork for The Life of a Showgirl – an image of her half immersed in water, broken up into pieces of glass – could also reference to the record’s opening track, “The Fate of Ophelia”. Swift regularly takes inspiration from literature and history – this time, she could be nodding to John Everett Millais’s painting of Hamlet’s famous character singing in a river before she drowns.
In harmony with it being her 12th album, there are 12 tracks on the record, including a cover of George Michael’s 1987 song “Father Figure” – plus, a collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter in the title track.
In the lengthy podcast interview to coincide with the announcement, Swift said she recorded the album in Europe while she was on the Era’s tour. Inspired by her two years spent on road, the album promises to take you behind the scenes.
“This album is about what was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during this tour, which was so exuberant and electric and vibrant,” she said. “I’m so proud of it. And it comes from the most infectiously joyful, wild, dramatic place I was in in my life, so that effervescence has come through on this record.”
Swift has reunited with Swedish producers Max Martin and Shellback, who worked on her albums Red, 1989 and Reputation, including the songs “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space”.
There’s a limit of four vinyls per customer, and the website states that the record is only available to pre-order while stocks last, so act fast.
The Life of a Showgirl – It's Beautiful Editor with CD and poster
Whether you still own a Walkman player or simply want something to display, this set is complete with a retro CD and a poster of the limited-edition cover art. The collectable set features an eight-page booklet with never-before-seen images and song lyrics.
The Life of a Showgirl sweatshirt box set
In this limited-edition set, not only do you get the 12-track CD of The Life of a Showgirl, but also a piece of clothing. The black sweatshirt features a crew neckline, the cover art on the front and the full track list on the back – a lovely gift for any Swiftie this Christmas.
Prepare for a Taylor Swift listening party with the best record players for 2025, tried and tested