Taylor Swift 'New Heights' updates: Eras Tour inspired new album, no extra tracks, more

NASHVILLE — Taylor Swift's appearance on the Kelce brothers' "New Heights" podcast was full of emotional moments, along with cute interactions, jokes and lots of music news.

Swift appeared on the Kelce brothers' "New Heights" podcast at 7 p.m. ET on Aug. 13.

She had already announced the title of her next album, "The Life of a Showgirl," and now fans know the album art, the track list and the release date.

But they also learned about her first impression of Travis Kelce, how she spent her summer helping her dad after surgery and how she convinced Jason Kelce's kids that cats aren't poisonous.

It's not often fans hear from Swift at length, so a whopping two-hour podcast seated next to Travis Kelce was quite the treat.

Bryan West, Taylor Swift reporter for the USA TODAY Network, watched along with everyone else and posted updates here.

Get your feathers and rhinestones ready, and relive "New Heights (Taylor's Version)."

If you're a more typical "New Heights" listener — aka a sports fan — check in with USA TODAY sports writers here.

Looking for how to watch the podcast? Click here or watch below.

And that's a wrap

Two full hours of Taylor and Travis. So much to digest and unpack. To listen back, click here or above.

Handling pop stardom

Swift reflected on her astronomical stardom.

"The altitude I was reaching, there was more pressure every step of life," she said, adding a positive. "I was getting more creative control and freedom at times, and that is why it felt so much more special to keep working harder."

"I am so grateful for the ability to create," and so are Swifties. And Jason.

YouTube glitch

Something seemed to go awry on YouTube when the show cut off early around 8:45 p.m. ET.

The full recording is available on Spotify.

Rapid fire questions

The internet thought Taylor Swift might have the bear in "Happy Gilmore 2" eating Travis Kelce covered in honey. During rapid fire questions, Jason asked.

"I can deny," she said.

But we got a question in! At the bottom of this lengthy live blog is a list of questions we wanted Jason to ask Taylor and he said, "Who's idea was it to arrive at the Eras Tour stage via a cleaning cart?"

She responded, "Mine. That's my type of weird idea. When you're putting on a first show of a tour like that, you're not just performing for an entire stadium, you're performing for the entire internet. I wanted to curate and really romanticize the images they were seeing first. I didn't want them to see my first outfit and my first look, which would have given away what the first era was."

Eras Tour inspired 'Life of a Showgirl'

"I tend to write lots and lots of music, so it's a temptation to release lots of music," Swift said. When asked what the theme would be she said it's everything that happened behind the Eras Tour curtain.

Jason is going to have to wait until Oct. 3 like the rest of us to listen.

"I wanted melodies that were so infectious that you were almost angry at it and lyrics that are just as vivid, but crisp and focused and completely intentional, and I feel like we actually came together in a really beautiful way," she said. "The three of us Shellback, Max and I."

The artwork represents the end of her night.

"My day ends with me in a bathtub, not usually in a bedazzled dress," she said. "I wanted to glamorize all the different aspects of how that tour felt."

No extra tracks

Swift emphasized there are only 12 tracks. No 13 or 14 or 31 songs. Just 12. There is a poem. She did a photo shoot with Merk and Marcus, who shot her "Reputation" era.

Why did she choose "New Heights" for the announcement?

"I just said can I go on the podcast because Brad Pitt did and I want to too," she said. "I was waiting till I had a sparkly briefcase to bring."

Why orange?

"What was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during this tour, which was so exuberant and electric and vibrant," she said, saying she worked with Max Martin and Shellback, who worked with her on "Red," "1989" and "Reputation."

"There's going to be some f***ing bangers," Jason said.

Taylor said no one else worked with the three of them.

"When I was on tour in Stockholm," Swift said that she talked to Martin the same weekend she dedicated a medley to him. "I was talking to him and I was like, 'I just feel like we could just knock it out of the park if we went back in and we did this all in Sweden and it was just us three."

