September 23, 2026
Nicole Hester/USA Today via Reuters Connect
Taylor Swift is releasing ‘The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore’ on Friday. It's an extended version of her 12th studio album that includes four new songs.
Taylor Swift is releasing "The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore," a deluxe version of her 12th studio album that features four new songs.
The album, which comes out Friday, includes her new single, "Patient Zero," and new tracks titled "Pink Clouding," 'Babylon" and "Cleveland!"
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Swift said "Encore" was born after she traveled to Sweden to celebrate the initial album's record-breaking success with her collaborators Max Martin and Shellback. "The Life of a Showgirl" spent 12 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard chart last year and broke the record for the most album sales and streams in a single week.
"Really we just wanted to reflect and take in how grateful we were for the moment we were in," Swift wrote on Instagram. "But there was a studio there and we did what we do when we feel anything at all: We wrote more songs.
"I hope you love them, because they were born out of pure gratitude for your exuberance for and celebration of the album we made," she continued.
Swift has not shared any details about the new songs, but "Cleveland!" could be a reference to the $5.35 million lakefront home that her husband, Travis Kelce, bought near his childhood home of Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
The Cleveland Cavaliers seem to have already claimed the track, posting a black-and-white GIF of the A-list couple sitting courtside at Rocket Arena in May and referencing Swift's "The Fate of Ophelia" lyrics in the caption.
Keepin' it 💯 in the Land, always. #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/oSDQYx7bDC
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) September 23, 2026
Swift and Kelce tied the knot in a star-studded wedding ceremony at Madison Square Garden in July.
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end recently divulged some details about the event on his "New Heights" podcast, which he co-hosts with his brother, former Eagles center Jason Kelce.
"Me and Taylor are so thankful for everybody that showed up," Travis said. "From the vows to just seeing everyone, to how much fun we had throughout the entire evening and hearing that kind of be relayed through everybody's stories of the night. It was just so magical."
Friday's release comes ahead of Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards, where the Grammy-winner is slated to receive the inaugural Artist Director Honors. The new award recognizes "groundbreaking music artists whose work behind the camera has expanded the possibilities of music video and advanced the art of visual storytelling," according to MTV.
