Taylor Swift has officially announced her 12th studio album, titled "The Life of a Showgirl." The announcement came shortly after a countdown timer on her website reached zero at 12:12 a.m. on Tuesday. While no specific release date has been provided, the site indicates that vinyl editions will ship before October 13.

Fans had speculated about the arrival of Swift's new album for some time. On Monday, Taylor Nation, a marketing team associated with the artist, shared a TikTok slideshow featuring 12 images of Swift dressed in orange. The caption read, "Thinking about when she said 'See you next era...'." A limited edition vinyl in "Portofino orange glitter" is available for pre-order, along with a special cassette edition.

Eager fans noticed that just 12 minutes before Swift's announcement, the "New Heights" podcast, hosted by her boyfriend Travis Kelce and his brother Jason Kelce, posted a teaser image featuring an orange silhouette, which many believe to be Swift. The podcast later confirmed that Swift would appear in an upcoming episode, where she revealed the album by pulling it from a mint green briefcase.

Details about the album remain scarce, including the number of tracks and the official artwork, which is currently blurred on her website. However, pre-orders for vinyl, cassette, and CD editions are now open, with prices ranging from $12.99 to $29.99. The podcast episode featuring Swift is set to air on August 13 at 7 PM ET.

This new album follows Swift's previous release, "The Tortured Poets Department," which was announced during the 2024 Grammys and came out during her record-breaking tour. That tour grossed over $2.2 billion, making it the highest-grossing tour in history.

Additionally, "The Life of a Showgirl" marks Swift's first album since she regained control of her music catalog. In May, she announced that she had purchased her recordings, originally released through Big Machine Records, from the private equity firm Shamrock Capital. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed.

Swift has been re-recording her first six albums to regain control over her music, a project initiated by the sale of her early catalog by Scooter Braun. Her re-recorded albums have included new tracks and additional content, enhancing the original works. So far, she has released four re-recorded albums, all debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Her most recent re-recording, "1989 (Taylor's Version)," was released in October 2023, just four months after "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)." This year, Swift also set the record for the most No. 1 albums by a woman in history.