Enter 'The Life of a Showgirl'

Swift said she changed the ending to the Eras Tour by not taking the stage lift and instead walking through a digital orange door at the end of the stage.

"Basically the reason why I chose to exit that way was because I kind of wanted to give a little subliminal hint to the fans that I may be leaving the Eras Tour era, but I was also entering a new era."

She picks up a mint green briefcase with a bright orange lining. Swift said she was working on the album during the European leg.

"I would be playing three shows in a row, I'd have three days off," she said. "I'd fly to Sweden, go back to the tour, and I was pretty exhausted at this point in the tour, but I was so mentally simulated and so excited to be creating."

She then read the 12 tracks: "The Fate of Ophelia" (a nod to Hamlet), "Elizabeth Taylor," "Opalite," "Father Figure," "Eldest Daughter," "Ruin the Friendship," "Actually Romantic," "Wi$h Li$T," "Wood," "CANCELLED!," "Honey" and "The Life of a Showgirl."

How do they handle the media pressure?

"Something can be about me, my name can be in the actual headline, and it can still be none of my business," Swift said. "I'm a real constructive criticism guy, like, give me constructive criticism all day. It'll fuel me."

But she pays no mind to the gossip, offering this advice for a healthy mindset.

"Think of your energy as if it's expensive, as if it's like a luxury item. Not everyone can afford it," she said. "I do detach from the internet in a huge way. I have had my comments disabled on Instagram for like 10 years now."

Similar jobs, different terminology

"We have a very similar job," Travis said drawing comparisons between performers and football players. The main difference is the terms used.

"When I'm there, it's called a dressing room," Swift said. "When Travis is there, it's called a locker room. For me, it's called a rehearsal. For him, it's called a practice. For him, it's called his coach. For me, it's my mom."

'Upgrading my parents'

Taylor gave an update on her dad, Scott Swift, after undergoing a quintuple bypass surgery.

"He finds out that he's got these blockages," she said. "He was of course saying to our family. He was like, 'You guys are busy. I don't want you guys to have to come in here.'"

When he woke up from surgery, he tried to give guitar picks to all the nurses and doctors. "But he didn't have his pants on," Swift said. The whole family — Andrea, Austin, Taylor and his best friend — moved in with him all summer.

Andy Reid, matchmaker

Coach Andy Reid, who has been friends with Swift's father Scott, helped set up Travis and Taylor. After gushing about his leadership, they explained he was a voice pushing the two to meet.

"When you guys did the full send on the podcast and everybody heard it," Swift said. "Basically everyone who likes [Travis], which is a lot of people, started reaching out to me."

Partying with Jason Kelce

Swift recounted being in a suite with Jason Kelce in Buffalo, New York, when he jumped out of the window shirtless to hand a child to say hi to Taylor. The girl is Ella. Here's her story.

"Did you know I was told to be on my best behavior?" Jason said. He shotgunned beers and jumped onto a fiery table.

13+87

The numbers are numbering: Travis Kelce's jersey No. 87 and Taylor's favorite number 13. Taylor offers a lesson on triscodecophilia, a love of 13 while triskaidekaphilia is a fear of 13.

Favorite moments for Swift on the Eras Tour

She loved looking out at the crowd and seeing generations of people bonding, with her perfect vision compliments of Lasik. Remember the "mind is alive" banana video of her on Jimmy Fallon?

"When fans come up with fan traditions," she said bringing up the "Willow" orbs lighting up around the stadium. "It was so special. It felt like we were all part of something together in a way that couldn't be planned."

She described it as being like "Rocky Horror Picture Show" when fans had their own dances.

45 minutes in and Travis said he loves her and compliments her throwing a football

"I don't think I've ever caught anything that's ever been thrown to me, near me, around me," Swift said.

Travis said, "It's not true."

"Can you hit something with a stick?" Jason asked.

"I would go to sporting events so that I could sing the national anthem," Taylor explained. "I know every halftime show from the Super Bowls, but I didn't watch sports."

