Taylor Swift - The Life of a Showgirl [Gatefold, Portofino Orange Glitter] (LP) Vinyl

The Life of a Showgirl is the twelfth studio album by Taylor Swift, released on 3 October 2025 through Republic Records. It was written and produced with Max Martin and Shellback, the pair behind Red, 1989 and Reputation, and recorded in Stockholm. This is the Sweat and Vanilla Perfume edition, pressed on a single Portofino Orange Glitter disc and issued in a gatefold jacket.

The Album

Swift began the record after speaking to Max Martin during the Stockholm dates of the Eras Tour in May 2024, travelling to Sweden through the European leg of the tour and returning at Christmas once it had finished. Sessions took place at MXM Studios and Shellback Studios in Stockholm, with strings and horns recorded at IMRSV Studios in Stockholm and Studio 112 in Jonstorp. Serban Ghenea mixed the album at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, and it was mastered at Sterling Sound in Edgewater, New Jersey.

Musically it is a pop record drawing on soft pop and soft rock, built around piano, strings, synthesizers and keyboards with new wave leaning arrangements and propulsive rhythms. The lyrics deal with Swift's fame and her contentment in love, framed around her experiences on the Eras Tour. The closing title track features guest vocals from Sabrina Carpenter. Three singles were drawn from it: "The Fate of Ophelia", "Opalite" and "Elizabeth Taylor", the first two of which topped the UK singles chart.

In the United Kingdom the album recorded the largest opening week for an international album this century, with 423,000 chart units, and became Swift's fourteenth UK number one. It also took the highest first week vinyl sales on record.

Artwork

Swift worked with the fashion photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott on a flamboyant, showgirl inspired art direction with a glittery orange colour scheme. The standard cover references John Everett Millais's early 1850s painting Ophelia, showing Swift half submerged in water in a diamond lined bralette customised by AREA.

This Pressing

A single LP on Portofino Orange Glitter vinyl, an orange translucent disc shot through with gold glitter. Vinyl mastering was carried out at Sterling Sound in Nashville, where Ryan Smith cut the lacquers, and the record was pressed by Optimal Media in Germany. It carries catalogue number 00602478225260 and is the global edition issued outside North America.

Packaging

The record arrives in a top opening glossy gatefold jacket with fold out panels and two spines. The right hand panel carries a poem written by Swift on one side and a strip of four unique photographs on the other. Inside is a gatefold lyric booklet with a pocket that holds the record, which sits in a clear plastic sleeve.

Tracklist

Side A
1. The Fate of Ophelia
2. Elizabeth Taylor
3. Opalite
4. Father Figure
5. Eldest Daughter
6. Ruin The Friendship

Side B
7. Actually Romantic
8. Wi$h Li$t
9. Wood
10. CANCELLED!
11. Honey
12. The Life of a Showgirl (feat. Sabrina Carpenter)