Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl is reportedly a dig at Kanye West, who ignited a feud between the two when he undermined her VMA win in 2009. The upcoming album’s title is similar to that of West’s 2016 album, The Life of Pablo. Not only do both albums begin with the phrase “The Life of…” but also have bold orange artwork. A source told RadarOnline.com:
“Taylor doesn’t waste moves. If there’s an opportunity to reclaim a narrative, she’ll take it.”
A long-time friend of Swift told the outlet:
“That VMA moment humiliated her. She’s not sitting around plotting revenge every day, but if she can subtly flip the script, she will. Having her album pop up before his when people search that phrase is exactly the kind of poetic justice she enjoys.”
This is not the first time Taylor Swift has been rumored to clap back at Kanye West. Last year, at the Super Bowl, she allegedly had the rapper kicked out.
Complete Timeline of the Bad Blood Between Kanye West and Taylor Swift
At the 2009 MTV VMAs, 19-year-old Taylor Swift‘s acceptance speech for the Best Female Video award was eclipsed by Kanye West’s rant, who got on the stage and stole the microphone from the songstress to say that fellow nominee Beyoncé had “one of the greatest videos of all time” (via PEOPLE).
While West was booed and the audience gave Swift a standing ovation, the Karma singer was ushered off the stage before she could complete her acceptance speech. Many artists rallied behind Swift and called out West on his disturbing behavior. Later that month, he apologized to her, and she accepted it. However, the feud was far from over.
In 2013, the Heartless rapper took back his apology in an interview with the New York Times. Despite this, at the 2015 Grammy Awards, West and Swift were photographed together. At the MTV VMAs, Swift presented West with MTV’s Video Vanguard Award, and in a heartfelt speech, revealed that College Dropout was the first album she had bought with her brother on iTunes. Later, West sent Swift flowers.
In 2016, the tension between them reached an all-time high, and once again, it was Kanye West who started it by featuring a dig at Swift in the song Famous, from his album The Life of Pablo. The lyrics said:
“I feel like me and Taylor might still have s*x / Why? I made that b*tch famous”
Swift seemed to address the offensive lyric in her 2015 Grammy acceptance speech. Kim Kardashian, West’s spouse at the time, also got roped into their long-running feud when she claimed that the songstress was aware of the lyrics, in an interview with GQ (via PEOPLE).
The Innocent singer’s spokesperson revealed that only one conversation happened between her and West, and she had declined to release the song on her Twitter account. The Ghost Town rapper made matters worse by featuring a n*ked sculpture of Swift in the music video for Famous.
Taylor Swift’s AlbumsWorldwide SalesTaylor Swift (2006)6,815,000Holiday Collection (2007)1,345,000Fearless (2008)10,037,500Speak Now (2010)6,477,500Red (2012)7,305,0001989 (2014)10,817,500Reputation (2017)3,905,000Lover (2019)3,435,000Folklore (2020)3,837,500Evermore (2020)2,310,000Midnights (2024)4,272,500The Tortured Poets Department (2024)4,762,500
Kardashian took to Snapchat in July 2016 to release video footage of the call between West and Swift. This resulted in huge fan backlash against the All Too Well singer, as hordes of Instagram users commented snake emojis under her posts, calling her a liar. Later that year, an earlier recording of Famous leaked, and it featured even more controversial lyrics.
Swift stayed away from the public eye for almost a year before announcing the album Reputation in 2017. Not only did she clap back at West in this album, but she also used the serpent as the motif. She reclaimed her narrative, and the truth finally came out in March 2020 when the full phone call between West and Swift about the Famous song was leaked.
Kardashian and West parted ways in 2021. In late 2023, Taylor Swift told TIME magazine that the ordeal around the Famous song felt like a “career death” to her because Kardashian tried to paint her a liar, and the media ran with that narrative.
Everything We Know About The Life of a Showgirl
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift on the New Heights podcast (Credit: New Heights/YouTube)
Months after wrapping up her high-grossing Era Tour, Taylor Swift announced her twelfth album, The Life of a Showgirl. Instead of announcing the album at an award show like she did with Midnights and The Tortured Poets Department, Swift decided to announce it on her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and his brother Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast on August 12, 2025.
On August 13, Swift took to Instagram to share that the album will be released on October 3, 2025. She also revealed the album cover and the tracklist. The color scheme for this era is orange and mint green. The album has 12 tracks and will have no bonus tracks, as she revealed on the podcast episode. Here is the tracklist:
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
Sabrina Carpenter, who opened several of the Eras Tour concerts, is featured on the final track of the album, which is also the title track. The Bejeweled singer has reunited with producers Max Martin and Shellback after working with Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner for almost a decade.
Swift’s website also debuted four different variants of the album: titled the Sweat and Vanilla Perfume edition, the It’s Frightening edition, the It’s Rapturous edition, and the It’s Beautiful edition. Each edition includes unique artwork, photo cards, and a jewelry box containing a distinct collectible charm bracelet.
Which track from The Life of a Showgirl do you claim?
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