This is actually romantic.
Taylor Swift has officially released her highly anticipated 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” and the record is full of low-key references and maybe not-so-subtle nods to her football star fiancé, Travis Kelce.
The 14-time Grammy winner announced her new album during an appearance on Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast on Aug. 13, days before sharing their exciting engagement news with the world on Aug. 26.
“This is my brand new album,” Swift, 35, said before unveiling “The Life of a Showgirl” and its orange-green color scheme.
“It just comes from, like, the most infectiously joyful, wild, dramatic, place I was in, in my life,” she continued. “And so that effervescence has come through on this record … this is the record I’ve been wanting to make for a really long time.”
As for the album’s 12-song tracklist, Swift shared that “every single song is on this album for hundreds of reasons.”
“You couldn’t take one out and it be the same album, you couldn’t add one; it’s just right,” she said. “That focus, and that kind of discipline with creating an album and keeping the bar really high is something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time.”
One thing the pop superstar didn’t reveal at the time, however, was how many of the new songs were about her Kansas City Chiefs beau.
Here are all the times Taylor Swift appears to mention Travis Kelce in her new album “The Life of a Showgirl.”
‘The Fate of Ophelia’
“The Life of a Showgirl” kicks off with a reference to William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” and the character Ophelia, who falls into a state of madness and tragically drowns to death by the play’s end.
But despite the serious tone and topic of the opening track, Swift appears to sneak in a few nods to her husband-to-be and his professional football career throughout the lengthy “Fate of Ophelia.”
“I heard you calling on the megaphone / You want to see me all alone,” Swift begins the song, possibly referencing not just a football megaphone but also the fact that Kelce first asked her out by launching a public call on his “New Heights” podcast.
Another nod comes later in the track when Swift sings “Keep it 100,” which Kelce wrote in his first-ever Instagram post with the singer back in July.
“Keep it one hundrеd on the land, the sea, thе sky,” the singer recites. “Pledge allegiance to your hands, your team, your vibes.”
‘Elizabeth Taylor’
“That view of Portofino was on my mind / when you called me at the Plaza Athénée”
Many fans believe Swift’s new track “Elizabeth Taylor” mentions her and Kelce’s visit to Paris during an Eras Tour stop in France last summer.
Although the pair did not stay at the Plaza Athénée, they did reportedly stay just a few blocks away at the Hôtel De Crillon.
The couple later vacationed in Italy, and although they stayed in Lake Como, it’s possible Swift thought of her groom-to-be while passing through Portofino during the European leg of her tour.
“All the right guys promised they’d stay / Under bright lights, they withered away, but you bloom”
This line, again from the second track of the singer’s fresh new album, appears to allude to the “bright lights” of a sports stadium.
Although Swift’s famous exes, like Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy, may have “withered away,” Kelce “blooms” on the football field.
‘Opalite’
Swift’s “Opalite” reads like a clear nod to Kelce. The title ties directly to him, as opal is the October birthstone, and the Kansas City tight end was born in October.
Swift has even worn opal jewelry to his games, and with Kelce naming “Opalite” one of his favorite songs on the album, the link between him and the track seems hard to miss.
“I think ‘Opalite’ might be my favorite,” he revealed on the Aug. 27 episode of his and brother Jason Kelce’s podcast. “At least right now, every time it comes on, I always catch myself.”
The lyrics, meanwhile, refer to Swift’s sky now being “opalite” and how she has “never met no one like you before.”
“It’s alright, you were dancing through the lightning strikes/ Sleepless on an onyx night/ But now the sky is opalite,” she sings during one chorus.
“Oh my lord, never met no one like you before / You had to make your own sunshine / But now the sky is opalite,” Swift recites during another.
‘Eldest Daughter’
“When you found me, I said I was busy, that was a lie”
In July 2023, Kelce attempted to meet Swift for the first time when her Eras Tour came through Kansas City for a stop at Arrowhead Stadium.
He later revealed during his “New Heights” podcast that he even made the multi-Grammy-winner a bracelet with his phone number on it, hoping to hand it off to his future bride-to-be.
However, it never happened, leading Kelce to call her out more directly on his podcast. The rest is history.
“But I’m never gonna break that vow / I’m nеver gonna leave you now”
Some Swifties on social media speculate that this line, again from the album’s fifth track, hints at Swift’s soon-to-be wedding vows to Kelce.
‘Actually Romantic’
“It’s actually sweet / All the time you’ve spent on me / It’s honestly wild / All the effort you’ve put in / It’s actually romantic / I really gotta hand it to you / No man has ever loved me like you do”
While many listeners speculate that “Actually Romantic” may be a veiled diss track aimed at Charli XCX, there is no doubt that some lines (like the ones above) scream Kelce.
‘Wi$h Li$t’
“Have a couple kids, got the whole block looking like you / We tell the world to leave us thе f–k alone, and they do / Got me drеaming about a driveway with a basketball hoop / Boss up, settle down, got a wish list / I just want you”
The eighth track of “Life of a Showgirl” appears to tease Swift’s “Wish List” when it comes to her and Kelce’s future together post-wedding.
‘Wood’
“Girls, I don’t need to catch a bouquet / to know a hard rock is on the way”
Perhaps one of Swift’s most risque tunes yet, “Wood” appears to include several wordplay-filled lines about her and someone getting intimate.
With lyrics about a “Redwood tree” that “ain’t hard to see” and “his love” being “the key that opened my thighs,” it’s hard to imagine who the suggestive songwriter might be singing about.
Of course, there is also a not-so-subtle nod to Kelce’s podcast when Swift sneaks in a line about “New Heights of manhood.”
‘Honey’
“Honey I’m home, we could play house / We can bed down down, pick me up / Who’s the baddest in the land, what’s the plan? / You could be my forever night stand”
Like “Wi$h Li$t,” the penultimate track of Swift’s newest album seems to hint at her and Kelce’s future together.
