Months ago, in May, Taylor Swift shared a letter celebrating her finally owning the masters to her entire discography. In it, she wrote about all the times she was “thiiiiiiiiiiiis close” to owning them – yes, with 12 i’s – which of course, had Swifties everywhere reading so much into it and dreaming of a new album.
Then bam: the newest album The Life of a Showgirl, AKA TS12, was announced at 12.12am on 12th August 2025. Oh, and this happened on the 12th anniversary of Lady Gaga’s Applause, a song that explores the adoration of fans and how a singer lives to perform.
As Taylor Swift fans, we, along with the rest of the world, are losing it in anticipation. And part of the fun is consuming all the clues and Easter eggs leading to the album drop. So, buckle up – here are all our favourite Taylor Swift album theories for The Life of a Showgirl so far.
Table of Contents
Image credit: @taylorswift via Instagram
Taylor Swift’s newest album, The Life of a Showgirl, will be her 12th overall album, set to drop on 3rd October 2025. There are 12 songs in total – no more, no less – and it was written while she was on her record-breaking Eras Tour. According to Taylor, the songs capture all the glitz, glamour, and excitement of life on tour.
Image adapted from: Taylor Swift, Tate
The standard album cover art of The Life of a Showgirl is intentionally flamboyant and provocative, with Taylor donning a diamond-studded bralette while submerging in a bathtub of water. On the New Heights podcast, she revealed that she often ended the nights during her Eras Tour in a bathtub, and the cover illustrates that mix of on-stage glamour and off-stage moments of indulgence. The album’s associated colour has been described as Portofino Orange Flitter by the artist, with the title words sparkling in orange glitter, because of course it does.
Many are citing John Everett Millais’ painting, Ophelia, as the inspiration for the cover art. In the play Hamlet, Ophelia is manipulated and has her fate dictated by men, leading to her eventual mental breakdown and her death by drowning. Unlike Ophelia’s lifeless form in the painting, whose fate was subject to and controlled by the patriarchy, Taylor takes a more defiant stance, holding a direct gaze with the camera in the reclamation of herself, her image, and her body.
Image credit: Taylor Swift
Taylor’s new album is co-produced with Swedish producers Max Martin and Shellback – their first collaboration since her 2017 album Reputation. Known for their signature pop sound, it seems like we can expect Taylor’s return to “glitter-gel-pen songs” with this album. Plus, she pretty much all but confirmed it on the New Heights podcast.
Here’s what we think the songs will be about:
Like the character in the play, The Fate of Ophelia likely explores how Taylor’s public image and narrative have been subject to the whims of others. As a female celebrity in the spotlight, so much of her life has been scrutinised and dominated by the media, from famous feuds with Scooter Braun and Kanye West to her very public romantic relationships.
Ophelia’s story revolves around the men in her life, ultimately driving her to madness. Her death in the play, and whether she killed herself, is still debated – many believe it to be suicide as a bid to reclaim personal agency. In a similar vein, Taylor draws a comparison between her and Ophelia – perhaps an indictment of societal scrutiny she has endured.
Image adapted from: @fortunesflame via X
Besides sharing a name, Elizabeth Taylor was one of the biggest stars of Old Hollywood and shares more than a few connections with Taylor Swift. Taylor has even referenced Elizabeth Taylor before in Reputation’s Ready For It, and both women have been the subject of intense media focus because of their relationships.
Fans are already spotting potential Easter eggs: the Sweat and Vanilla Perfume variant of the album comes with a violet eye charm, which seems to make reference to Elizabeth Taylor’s famous violet eyes.
Image credit: @taylorswift via Instagram
Unlike opal, opalite is a man-made, synthetic version that looks similar to its precious stone counterpart. As a stone, they are also said to have calming properties.
Fun fact: Opal is Travis Kelce’s birthstone, and Taylor has mentioned opal as a favourite gemstone, wearing it on several occasions. She even used to go to T.J. Maxx as a kid and look at opal jewellery when she felt sad.
We think the song might draw comparisons between the artificial opalite and original opal gemstones, referring to their similarities and differences. Maybe the song will liken love to opalite and discuss if it can ever replace the “real deal,” or if it loses its lustre once you realise it’s not the real thing. Or, maybe, it’ll have to do with a metaphorical healing experience of peace.
While unlikely to be a full cover of the 1987 song by George Michael, there’s definitely room for a connection between Taylor’s Father Figure and his version. She has covered his Last Christmas before, and has expressed how the musical era of the 1980s has impacted her discography and music career. Perhaps we can expect an interpolation or lyric sample from the original song.
It could also be more straightforward – about her own father, or Scott Borchetta, the first and former record label CEO who signed her, or more broadly, the industry and other men in her life.
Image adapted from: Taylor Swift
Track 5s on Taylor Swift albums are famously known to be vulnerable and emotionally deep. Her other track 5s include All Too Well, Dear John, Delicate, My Tears Ricochet, and You’re On Your Own, Kid. With a title like Eldest Daughter, we say prepare for another tearjerker.
On a more personal note, Taylor’s the eldest child, with 1 younger brother, so the song likely points to the pressures and responsibilities she’s faced. It could also be loosely interpreted in relation to her position as a big musical artist in the industry and her actions and feelings towards smaller artists, be it passing down lessons learnt or being a role model.
Many are speculating that Ruin the Friendship is about Taylor’s ex-friendship with Blake Lively, but the room is split. Some also believe that it’s a red herring, and this is just Swiftonomics 101 – the title doesn’t give much away, and these theories are often proven wrong when the song actually comes out. It could very well be about a budding romance that has “ruined the friendship”, since the 2 in love can’t go back to being friends.
As for us, we’d say that the latter seems more convincing – Taylor is known to surprise fans with songs completely different from their expectations, after all.
