Day 2 Warm-Up: The Tortured Poets Department and The Life of a Showgirl

Unofficial fan trivia. Boston Made is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by Taylor Swift or her team. Every fact below comes from her public career.

Three days to go. Yesterday’s warm-up walked through the eras album by album. Today we zoom in on the two most recent chapters, which are also the two most likely to trip up a fan who stopped paying close attention after the Eras Tour: The Tortured Poets Department and The Life of a Showgirl.

The Tortured Poets Department: the announcement

She announced her 11th studio album in a typically unexpected place. On February 4, 2024, while accepting the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album for Midnights, she revealed that a new album, The Tortured Poets Department, was coming. The cover and standard track list followed the next day.

She had written and recorded much of it during the American leg of the Eras Tour in 2023, working with longtime collaborators Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner.

The Tortured Poets Department: the release and the records

The album came out on April 19, 2024, through Republic Records. The standard edition has 16 songs. Two hours later, she surprised fans with The Anthology, a double album adding 15 more songs for a total of 31.

• First week: 2.61 million equivalent units in the United States.
• The top 14: its songs held the top 14 spots on the Hot 100 in the same week, a first for any artist, led by “Fortnight,” featuring Post Malone.
• Streaming: about 300 million Spotify streams in a single day, a record for an album, and the first album to pass one billion streams in a single week.
• Longevity: 17 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, her longest run.
• Grammys: it was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2025 Grammys.

She directed the “Fortnight” video, which won Video of the Year at the 2024 VMAs. Starting with the Paris shows in May 2024, the Eras Tour added a new act built around the album.

The Life of a Showgirl: the announcement and the sound

Her 12th studio album was revealed in August 2025. A countdown on her website ended at 12:12 a.m. Eastern on August 12 with the title, and the cover, track list and release date followed the next day.

The Life of a Showgirl came out on October 3, 2025, on Republic Records. It has 12 songs and runs about 41 minutes. For this one she reunited with Swedish producers Max Martin and Shellback, who had worked with her on Red, 1989 and reputation. They recorded in Stockholm in 2024, during the European leg of the Eras Tour. Sabrina Carpenter is featured on the closing title track.

The Life of a Showgirl: the records

• Biggest week ever: 4.002 million equivalent units in its first U.S. week, including about 3.48 million pure album sales. Both broke records held by Adele’s 25.
• The top 12: all 12 songs occupied the top 12 of the Hot 100 at once.
• Global: the IFPI named it the world’s best-selling album of 2025, with 6.05 million pure copies. In the UK it opened with 423,000 chart units.
• Before release: it became the most pre-saved album in Spotify history.
• In theaters: Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl played in cinemas from October 3 to 5, 2025, and earned more than $50 million.

Because it was released after the eligibility cutoff, the album was not eligible for the 2026 Grammys. At the American Music Awards on May 25, 2026, she led all artists with eight nominations, and at the iHeartRadio Music Awards it won Album of the Year.

The singles and The Encore

• “The Fate of Ophelia” (October 2025) debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100, her 13th No. 1, and went on to become her longest-running No. 1. Its video won Video of the Year at the 2026 VMAs.
• “Opalite” was sent out as a single on January 12, 2026, and reached No. 1 in February, her 14th. It tied her with Rihanna for the most No. 1s of the 21st century.
• “Elizabeth Taylor” followed on March 9, 2026, and reached the top three.

On September 25, 2026, she released The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore, an expanded edition with four new songs written with Martin and Shellback: “Patient Zero,” “Cleveland!,” “Pink Clouding” and “Babylon.” She premiered the “Patient Zero” video at the VMAs two days later, and the song debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100, her 16th chart-topper. (Number 15 was “I Knew It, I Knew You,” her Toy Story 5 song, in June.)

How to tell them apart

• Collaborators: Poets was made with Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner. Showgirl was made with Max Martin and Shellback.
• Where they were made: Poets largely during the American leg of the Eras Tour in 2023. Showgirl in Stockholm during the European leg in 2024.
• Size: Poets runs to 31 songs on The Anthology. Showgirl has 12, with four more on The Encore.
• Chart sweep: Poets took the top 14 of the Hot 100. Showgirl took the top 12.
• Announcement: Poets at the Grammys. Showgirl through a website countdown that ended at 12:12.

The quick version for Friday: Poets is album 11 (2024, 31 songs on The Anthology); Showgirl is album 12 (2025, 12 songs, 4 million in a week).

The Swiftie Finale opens Friday, Nov. 13 at 1:13 p.m. ET.