NASHVILLE — Swifties are counting down the seconds along with Taylor Swift’s website in anticipation of getting to spend some quality time with their girl, her boyfriend and his brother.
Swift is set to appear on the Kelce brothers’ “New Heights” podcast at 7 p.m. ET on Aug. 13.
She’s already announced the title of her next album, “The Life of a Showgirl.” What else will fans learn? Will we get cover art? A release date? A track list?
It’s not often fans hear from Swift at length, so a full podcast seated next to partner Travis Kelce is quite the treat.
No matter what news she breaks, it seems likely that at least a good time will be had judging by the teaser video of Jason Kelce introducing Swift to listeners so passionately he was out of breath by the end.
Bryan West, Taylor Swift reporter for the USA TODAY Network, will be watching along with everyone else and posting updates here.
Get your feathers and rhinestones ready, and follow along!
If you’re a more typical “New Heights” listener — aka a sports fan — check in with USA TODAY sports writers here.
A third lock appears
If you refresh TaylorSwift.com, a third blue-ish lock has appeared. It seems the site is adding one every hour on the countdown. If that’s the case, the next should appear at 6 p.m. ET for a total of four locks. Eagle-eyed Swifties have noticed in the “New Heights” podcast clips there are four “T.S.” rectangles in the shelves behind her and Kelce: orange, red, blue and white.
Fun Swiftie fact: If you Zoom in on the locks, you’ll see the Eras Tour stage outline.
When Swift launched “The Tortured Poets Department,” there were four variants. Is history repeating or are these four segments alluding to something else?
Never go out of style
The Swift style expert, Sarah Chapelle, has already cracked the code on the singer’s podcast outfit. Chapelle has catalogued thousands of pieces of the singer’s accessories, handbags, shoes, blouses, dresses, hats, jewelry, you name it. From the “New Heights” teaser videos, it appears Swift is wearing a Cartier “Santos Demoiselle Watch” worth $18,330, Cartier “Panthère de Cartier Necklace” valued at $11,400 and a Sandy Liang beige skort.
As for Swift’s orange-hued lipstick, that appears to be the lipstick shared by Lori Turk, the singer’s make-up artist.
“So many people asking about this lipstick that Taylor wears all the time,” Turk wrote on her Instagram story last year. “It’s: NARS Morocco Lipstick. She’s worn it for years.” The cosmetic is in stock for $26.
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‘Karma door’ is less than two hours from opening
A five-hour countdown replaced Swift’s home page at 2 p.m. ET. The sparkly, glittery door is familiar to any Swiftie who attended the Eras Tour, because it was seen on the back screen during her “Karma” performance. Swift changed the lyrics to her final song anytime Kelce attended: “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs.” The door is slowly creeping to the bottom of the page.
What is unknown is why there is an orange lock, a pink lock and a purple lock. Swift’s three-hour concert served as a highlight reel to her career of 11 eras. Some influencers like @V_Swiftie_ mythologized that the Eras Tour stage looked like a key and that the “Karma” door concealed her next era.
How to watch ‘New Heights’ podcast with Taylor Swift
Date: Wednesday, Aug. 13
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Stream: YouTube
Those hoping to watch the Kelces and Swift on the “New Heights” podcast can do so at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The episode will drop on YouTube, which will contain a full video feed of the podcast episode.
YouTube will be the only platform on which fans of Kelce and Swift will be able to see them interact on video. However, numerous podcast platforms will also carry the episode, allowing Swifties to listen to the entire episode.
Below are some of the listening options for viewers, listed alphabetically:
Apple Podcasts
Amazon Music
Audible
Spotify
Wondery
Billboards may reveal a major clue about ‘Life of a Showgirl’
Shortly after Swift broke the news of the name of her 12th era, a billboard in New York City directed fans to a Spotify playlist featuring songs from a familiar producer.
The “And, baby, that’s show business for you ❤️🔥” playlist has 22 Swift tracks all produced by Swedish mastermind Max Martin, who worked heavily with Swift and Swedish producer Shellback on her “1989” and “Reputation” albums.
Swift dedicated a special acoustic medley to Martin at a Stockholm Eras Tour show.
“Max is actually here tonight, but he’s a shy genius so I’m not going to bring him out onstage, but I am going to play what I am calling the ‘Max Martin Medley,'” she said.
Swift combined “Message In A Bottle” from “Red (Taylor’s Version)” — the first song she worked on with Martin — with “How You Get The Girl” and “New Romantics” from “1989 (Taylor’s Version).”
If Martin and Shellback are the main producers on the new album, it will be the first record in a handful of projects that Swift’s main collaborators aren’t Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner.
Another possible collaboration is with singer and Eras Tour opening act Sabrina Carpenter, who is featured in the 12-photo carousel posted by Taylor Nation teasing her 12th era.
Questions remain
While Swifties may feel like they’ve endured a lifetime’s worth of suspense in the lead-up to the announcement of Swift’s 12th album, it’s really only the beginning.
Swift will keep them on their toes awaiting singles, videos, track lists and more.
She also has a Searchlight Pictures movie project, a potential Eras Tour documentary, vault tracks from her “Reputation (Taylor’s Version)” album and a debut album that the singer admits is fully rerecorded, not to mention trademarks for “Taylor-Con” and “Female Rage: The Musical.”
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Taylor Swift live updates: The showgirl era begins with ‘New Heights’
