Taylor Swift has perfected the art of clue-dropping over the years. Whether she's using her red carpet outfits to hint at album releases or she's peppering her lyrics with subtle (or not so subtle) nods to former loves, after two decades in the spotlight Swifties know how to spot a good easter egg. In fact, some have even theorised that Taylor is that good that she accidentally "predicted" her own relationship with Travis Kelce.
So when Taylor announced that she's releasing her twelfth studio album earlier this week, fans were quick to analyse the info provided. Confirming the news on Travis' podcast New Heights, Taylor shared that her next era - titled The Life of a Showgirl - will be coming very soon. Although there's no release date as of yet, fans who pre-order will have a physical copy shipped by 13th October.
However, as her fans will know, Taylor is incredibly strategic - and the short announcement was actually riddled with The Life of a Showgirl easter eggs. Ready to go down the Taylor Swift Easter Egg rabbit hole?
Taylor Swift The Life of a Showgirl Easter Eggs
The Colour Orange
The thematic colour of The Life of a Showgirl is an unmissable orange. In the past, Taylor has used orange as a means of transformation (it was laced through the Reputation and Lover palettes in music videos and Eras Tour outfits), and as the announcement was made her website was awash with a sparkly, burnt orange hue. In the a TikTok carousel from Taylor Nation - she's wearing the earthy colour in every single picture, and it's suddenly clear just how many of her tour outfits were linked to this upcoming album. And that's not the most interesting part - on the last night of the Eras Tour, she ended her Karma performance by exiting through an orange door. So it won't come as a surprise to a single Swiftie that she's been dropping easter eggs for this album for ages.
The numbers
Fans will know that Taylor is very considered when it comes to numerology - from release dates to references in her songs. And it appears that, in line with the fact that this is her twelfth album, she's moving away from her usual use of '13' and leaning into the 12 of it all. Not only did the news drop on 12th August, but the announcement was made on Instagram at 12:12.
The 'TS' signs
Eagle eyed fans spotted not one but three 'TS' signs in the clip from the New Heights podcast. If you look closely, there's one white, one orange and one red card with her initials emblazoned on them. Although it's not clear what this easter egg could mean, fans are speculating that Taylor could be creating multiple variations of the album. Interesting...
Sabrina Carpenter on The Life of a Showgirl
Since the announcement, Sabrina Carpenter has been suggested as a potential collaborator. Not only did she support Taylor during The Eras Tour, but she's the only other person to appear in the photo carousel shared by Taylor Nation on TikTok. A coincidence?
The Life of a Showgirl release date
Taylor's website makes it very clear that while the shipping date for physical copies of The Life of a Showgirl is 13th October, that it's not the release date. However, given the emphasis on the number 12 throughout this announcement, it wouldn't be too surprising if she released it on streaming platforms the day before. Either way - until there's more concrete evidence, Swifties are marking their calendars.
