After two years of ubiquity due to her record-breaking Eras Tour, Taylor Swift went suspiciously quiet for months in early 2025. While she retreated from the spotlight for a much-deserved break, she was still secretly working on her new music behind the scenes. Twenty years into her career, Taylor has established herself as a certified superstar with musical influences that run the gamut. Her disography demonstrates, the singer-songwriter's evolution from an idealistic teen taking the country music industry by storm to a young adult boldly venturing into pop to an adventurous woman capturing the essence of indie fold and back again, with her genre fluidity impacting her artistic growth every step of the way. Despite her record-breaking experience, Taylor will never stop trying to top her best work- a goal she set again when crafting her 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl. as she teased ahead of its release, "This is the record I've been wanting to make for a very long time." This special issue dives into her a new album, with new collabs, Easter eggs and tracklist breakdowns, and looks back at her music catalog-from her early country days to her pop crossover, indie era, vault tracks and more.
Taylor Swift
In Her Showgirl Era • Celebrate Taylor Swift’s new album with a deep dive into her expansive catalog.
The Return of a Pop Powerhouse • Taylor Swift exceeded even her own high hopes for her 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl.
The Track-by-Track Breakdown • We’re doing a deep dive into The Life of a Showgirl’s 12 songs, from the swoony tributes to the revenge anthems.
The Taybrina Alliance • Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter are the best friends in pop music.
Her Muse • Travis Kelce’s influence could be felt throughout Taylor Swift’s Showgirl era.
Orange You Glad • The singer has embraced a bright color scheme for this new chapter of her life.
Reclaiming Her Masters • Taylor Swift is ushering in a new era with complete ownership of all her music.
‘Looking Back on All of That, It’s Nice to Believe’ • Taylor Swift is the female musician with the most charted songs, the most top 10 songs and the most No. 1 debuts on the Billboard Hot 100, with 12 chart-topping tracks (and counting!). She’s also one of the bestselling artists of all time, with an estimated 114 million albums sold worldwide. As The Life of a Showgirl smashes some of those impressive records, we’re taking a journey back through Taylor’s hit-filled discography.
Is the Long Wait Almost Over? • The singer-songwriter has fully rerecorded 2006’s Taylor Swift. Whether the updated version ever sees the light of day is still uncertain.
Fearless Made Taylor a Household Name • Taylor Swift’s second album launched her to superstardom.
A Lyrical Force of Nature • She shut down her critics by writing her third album, Speak Now, entirely by herself.
Why Red’s “All Too Well” Is a Cultural Phenomenon • If Red’s 2012 version of the breakup ballad impressed critics and fans, the 2021 version—a 10-minute epic accompanied by a Grammy-winning short film—bowled them over.
How 1989 Made Taylor Into a Pop Star • Skeptics, even at her own label, didn’t think she could cut country from her career. But Taylor Swift emerged from her reinvention bigger and better than ever.
We Might Never Hear the Rerecorded Reputation • Taylor Swift says she can’t improve upon her sixth studio album. And in retrospect, once-derisive music critics are inclined to agree.
Taylor Took Control of Her Music With Lover • Having dissected her Reputation, Taylor Swift once again showed her mastery of love stories—and owned her masters for the first time.
Folklore Made Her Pop’s Poet Laureate • With her narrative verve, Taylor Swift filled lonely pandemic-era hours...