Taylor Swift drops 12th studio album

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Taylor Swift is in a sparkling new era.

On Friday, she dropped her 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” a collection of bouncy pop songs about love, marriage, success — and score-settling.

For the hotly anticipated album, the 35-year-old artist reunited with Swedish hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback, and their influence is clear in the driving beats and catchy hooks.

“Tonight all these lives converge here, the mosaics of laughter and cocktails of tears... I can’t tell you how proud I am to share this with you, an album that just feels so right,” Swift posted on Instagram after the album’s release, along with photos of her in showgirl outfits.

The megastar described the album as a “self-portrait” and thanked Martin and Shellback, adding: “If you thought the big show was wild, perhaps you should come and take a look behind the curtain.”

The album’s release comes with a special release-party event in movie theaters all weekend — including the premiere of the video for lead single “The Fate of Ophelia” — sure to be attended by legions of fans in Swift’s signature color this time around: orange.

“Showgirl” is the most pre-saved album ever on the Spotify streaming platform, breaking the record set last year by none other than Swift’s last album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”

While “Showgirl” still features plenty of introspection, the 12 tracks reveal a lighter, happier Swift — in love with her National Football League Super Bowl champion fiance Travis Kelce, happy to have bought back her music catalog and proud of her record-shattering Eras Tour.