Excited Swifties are counting down to the 2pm (AEST) release of Taylor Swift’s new album The Life Of A Showgirl today, celebrating with parties, online forums and listening rooms.
Mary’s Underground at Circular Quay and the Oxford Arts Factory in Darlinghurst were among the Sydney venues holding fan vigils to mark the singer’s 12th studio album.
Many fans would say they “Died. Dead!” when Swift announced the release on August 12, at 12:12am (ET). This followed a carousel of 12 photos of her wearing orange across The Eras Tour which was posted to the @taylornation Instagram and captioned: “Thinking about when she said ‘See you next era…❤️🔥’.”
Interest has built since the album was announced on Taylor’s website and fiance Travis Kelce’s New Heights sporting podcast, with #ts12 trended on X for 15 hours at the time.
Twelve songs make up the tracklist including a collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter, who opened for Swift on the Eras Tour.
Credit: Mean Girls (2004)
Host of the Ready For It podcast, journalist and TV reporter, Georgie Tunny told Central News: “The concept itself – the life of a showgirl – has special resonance with every fan fortunate enough to go to the Eras Tour.
“I definitely think the album will be far more upbeat than TTPD and by all accounts has 12 bangers on its tracklist, or as Taylor calls them, ‘glitter gel pen songs’.
“She’s back collaborating with Max Martin and Shellback – behind the impossibly catchy Blank Space, 22, Shake it Off – so my advice to the world is: Get ready to dance.”
i just realized we were showgirls before we even knew about the existence of ‘the life of a showgirl’… every time swifties walked into an eras tour stadium in their sparkly dazzling outfits and put on their light up bracelets, they became a part of the show. we are her showgirls
— Sel ❤️🔥 (@butwhatcanitay) September 29, 2025
Sydney super fan Alana Capano was counting down the minutes on Taylor’s website before the announcement.
“I think the album is going to have orange and mint green aesthetics with pop perfection hits about living life with intense fame and falling in love amidst it all,” the 23-year-old said.
To celebrate the release of the album Swift announced exclusive world movie premieres. The Official Release Party of a Showgirl will be showing across cinemas around Australia from October 4-5. The 89-minute screening will premiere the music video The Fate of Ophelia, along with behind-the-scenes footage, more videos, and Taylor’s personal reflections on songs from The Life of a Showgirl.
This will be the first album released since Taylor’s official acquisition earlier this year of her first six albums’ master tracks in a long-running intellectual rights ownership dispute with her former label Big Machine Records.
The battle, spanning several years, has been hailed as a watershed for musicians’ rights and ownership, which sent a powerful message to artists, particular younger ones, to fight for their rights and secure fair contracts.
“There’s no doubt Taylor’s much publicised fight to own all of her own music has changed the industry and made artists more aware of their own power and rights,” said Tunny.
“But it took her several years to buy back the rights to her own songs and she’s a billionaire. For younger artists, particularly female artists, there’s still a staggeringly long way to go.”
Main stadium image by Loridana Zangari and supplied publicity image.
