Taylor Swift Album Shatters Spotify Pre-Save Record

Taylor Swift has released her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, a self-described “self-portrait” recorded while on the Eras Tour. Reports vary on the track count (12 or 13), and the record includes a guest appearance by Sabrina Carpenter on the closing/title track; Swift reunited with producers Max Martin and Shellback. The release follows her engagement to NFL star Travis Kelce and her recent buyback of her music catalogue. The album shattered Spotify pre-save records set by her previous release and prompted a massive streaming surge after Spotify notified users, with DownDetector logging more than 1,000 outage reports. Early reviews have been largely positive, fans reacted frenziedly online, and many are poring over lyrics and liner notes for Easter eggs.