On October 3rd, 2025, the world will receive Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, The Life of
a Showgirl. As a Swiftie, I am, of course, through the roof with excitement. This album shows
audiences a whole new side, or era, of Taylor Swift. Through the years, Swift has been able to
reshape her image, try different music styles, and more, all while keeping her fans engaged and
wanting more. No wonder she has millions of followers across social media outlets and a loyal
global fan base. The only question that remains is how she does it.

One of the most recognizable ways that Swift keeps her fans engaged is through easter
eggs. Whether it’s adding a clue in a song or a symbol in a video, for over 10 years, she has
masterfully made her fans search for small details that could mean something. For this
upcoming album, Swift first teased her fans a year before announcing the release of the album
by posting this TikTok (notice the A12, as in August 12th, the day she announced her 12th
album). During the last night of the era’s tour, Swift exited the stage through, you guessed it, an
orange door. On the New Heights podcast, Swift said, “Basically, the reason why I chose to exit
that way is 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.” What a genius.

Taylor Swift has also become a master of timing, specifically through the concept of the
surprise drop. Not once but four times has Swift done a surprise drop. The first was in 2020,
when she gave fans less than 24 hours’ notice that Folklore would be released on July 24th.
The album would then win Album of the Year at the 2021 Grammys. 5 months after Folklores’
release, Swift released the sister album, Evermore, once again giving fans short notice. More
recently, Swift has been releasing what feels like a part two to her albums. In October of 2022,
Swift released her anticipated 10th album, Midnights. What fans weren’t expecting happened at
3 am with a surprise drop of Midnights (the 3 am edition), adding 7 songs to the album. She did
this again in 2024 with the release of The Tortured Poets Department. At 2 am, she released
The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology, this time adding 15 extra songs.

By keeping her fans engaged, Taylor Swift has not only become a global superstar but
has also created a successful brand. Through her hard work and dedication, The Eras Tour
became the highest-grossing tour, being the only tour to surpass 2 billion dollars. She is the only
artist to win Album of the Year 4 times and the most awarded artist at both the American Music
Awards and Billboard Music Awards. Best of all, she has achieved all of this while being a role
model for people all over the world and has been an activist in political and human rights.