Taylor Swift Breaks Down Inspiration for ‘Really Luxurious’ New Album ‘The Life of a Showgirl’

Taylor Swift is a well-known musical mastermind, so it comes as no surprise that every aspect of her next album, The Life of a Showgirl, was meticulously planned out in advance.

“We wanted this album to feel really luxurious, and as a nod to the luxury that a showgirl puts on when she’s onstage — meanwhile, she’s in the quick-change room [breathing heavily],” Swift, 35, explained in a Saturday, September 20, social media video. “Maybe that’s just me, I don’t know. The vinyl packaging, the CD packaging, the photographs, the photo cards — It’s all just something I’m very proud of.”

She added, “It took a lot of time to put together, a lot of concentration, a lot of organization, but hopefully it pays off. I hope the fans are happy.”

Swift announced during an appearance on fiancé Travis Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast in August that her 12th album was inspired by her experience performing on her record-breaking Eras Tour, would drop this fall.

To celebrate the occasion, Swift revealed Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott-shot album artwork, in which she wore a bedazzled Area corset while lying in a bathtub. Additional covers feature Swift changing into a variety of sultry showgirl-inspired costumes and poses on a stage.

“The photoshoot that we did with Mert and Marcus was so extraordinary and I was so happy with it that I just wanted the fans to have as many images from this sort of world [and] this album era,” she said in the Saturday footage, teasing a handful of portraits made it into the record inserts. “I really spent a lot of time figuring out how I could make the best vinyl product and the best packaging.”

Swift further revealed that each CD has “photo cards” inside, and that the vinyl records come with a “unique poem.”

“They’ve got more images than we ever planned to put in there,” she said, specifically teasing the vinyl records. “We chose this really high-gloss finish, which I’ve never done before. I think it looks so cool!”

The Life of a Showgirl will be released Friday, October 3, followed by a special listening party held at various movie theaters.

“I hereby invite you to a *dazzling* soirée, The Official Release Party of a Showgirl: Oct 3 – Oct 5 only in cinemas,” Swift wrote via Instagram on Friday, September 19. “You’ll get to see the exclusive world premiere of the music video for my new single ‘The Fate of Ophelia,’ along with never before seen behind-the-scenes footage of how we made it, cut by cut explanations of what inspired this music, and the brand new lyric videos from my new album The Life of a Showgirl.”