What to know about Taylor Swift’s new music

NEW YORK (AP) — Taylor Swift is back in action. Did you miss her?

On Friday, Swift released “The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore,” an extended version of her 2025 album with four new tracks: “Patient Zero,” “Cleveland!,” “Pink Clouding” and “Babylon.” It is her first new music since marrying Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden in July.

The music video for “Patient Zero” — directed by Swift and starring Colin Farrell and Dakota Johnson — will premiere during the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards Sunday night.

“About a year ago, you guys did a truly unfathomable thing. Something that completely blew my mind,” Swift wrote in an Instagram caption announcing the additional tracks.

“You gave The Life of a Showgirl the biggest first week for an album in history. I took a trip to Sweden to celebrate with Max (Martin) and Shellback, my two collaborators on this album,” she continued. “Really we just wanted to reflect and take in how grateful we were for the moment we were in, but there was a studio there and we did what we do when we feel anything at all: We wrote more songs. I hope you love them, because they were born out of pure gratitude for your exuberance for and celebration of the album we made.”

Here's what else to know about the new music:

The single “Patient Zero” finds Swift giving advice to the new girlfriend of a toxic ex.

“When the toxins take their hold, you’d rather die than let it go / But if you’re sick of him, I got you, I was patient zero,” she sings over a violin intro. As drums build to fill out the track, Swift explains that she's been in a similar position before — in fact, she's experienced it with the same alluring-but-ultimately-toxic partner. She escaped, and she's urging his next victim to do the same: “Take it from somebody who lost his games but won the race / Take it from someone who said all of this to his face / Someone who knows she’s more than just the chase / Someone who had him and walked away.”

“Cleveland” opens with a cheery piano melody layered with upbeat drums, a combination that recalls classic sitcom themes. And Swift is reveling here: An ode to her relationship with Kelce, who grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, she describes the joy of finding a partner who could see past public rumors and hate. “The taste of me is acquired, but it’s his favorite dish,” she sings. It's a theme Swift has written about before: She’s shaking it off, this time because she found her love story. “This is the love of my life, hey, hey, hey!” she shouts.

But that doesn't mean she's not still reflecting on relationships past. On “Pink Clouding,” Swift draws up “Lover”-era images of bright sunrises and hazy, loved-up decisions. Over a chorus of synths, she apologizes for leading someone on. “Years later, I still wonder how to tell you sorry / I didn’t want to let you down,” she sings.

She also reflects on “Babylon,” weaving together a story about a relationship that broke down because the subject was chasing the next thing, instead of embracing what they had. “You’re using nostalgia as a weapon to hurt yourself / But darling, you end up hurting everybody else,” she sings over mandolin, piano and programmed beats. “You never knew that it was Babylon / ’Til it was gone.”

The announcement of “The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore” followed an exciting 24 hours for Swift’s audience.

After the pop powerhouse launched a cryptic countdown clock on her website, her dedicated fans, known as Swifties, got to work attempting to decode whatever news was forthcoming. They noted that her official Instagram bio was changed to read “And, baby, that’s sh0w business f0r y0u,” with each “o” replaced with a zero.

It now appears clear that the gesture was a reference to “Patient Zero.” Once the countdown timed out, her website updated to reveal three limited-edition CD variants of the new track for preorder: one with a double-sided cover as well as an acoustic and piano version, for $3.99 each.

The original “The Life of a Showgirl” album was released last October, and she contributed a song to the “Toy Story 5” soundtrack in June.

On Monday, it was announced that Swift will receive the inaugural Artist Director Honors at the upcoming MTV VMAs, becoming the most awarded artist in VMA history.

Currently, Swift is tied with Beyoncé for the title. They have 30 each.

The new award, which will bring Swift's total to 31, aims to recognize artists “whose work behind the camera has expanded the possibilities of music video and advanced the art of visual storytelling.”

With that news — and the global premiere of the “Patient Zero” music video during the award show — it is shaping up to be a big night for Swift and her fans.

At the Emmys last week, Swift appeared in a pretaped skit playing a rookie in the “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” office.

Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson went through two large crime boards to make connections between Swift’s songs and the Emmy-nominated shows to see if she would attend the telecast. One of the detectives called it a “rabbit hole.” (In reality, Swift was at Arrowhead Stadium during the award show and sitting alongside Tom Cruise to watch the Chiefs open the NFL season against the Denver Broncos.)

In one pointed moment, Swift looked to the camera and appeared to utter a series of hints: “Saccharide. Ares. From the Vineyard. North or South,” she said. Fans have been trying to decode the message since.

In true Swift spirit: They won't know for sure until she has connected all of the dots.