Swift's sourdough obsession

Life after Eras Tour includes being on the sourdough blogs.

"I'm talking about bread 60% of the time," she said before listing the varieties of bread she creates: blueberry lemon (Travis's favorite), cinnamon raisin and rainbow funfetti.

The corner of the internet that Travis is on is otter videos.

Taylor loves a bread pun: "Are you bready for it?" "Flour song is the slamming screen door." "It's a loaf story, baby just say yeast." "Should've said dough." "Loafing him was bread."

Do you happen to have another 10 minutes?

Jason asked which rerecord Swift enjoyed the most and she said "Red (Taylor's Version)" because her 10-minute version of "All Too Well" is her "favorite song" that she's ever written.

End of an Eras Tour

Jason asked what does it feel like now that she is not touring and on a jet every day going country to country.

"It was perfect for what it was," she said explaining how physically exhausting it was to perform the three hour show. "It was a lot of physical therapy and it was a lot of being in a state of perpetual physical discomfort."

She bought an acupuncture mat and had toe spacers.

Travis chimed in as a football player, "The similarities were crazy."

Swift set lofty goals. She wanted to have elements of musical theater, broadway, ballet and scenery that you would see in an opera.

"I wanted to do it at the highest intensity and rapid fire," she said. "When I heard reports of people saying that they got actual amnesia after the concerts, I was like, 'I think we did it. We nailed it.'"

Travis gives the Eras Tour credit for his desire wanting to meet Swift. "I had never just been so engulfed in the curiosity of who you were."

"I get you in a room and it's like I've known you forever. It was the easiest conversation I ever had and it was just so much fun that it knocked my socks off," Travis said.

"That's how I felt," Swift said.

Witnessing the dynamic between Travis, Taylor

Travis and Taylor showed their dynamic. He's a proud boyfriend, and she's self-deprecating.

"Best songwriter in the world," Travis Kelce said.

"Says her boyfriend," Swift said.

"She's the smartest in the world," Travis Kelce said.

"Says her boyfriend," Swift said.

Swift settles debate on records vs. originals

"My live band played on all the rerecords," Swift explained. "They're session musicians and that's how good they are. I'm so impressed just by their ability and their dexterity as musicians to be able to do that so convincingly, because they're there."

Jason asked which version to listen to: the originals or Taylor's Versions. Swift countered with dealer's choice.

"I love both of them," she said.

Swift tears up talking about owning her music

For the first time Swift commented on buying her music back from Shamrock Capital. In a letter to fans, she claimed she was so grateful that her first tattoo might just be a huge shamrock in the middle of her forehead.

"I signed a record deal when I was 15 and I always kind of refer to it as I got my music back this summer, but I never owned my music at all," Swift explained. "Owning your master recordings means that you have complete control and power over distribution, licensing and essentially the way your legacy is shaped."

She said the first time her music was sold from Big Machine Records label to Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings company, "it really ripped" her heart out.

"Rerecording her music was so exciting, but I thought about not owning my music every day," she reflected. "I wanted this, because this is my handwritten diary entries from my whole life. These are the songs I wrote about every phase of my life."

She said her mom, Andrea, and brother, Austin, to Los Angeles. While getting choked up, she explained that a couple months after the Super Bowl, she got a call from her mom who said, "You got your music."

Travis softly sang, "it's been a long time coming."

She explained that Travis was playing video games when she knocked on the door to tell him she got all her music back.

"This changed my life," she said.

Thanking the rerecord collaborators

Swift thanked Phoebe Bridgers, Keith Urban, Maren Morris, Chris Stapleton and Hayley Williams for doing duets on her rerecorded albums.

Kelce said he cried too because he knows how much work went behind doing "The Tortured Poets Department."

Holding her hand he said, "I was blown away that you had been doing this your entire life."

Podcast or dating app?

After the most thunderous introduction, Swift said the podcast got her a boyfriend when "Travis used it as personal dating app" two years ago.

She likes "New News" and "No Dumb Questions."

