On Aug. 12, at 12:12 AM, Taylor Swift announced her twelfth studio album, “The Life of a Show Girl,” with an orange and what looks like to be a teal-themed cover. A countdown was posted on her website, redirecting to a video from Travis and Jason Kelce’s podcast, “New Heights,” in which she opened an orange box labeled “T.S.” She opened the box and revealed a vinyl cover of her new album, but it was blurred. Her social media accounts and Taylor Nation now have an orange lock on them with the same blurred album cover in the background. 

I’ve been a Taylor Swift fan since I was little. I’ve known every lyric to “Fearless” and “Shake it Off” since they first came out. But as I’ve gotten older, Taylor’s music has related to my life more because she wrote those songs when she was my age. In 2023, I attended Swift’s worldwide “Eras Tour,” and it was one of the best nights of my life. I listened to her set list on repeat for three months before the show to make sure people knew I wasn’t a fake fan.

One thing about her music that makes her stand out from other artists is the variance in her music style. Her discography, has songs for all human emotions. There’s “folklore” for when you’re sad, “1989” for when you’re happy or mad which then gives purpose to her revenge album, “Reputation.” If you’re going through a messy breakup there’s “Speak Now,” and let me tell you, “Better than Revenge,” has been blasted in my room many times. Overall, Taylor has been my childhood and an artist I could go to when I was feeling any kind of emotion, because each album has a song to relate to.

A Spotify link posted in New York City and Nashville took viewers to a playlist by Taylor called “and, baby, that’s show business for you.” Tracks on that playlist ranged from “1989,” “Reputation,” and “Red,” both the original and the Taylor’s Version. Fans believe this could be her secret way of giving fans the upcoming album’s vibe. With these albums being upbeat, fun and overall amazing, it gives me hope that this album is going to be a 10 out of 10. 

Fans have also resurfaced Taylor’s older posts and realized the new album was being hinted at. On the closing night of her Eras Tour, an orange colored door descended to where she exited the stage, and her most recent TikTok, posted on Oct.18, was her walking into a stadium where she was playing, holding her cat and briefly showed she was standing in section “A12″ – August 12. Her Easter eggs are so good, but this one had my jaw on the floor. What do you mean you told us the album announcement date in a stadium section and we had no idea.

On Wednesday, Aug. 13, she released the album cover and tracklist of the album. I am very excited about these song titles especially, “The Life of a Showgirl featuring Sabrina Carpenter.” Carpenter’s rise to fame shows that she could be the next Taylor Swift. I’ve been listening to Sabrina since forever, her being featured in a Swift Album is such a big accomplishment for her. It does make me wonder if there are any other features on the album that Swift isn’t sharing yet. If there was going to be another feature I would love a Chappell Roan collab, their voices would sound amazing together and the lyrics would be amazing. I’m also really excited for the track, “Canceled!” because who is she cancelling? what’s the tea?

While I was so excited for “Reputation (Taylor’s Version),” it doesn’t look like that will be happening any time soon. Taylor took the longest hiatus from music release that she ever has before, I thought it was for perfecting the rerecording. Now that we are moving on to the next era might be a confirmation that the next rerecording isn’t happening.

Now, let’s remember all of the colors we have from her previous albums. Green for debut, yellow for “Fearless,” red for “Red,” purple for “Speak Now,” blue for “1989,” black for “Reputation,” pink for “Lover,” brown for “evermore,” white for “folklore” and grey for “Tortured Poets Department.” I swear she is completing the rainbow and if I’m right, if this is the last color, what’s after this? If she chooses to write a new album or re-record “Reputation” or “Lover” I will be happy either way. 

I’ll preorder “The Life of a Showgirl,” and I’ll listen to it as soon as it comes out, so of course I will follow up once I’ve listened to the entire album. In the meantime, I’ll play her original albums to get in the mood for “Showgirl.”