Taylor Swift’s new album The Life of a Showgirl has just been announced, with the singer revealing the plans for her 12th studio album during a highly anticipated appearance on partner Travis Kelce’s podcast ‘New Heights’.

Fans were already on high alert yesterday following a number of easter eggs left for us to pick up on in true Taylor Swift style, with Taylor Nation reminding Swifties of the time she said “See you next era,” in a post on 11 August comprised of a round-up of pictures featuring Tay Tay wearing the colour orange.

Adding further fuel to the fire, Kelce posted at the exact same time to Instagram, saying there would be a “VERY special guest” coming to the podcast, with the teaser image notably featuring a sparkly orange background.

Orange you glad we’re so tuned into these little crumbs of evidence?

Of course, particularly observant Swifties quickly noticed that the silhouette was from her Variety Directors on Directors appearance from December 2022. Iiiinteresting. All very compelling evidence.

The Life of a Showgirl will be Swift’s first album since buying back the full rights to her first six albums. In May, Swift announced the happy news that she had done so, writing in a note shared to her site “All of the music I ever made… now belongs… to me,” and concluding a long-term battle over the ownership of her music.

So how did we finally get the news of Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl and what can we expect from it? Here’s what to know.

John Shearer/TAS23/Getty Images

John Shearer/TAS24 / Getty Images

How was Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl announced?

The Life of a Showgirl announcement landed on Taylor Swift’s website following a mysterious timer appearing which was counting down to 00:12 ET (05:12 UK time).