"I hear him screaming "new news" from across the house, constantly," she said about the "New News" segment. "It's like my favorite part like, he'll be like 'New News, New News' and I'll be in the kitchen. So I love that because of just the bellowing of it."

She also explained him putting her on blast, admitting she doesn't read her "20 million unread DMs."

"This dude didn't get a meet and greet, and it's everyone's problem," Swift said about him attending the Eras Tour show. She said that the tight end didn't even reach out to Swift's team to get in the VIP tent.

"If this guy isn't crazy, this is sort of like what I've been writing songs about wanting to happen to me since I was a teenager," she said.

Swift loves that Kelce's 'like a human exclamation point'

On her first date, she asked Travis what it was like when the Chiefs played the Eagles in the Super Bowl and what it was like to see his brother on the other side.

"I'm on the offense, and my brother's on the offense," he said to her. She didn't understand that everyone wasn't on the field at the same time. "I didn't know what a first down was. I didn't know what the chains were. I didn't know what a tight end was."

She became a full-fledged fan from dating Kelce.

'Let's not waste any time'

"Let's get to the part of this show that is what everybody is going to be talking about," Jason Kelce said off the top of the very special episode. They were supposed to come back Aug. 27 but came back early.

"I want to work in the framework of the podcast," Taylor said before chiming in with, "New news."

Nearly a million people were watching at 7:05 p.m. ET.

'The Life of a Showgirl' cover revealed

The album cover appeared on TaylorSwift.com right at 7 p.m. ET. She's shown underwater in a bejeweled bodysuit.

It will be released Oct. 3.

Four variants of 'The Life of a Showgirl'

Four different versions of the album are for sale:

• Sweat and Vanilla Perfume
• It's Frightening
• It's Rapturous
• It's Beautiful

Lights... camera... and smile...

It's almost showtime. Here is the link to the live show.

Travis Kelce feeling 'so high school'

Less than seven hours after Swift announced her 12th era, Travis Kelce added GQ cover model to his résumé. The 6,000-plus-word story dives into football, his next career moves and life dating a superstar.

"When there is not a camera on us, we're just two people that are in love," Kelce said. "It can be perceived as something else because of how much it is talked about and how much we are tracked whenever we do go out, but I would say that it's as normal of … It happened very organically even though from a media standpoint it was being tracked. It still happened very organically."

You can see the Sparks Notes version here.

25 minutes away

We are less than the "Lover" set on the Eras Tour away from the episode.

"New Heights" will air on YouTube.

Unofficial 'Showgirl' merchandise is out

Swift's legal team at TAS Rights Management has filed to trademark "The Life of a Showgirl" and abbreviation "TLOAS." And although her team hasn't put out any merchandise other than a preorder vinyl, Swifties have been quick to create their own friendship bracelets, crewnecks and showgirl swag.

See the fan-made merchandise in a USA TODAY story by Melina Khan.

'Confetti falls to the ground'

Have you Googled "Taylor Swift"? The global search engine is in its showgirl era. Designers created an animation for when you look up the Eras Tour singer. Orange, tangerine and yellow speckles fall across the screen, and a burning heart emoji rises from the bottom of the page with the words "And, baby, that's show business for you." The animation has been triggered more than 53 million times.

Best believe she's still bejeweled

Swift has worked with an ultra-famous Las Vegas showgirl: Dita Von Teese. The two swirled in champagne glasses in the "Bejeweled" music video.

In March, the USA TODAY Network had the chance to talk to the Queen of Burlesque about her Vegas residency, iconic acts and working with Swift.

"[Swift's] assistant called and started talking to me about this project, and then Taylor suddenly got on," Von Teese said. "It was really an amazing conversation. She knew everything about what I'd done."

From the first phone call, Von Teese said the creative sparks began to fly.

" I kind of introduced her to my whole world," she said. "Like, here's the stockings I wear. Let's do the stocking peel. And she brought  a lot of new fans that maybe had never heard of burlesque, or never heard of me before."

