Taylor Swift’s big week with ‘The Life of a Showgirl’: an album, movies, interviews and surprises

The Taylor Swift wave, almost a tsunami, advances inexorably. Her anxious fans, her exhausted detractors, and all those who couldn’t care less are all going to get tired of seeing her everywhere this week, especially in the United States. Because the Pennsylvania artist is going to be omnipresent, ubiquitous, a perennial presence on social media, music platforms, movies and entertainment programs all week long. If not longer.

For those readers who’ve been hiding in a hole since August, here’s the lowdown: Swift releases her 12th album on October 3rd. Titled The Life of a Showgirl, it will be released at midnight, Eastern Time. And even though it’s not even out yet, it’s already a social, cultural and media event, as the numbers show: more than 5.5 million Spotify users have pre-saved it to their accounts, a record for the platform; what’s more, around forty artists released music last weekend, when barely six or so will do so this weekend. Swift is a giant that no one wants to compete against.

About the album itself, little is known. Only that it has 12 songs, one of them a collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter, and that it was produced by Max Martin and Shellback, Swedish pop giants, which suggests a return to those purer pop rhythms in the style of her 1989. We also that the first single will be the first song on the list, titled The Fate of Ophelia; and that there is a song called Father Figure that appears to be co-written by George Michael: it is not yet known if it is a take on Michael’s own song with that title, or what exactly. Like everything with Swift, there is a lot of mystery involved. But also a huge marketing machine.

That train has been going full throttle since mid-August, when she announced the album (which she did, by the way, on her partner Travis Kelce’s podcast), but most especially in recent weeks. Because the album doesn’t come alone, but accompanied by a whole aesthetic of showgirls, feathers, glitter and dressing rooms. There are almost a dozen editions with different colors, formats, finishes... (very much to the Swifties’ taste) that she’s promoted with countdowns and have sold like hotcakes on the website; she herself has released some clips promoting them, although it’s hardly necessary. Needless to say, the signed albums she released last Friday flew off her website in just a few minutes.

But also, being the entertainment magician that she is, and aware of the need for real-life experiences, Swift has brought that entire virtual world into the real world. To do so, she has created an immersive experience in New York with Spotify in which her fans walk through different rooms inspired by the album: changing rooms with mirrors featuring phrases written in lipstick, objects she’s used or related to herself or The Life of a Showgirl, handwritten notes and napkins with lyrics for future songs...

Only a privileged few will be able to walk around this space installed on the city’s High Line for three days, but Swift’s fandom is powerful and enormously committed, so the details have been endlessly posted on social media, creating even more expectation for it.

All of this will be condensed in theaters starting Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET, when Swift will welcome her fans to an album release party. For $12, in honor of her 12th album, thousands of people will be able to attend theaters around the world for what she has called “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl.” On October 3, 4, and 5, an 89-minute film will be shown, including her first music video (for The Fate of Ophelia, which will hit YouTube on Sunday), lyric videos for her 12 songs, and footage of the artist discussing each of her tracks.

Because Swift, who became a billionaire in 2023 thanks to her concert tour The Eras Tour, knows that connecting with her audience is key, so she manages and directs it herself. With each album she releases, fan parties are organized that unite around her music and aesthetic, and this time she has decided to capitalize on these with her own content. There will be no merchandise in the theaters, and tickets (especially in the U.S.) will be affordable; she has also encouraged people to dress up, enjoy and recycle outfits and costumes from her Eras Tour. In doing so, she is centralizing her fans, giving them more material, which they crave so much, controlling the narrative and aesthetic, and taking a slice of the income.

In addition to appearing in movie theaters, dressed like a cabaret artist—with elaborate costumes and headpieces from haute couture and even the famous Bob Mackie—Swift will be a guest on up to three television shows for several days. On Friday night, she’ll be on Graham Norton’s show in Britain, where she’ll share the couch with actors Cillian Murphy, Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith. It will be her first appearance, but the following week she’ll be back inthe United States: on Monday night she’ll chat with Jimmy Fallon, and on Wednesday she’ll appear on Seth Rogen’s show. Her schedule is so intense that she’s had to post a calendar explaining everything... although leaving some gaps that, to her most ardent fans, smell like surprise appearances or announcements.

To get things moving, every day there’s a constant trickle of details, surprises, and questions. For example, this past week Swift has been teasing her future lyrics: through the Apple Music platform (which, by the way, hasn’t tweeted in six years, since 2019, and has only done so to announce this album), she’s hidden capital letters among the lyrics of her songs, and when put together, they form a phrase from one of her future songs. There are also posters in different cities, from Mexico to Paris, New York, and London, featuring some of those songs, or the silhouette of her stage from The Eras Tour.

For Swift’s legion of fans, this is the ultimate pastime. Tricks, clues, games, a bright and inviting aesthetic, events in theaters and television, and, above all, new music. For the industry, it’s also a global event that represents an injection of money for the entire sector. And for Swift herself, it’s a return to all the promotion—which she barely did for her previous album, The Tortured Poets Department, which she released in the middle of a global tour. it is and exhausting task but one she has always confessed she enjoys, thinking about and placing all those Easter eggs, which she plans years in advance.

The only thing left to be seen is whether she’ll also decide to revive the tradition she maintained until the pandemic prevented her from doing so: a new tour with each album she releases. The recently ended The Eras Tour and her impending wedding to Travis Kelce shouldn’t prevent her from doing so. Perhaps it’s the next trick she has up her sleeve, to the enjoyment and even delight of her many millions of fans.

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