It's Taylor Swift album release night. What you need to know about The Life of a Showgirl

Are you ready for it? 

Taylor Swift is set to dominate music streams and movie screens alike on Friday with the release of her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, and a theatrical release party event premiering across the country.

Showgirl is her hotly anticipated follow-up to last year's The Tortured Poets Department and her absurdly successful Eras concert tour. 

The album drops at midnight, and like everything the 35-year-old singer-songwriter-magnate does, it's an event orchestrated by Swift herself. 

Here's what you can expect for The Life of a Showgirl.
 

What do we know about Swift's latest era? 

Swift promised this album would be full of "infectious" melodies and "vivid but crisp" lyrics.

"There's [going to be] a joy in The Life of a Showgirl that we have wanted to see from Taylor for years," said Liz Duff, the Toronto-based host of the pop culture podcast Late Night Scrolling Canada, alluding to Swift's hints about the tone of her new songs. 

Duff explained that past Swift albums have delved into more serious subject matter, like breakups, self-worth and the pressure of being in the music business and advocating for herself.

With The Life of a Showgirl, Duff says it feels like Swift is "stepping into a lane that is about owning accomplishments."

The track list includes 12 songs: 

• The Fate of Ophelia

• Elizabeth Taylor

• Opalite

• Father Figure (a tribute to late pop legend George Michael and his 1988 hit of the same name)

• Eldest Daughter

• Ruin the Friendship

• Actually Romantic

• Wi$h Li$t

• Wood

• CANCELLED!

• Honey

• The Life of a Showgirl (feat. Sabrina Carpenter)

Swift also reunited with Swedish super-producers Max Martin and Shellback, in what Duff calls the "most exciting pop collaboration of 2025." 

The duo has worked on some of her biggest pop hits, including Blank Space and We Are Never Getting Back Together.

WATCH | Taylor Swift teases 12th album at 12:12 a.m. on Aug. 12:

Superstar Taylor Swift on Tuesday announced her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl. Swift announced the album on a podcast episode with her boyfriend Travis Kelce and his brother. 

What's different about the Showgirl release?

Duff says what is "putting fire under this album launch" is that the rollout has been different from anything Swift has done before. 

Swift broke the news of the album on Aug. 12, revealing it on the New Heights podcast co-hosted by the love of her life, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and his fellow NFLer and brother Jason.

Two weeks later, she broke the internet with her announcement that she and Kelce were engaged.

• Taylor Swift unveils cover art, release date for upcoming album

• Taylor Swift surprises fans with newly announced album, The Life of a Showgirl

Now that the big day is here — the release, not the wedding — fans can expect to listen to the album at the stroke of midnight on streaming platforms Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon Music. 

Then there's The Official Release Party of a Showgirl screening in theatres across Canada and the U.S. beginning at 3 p.m. ET on Friday. 

Swift's 89-minute "soirée" — not a movie, documentary or concert film — is only in theatres from Friday through Sunday. It includes a boatload of behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the album and the exclusive premiere of the music video for The Fate of Ophelia.