You can watch the interview and read more about the story here.

'Promise to be dazzling'

Holy smokes. Swift's album announcement with @newheightshow is the most reposted reel on Instagram in the United States since the app launched the repost feature on Aug. 6, according to Meta. The reel has been seen more than 170 million times.

According to Meta, two big theories are emerging on Threads: an Eras Tour documentary theory and a possible Swift residency in Vegas (it is show business after all). @robynlisaflynn suspects, "What if, instead of a tour, she sets up a Vegas residency at the Sphere and makes us come to her this time. Would certainly fit the theme of the new album, The Life of a Showgirl. "

The Easter eggs

There are a couple of hints Swift dropped that we still can't get over. She released her "Tortured Poets" album in April 2024 and debuted a brand new set in Paris. And while fans marveled over the "Tayoomba" and "Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" bridge march, she was setting the stage for her 12th era by revealing a spangly red-orange bodysuit at the top of the show. The fandom moved into her 11th era, but she was already into the 12th.

Fast-forward to June 23, 2024, in London. Travis Kelce joined her onstage at Wembley Stadium during her showgirl number. He joked on his podcast that he wanted to come out on a "Blank Space" bicycle, but she chose the song most closely related to her new era.

Then there's her official Eras Tour book. The "Behind the Scenes" title dazzles in bright orange and is in the showgirl font. Swift also included her red-orange bodysuit on page 12 next to her letter where she tells fans, "See you next era..."

Finally, remember the music video from her "Midnights" track "Anti-Hero"? At 2:11, two versions of Swift are seen: one in white (which represents her 11th album "The Tortured Poets Department") and one in sparkly orange (which symbolizes her 12th era "The Life of a Showgirl").

How many Easter eggs has she already laid for her 13th project?

What about a tour?

New album. New era. New tour?

If the thought of another show or tour has crossed your mind, it is possible for "The Life of a Showgirl."

With the exception of "Folklore" and "Evermore" (which came out as surprises during the COVID-19 pandemic) and "The Tortured Poets Department" (which came out while she was halfway through the Eras Tour), there has always been a tour or concert associated with her albums.

Even "Lover" was supposed to have "Loverfest" before the world shut down. And she was performing at venues during her first, self-titled era.

The average time between an album release and a tour announcement is 22 days. Check out a list of her tours and the showgirl math here.

Questions we hope Jason asks

Even though the episode has been taped, here are 13 entertainment questions on our wish list:

1. Whose idea was it for you to hide in a cleaning cart before the Eras Tour shows?
2. How did you come up with the surprise set mashups?
3. Why was there a large stuffed monkey under the stage?
4. Why did Taylor Nation go live on night 1 in Singapore? (She announced the final "Tortured Poets" variant on night 2.)
5. What is your Searchlight Pictures movie — that you wrote and signed on to direct in 2021 — about?
6. When are the "Reputation (Taylor's Version)" vault tracks coming? And what are the titles?
7. Is self-titled or her debut album going to come out next year for the 20th anniversary? How many vault songs are there?
8. Will you release the "King of My Heart" music video?
9. Who have you not collaborated with that you would like to?
10. Is "Karma" (the lost album) real?
11. When is the Eras Tour documentary or docuseries coming?
12. Do you plan on doing another red carpet movie event or secret listening session?
13. What are the "Female Rage: The Musical" and "Taylor-Con" trademarks for?\

A third lock appears

If you refresh TaylorSwift.com, a third blue-ish lock has appeared. It seems the site is adding one every hour on the countdown. If that's the case, the next should appear at 6 p.m. ET for a total of four locks. Eagle-eyed Swifties have noticed in the "New Heights" podcast clips there are four "T.S." rectangles in the shelves behind her and Kelce: orange, red, blue and white.

Fun Swiftie fact: If you Zoom in on the locks, you'll see the Eras Tour stage outline.

When Swift launched "The Tortured Poets Department," there were four variants. Is history repeating or are these four segments alluding to something else?