Image credit: Taylor Swift
Actually Romantic isn’t just a song title – it’s even engraved on a necklace included with one of the album versions. Taylor has played with the word “romantic” in various positive and negative ways, but we think that the way she uses “actually” hints at the authenticity of those feelings.
Complete with the 2 dollar signs, it’s possible that Wi$h Li$t points to Taylor’s recent purchase and ownership of her own masters. She has said that she’s been wanting to own her music fully since she first started as an artist, and this song is possibly a literal take on how she’s checked this off her wish list.
Alternatively, we’re also getting a sense that the material purchases, or lack thereof, might be the focus on the track. Maybe it’ll be about things money can’t buy, like happiness or family and loved ones.
Image credit: Taylor Swift
One particularly convincing theory is how Wood ties to the saying “putting wood behind the arrow”, meaning the act of preparation in order to achieve a goal. One of her It’s Frightening album inclusions in The Life of a Showgirl is a wood heart charm with a gold-tone arrow – likely a nod to that metaphor. The idea: you back up your words and intentions with actual resources, effort, and support in order to succeed. Perhaps this song will detail the dedication and hard work poured into Taylor’s work for her to have reached this level of success.
Other theories include it being a reference to Pinocchio, the wooden doll who wants to be real, and the slim chance that it’s an innuendo.
Image credit: Taylor Swift
Everyone knows that Taylor Swift has been “CANCELLED!” several times over the years. We think this song will be a jab at people who have tried (and failed) to cancel her. Plus, we think it’s a strategic move and great for her search engine optimisation effort- if people ever try and Google “taylor swift cancelled”, they’ll get the song instead.
It’s also interesting to note that she used the British spelling of “cancelled” as opposed to the American “canceled”. It can’t be a coincidence that a certain Brit is no longer a part of Swift’s life.
“Honey” is a term of endearment and affection, so we smell a Travis Kelce dedication somewhere in there. If you combine that with the fact that Kelce’s character gets slathered in honey in the movie Happy Gilmore 2, we’d say our case is pretty strong.
Image credit: Taylor Swift
The title track of the album, The Life of a Showgirl, seems pretty straightforward to us – both Taylor Swift and her featured music partner Sabrina Carpenter have had massive moments in 2024. We predict the song will be fun and catchy, exploring the glitz and glamour of being a “showgirl”, but also having lyrics deeper than surface level.
Fingers crossed for the 2 of them to combine their powers and create a real big pop banger.
Image credit: Getty
One of the big Taylor Swift album theories for The Life of a Showgirl is the meaning of the era’s colours. The mint green and orange colour scheme of the album has some fans connecting these colours to copper and green patina. When copper oxidises over time, it naturally turns green as part of the tarnishing process, so the theory goes: like copper, a showgirl’s brilliance and novelty fade over time as her career progresses.
The album could point to how women are viewed in the eyes of the industry – shining bright at first, only to be “weathered down” by age and public scrutiny. Taylor could be hinting at the fact that ageing is both an inevitable and a natural part of life, but society often treats it like an inconvenience, especially when it comes to appearances or popularity.
Image adapted from: Taylor Swift via YouTube
There’s speculation that The Life of a Showgirl album was hinted at 3 years prior to its release during the Midnights era – several Easter eggs can be found where the connections to the showgirl life are almost scary.
For example, Taylor rocks an orange and green show outfit in the Anti-Hero MV – the exact colour scheme for her new album. Then, in the Bejeweled music video, she makes several showgirl references, even performing Dita Von Teese’s famous martini glass dance with the burlesque legend herself. As she perches atop a clock, she sits perfectly at the 12 o’clock position. And well, The Life of a Showgirl is now her 12th album.
Taylor casually dropped the number 47 twice on the New Heights podcast, joking about touring 47,000 countries and thanking Jason Kelce for complimenting her for 47 seconds. If there’s anything we know about Miss Swift, it’s that 47 is not a random, incidental number. So far, there have been many theories – some say it’s a reference to the 47th track of the Eras Tour setlist, Karma while others think a new single might drop in 47 days.
However, if we look at the 47th show of her Eras Tour, it took place precisely at Levi’s Stadium, the very place the Super Bowl LX is set to be played in February 2026. On the podcast, she also mentions how sourdough bread now takes up 60% of her conversation topics these days. Sourdough Sam is the mascot of the San Francisco 49ers, whose home stadium is… you guessed it, the Levi’s Stadium.
The 60% references the fact that the upcoming Super Bowl is the 60th. Plus, if we add 47 to 13, Swift’s favourite lucky number, we get 60.
Call us crazy, but we think we can expect an announcement of a Taylor Swift Super Bowl halftime show performance sometime in the future.
Taylor’s last documentary, Miss Americana, was released in 2020.
Image credit: Netflix
While Taylor Swift released an Eras Tour concert movie in 2023, her last proper documentary was in 2020 with Miss Americana. The Eras Tour was iconic to say the least – it ran for 2 years and became the highest-grossing tour of all time. With that kind of global impact and media buzz, we’d say it wouldn’t be too far off to expect a new documentary.
On top of that, the theme of The Life of a Showgirl fits a tour documentary extremely well, tying back to the behind-the-scenes and backstage happenings. Taylor mentioned that she wrote the album while touring, making it all the more relevant as a potential soundtrack to her next big-screen project.
So far, all we’ve got are a few album cover pictures and the tracklist of The Life of a Showgirl. When it comes to Taylor Swift album theories, it’s only a matter of time before we get more hints on what’s to come. In the meantime, we’ll be revisiting all 11 previous albums to see what we’ve missed – that’s the life of a Swiftie.
For more hypothetical reads:
Cover image adapted from: New Heights via YouTube, Taylor Swift
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