Swift unveils ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ artwork on Kelce brothers’ podcast

Taylor Swift’s newest album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” will debut on Oct. 3, and fans got their first glance at the album cover on Wednesday evening.

The pop superstar broke the news on Wednesday on the “New Heights” podcast, co-hosted weekly by her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

Ms. Swift’s podcast debut drew more than 1 million viewers to a livestream on YouTube. It is widely expected to be the most-watched podcast stream of all time.

After a boisterous introduction from the show’s co-host, retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, she thanked the program for her ongoing relationship with Travis.

“This podcast got me a boyfriend ever since Travis decided to use it as a dating app about two years ago,” Ms. Swift said about the younger Kelce brother asking her out on the show in 2023.

“It felt like I was in an 80s John Hughes movie and he was standing outside my window with a boombox,” she said, alluding to a classic scene involving actor John Cusack in “Say Anything.”

Since the pair debuted their relationship in fall 2023, Ms. Swift has become a regular at Kansas City Chiefs games, including the last two Super Bowls.

“I fell in love with it,” she said of football. “I became obsessed with it.”

After discussing her newfound football fandom — she detailed sprinting through her home when the Chiefs drafted wide receiver Xavier Worthy in the first round of the 2024 draft — she unveiled the cover artwork for her new album.

As a cascade of orange hearts filled the YouTube chat — the color for the singer’s newest “era” — Ms. Swift showed a photo of herself in a pool of greenish water. The artwork shows the 35-year-old donning a shimmering gemstone swimsuit as she barrels down the camera.

The title was presented in a shimmering orange font.

“And, baby, that’s show business for you,” Ms. Swift wrote in an Instagram caption debuting the art. She also included photos of several glitzy, showgirl-inspired looks.

“The Life of a Showgirl” will be Ms. Swift’s 12th album and her first since “The Tortured Poets Department” debuted in April 2024.