Never go out of style

The Swift style expert, Sarah Chapelle, has already cracked the code on the singer's podcast outfit. Chapelle has catalogued thousands of pieces of the singer's accessories, handbags, shoes, blouses, dresses, hats, jewelry, you name it. From the "New Heights" teaser videos, it appears Swift is wearing a Cartier "Santos Demoiselle Watch" worth $18,330, Cartier "Panthère de Cartier Necklace" valued at $11,400 and a Sandy Liang beige skort.

As for Swift's orange-hued lipstick, that appears to be the lipstick shared by Lori Turk, the singer's make-up artist.

"So many people asking about this lipstick that Taylor wears all the time," Turk wrote on her Instagram story last year. "It's: NARS Morocco Lipstick. She's worn it for years." The cosmetic is in stock for $26.

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'Karma door' is less than two hours from opening

A five-hour countdown replaced Swift's home page at 2 p.m. ET. The sparkly, glittery door is familiar to any Swiftie who attended the Eras Tour, because it was seen on the back screen during her "Karma" performance. Swift changed the lyrics to her final song anytime Kelce attended: "Karma is the guy on the Chiefs." The door is slowly creeping to the bottom of the page.

What is unknown is why there is an orange lock, a pink lock and a purple lock. Swift's three-hour concert served as a highlight reel to her career of 11 eras. Some influencers like @V_Swiftie_ mythologized that the Eras Tour stage looked like a key and that the "Karma" door concealed her next era.

How to watch 'New Heights' podcast with Taylor Swift

• Date: Wednesday, Aug. 13
• Time: 7 p.m. ET
• Stream: YouTube

Those hoping to watch the Kelces and Swift on the "New Heights" podcast can do so at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The episode will drop on YouTube, which will contain a full video feed of the podcast episode.

YouTube will be the only platform on which fans of Kelce and Swift will be able to see them interact on video. However, numerous podcast platforms will also carry the episode, allowing Swifties to listen to the entire episode.

Below are some of the listening options for viewers, listed alphabetically:

• Apple Podcasts
• Amazon Music
• Audible
• Spotify
• Wondery

Billboards may reveal a major clue about 'Life of a Showgirl'

Shortly after Swift broke the news of the name of her 12th era, a billboard in New York City directed fans to a Spotify playlist featuring songs from a familiar producer.

The "And, baby, that's show business for you " playlist has 22 Swift tracks all produced by Swedish mastermind Max Martin, who worked heavily with Swift and Swedish producer Shellback on her "1989" and "Reputation" albums.

Swift dedicated a special acoustic medley to Martin at a Stockholm Eras Tour show.

"Max is actually here tonight, but he's a shy genius so I'm not going to bring him out onstage, but I am going to play what I am calling the 'Max Martin Medley,'" she said.

Swift combined "Message In A Bottle" from "Red (Taylor's Version)" — the first song she worked on with Martin — with "How You Get The Girl" and "New Romantics" from "1989 (Taylor's Version)."

If Martin and Shellback are the main producers on the new album, it will be the first record in a handful of projects that Swift's main collaborators aren't Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner.

Another possible collaboration is with singer and Eras Tour opening act Sabrina Carpenter, who is featured in the 12-photo carousel posted by Taylor Nation teasing her 12th era.

Questions remain

While Swifties may feel like they've endured a lifetime's worth of suspense in the lead-up to the announcement of Swift's 12th album, it's really only the beginning.

Swift will keep them on their toes awaiting singles, videos, track lists and more.

She also has a Searchlight Pictures movie project, a potential Eras Tour documentary, vault tracks from her "Reputation (Taylor's Version)" album and a debut album that the singer admits is fully rerecorded, not to mention trademarks for "Taylor-Con" and "Female Rage: The Musical."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Taylor Swift 'New Heights' updates: Eras Tour inspired new album, no extra tracks, more

Reporting by Bryan West, USA TODAY NETWORK / Nashville Tennessean

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect