Taylor Swift was feeling grateful and energized on Friday morning (Oct. 3) as she unleashed her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl. In an early morning Instagram post featuring a carousel of the dramatic images of Swift in various dancer outfits, Swift shared how she was feeling about the 12-track album finally being out in the world.
“Tonight all these lives converge here. The mosaics of laughter and cocktails of tears. Where fraternal souls sing identical things. And it’s beautiful. It’s rapturous. It is frightening,” Swift wrote. “I can’t tell you how proud I am to share this with you, an album that just feels so right. A forever thank you goes out to my mentors and friends Max [Martin] and Shellback for helping me paint this self portrait,” she added of the pop producer superstar duo with whom she re-teamed on the album after previously collaborating on such hits as “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space” and many others.
“If you thought the big show was wild, perhaps you should come and take a look behind the curtain…,” she added.
The album is a return to pop form for Swift, who co-produced it alongside Martin and Shellback, with the singer weighing in on her relationship with fiancé Travis Kelce on wax for the first time on songs including “Opalite,” a reference to the NFL star’s October birthstone. The album also features the George Michael-interpolating “Father Figure,” as well as the title track collab with Sabrina Carpenter and first single, “The Fate of Ophelia.”
Swift will celebrate the album’s release this weekend with a film event, the 89-minute Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, which reportedly features the music video for the album’s opener and lead single, along with lyric videos for the other tracks and Swift’s insight on the new songs. “I hereby invite you to a dazzling soirée,” Swift wrote when sharing the news on Instagram. “Dancing is optional but very much encouraged.”
The film will run during the release weekend, from Friday (Oct. 3) through Sunday (Oct. 5), with tickets available on the event’s website.