Taylor Swift Breaks the Internet (Again): Spotify Crashes After New Album ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ Release

The New Album Marks the Return of Taylor Swift with Max Martin and Shellback since Reputation (2017).

The wait is over! Taylor Swift officially released her 12th studio album, ‘The Life of a Showgirl’. Featuring 12 tracks, this is Swift's first full-length album since The Tortured Poets Department, which was released in 2024. 

Taylor Swift shared a post on her official Instagram handle announcing the release of her new album. "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 and Shellback, for helping me paint this self-portrait. If you thought the big show was wild, perhaps you should come and take a look behind the curtain...The Life of a Showgirl is out now (sic)," she wrote.

The Album

Produced in collaboration with Max Martin and Shellback in Sweden, the album features the following 12 tracks.

“The Fate of Ophelia”

“Elizabeth Taylor”

“Opalite”

“Father Figure”

“Eldest Daughter”

“Ruin The Friendship”

“Actually Romantic”

“Wi$h Li$t”

“Wood”

“CANCELLED!”

“Honey”

“The Life of a Showgirl” (Feat. Sabrina Carpenter)

Combining breezy pop and literary ballads, the album has a runtime of about 42 minutes, which is brief compared to Swift’s recent releases.

Swift herself had described her new music as all “bangers” during her appearance on fiancé Travis Kelce’s podcast “New Heights,” explaining that “The Life of a Showgirl” is “the record I’ve been wanting to make for a very long time” and about “everything that was going on behind the curtain” during her monster Eras Tour.

She added that her “goal for the new album was to have melodies that were so infectious that you’re almost angry at it.”

Spotify Crashed

Swift's 12th studio album, which was dropped on Spotify on Thursday evening, faced several technical glitches. Thousands of fans rushed to stream it, and reportedly, over 1,000 users faced issues while attempting to play the album. Taylor Swift broke the internet - quite literally!  

Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl

Alongside the album, pop sensation is also bringing ‘Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl’ to theatres across the US and internationally from October 3 to 5. The 89-minute feature includes the premiere of her music video The Fate of Ophelia, exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, a new lyric video, and personal reflections.

The 2024 launch schedule saw two back-to-back album releases, making Swifties go crazy. Will Taylor Swift surprise her fans again in the same way this year? Only time will tell.