Taylor Swift’s Travis & Jason Kelce Interview: Every Key Moment/ TezzBuzz/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Taylor Swift joined Travis and Jason Kelce on their “New Heights” podcast, marking her first appearance on the show. During the two-hour episode, she revealed major details about her upcoming album The Life of a Showgirlshared personal updates, and discussed her relationship with Travis Kelce. The appearance offered fans a rare, candid glimpse into Swift’s private and professional life.
NEW YORK — Taylor Swift made her long-anticipated debut on the Kelce brothers’ New Heights podcast Wednesday, using the two-hour conversation to announce her new album, reflect on personal developments, and candidly discuss her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
The episode, which also featured Jason Kelce, former NFL center for the Philadelphia Eagles, marked a new kind of media appearance for Swift — blending sports culture with pop superstardom. Though the podcast is typically football-centric, Swift’s appearance added a pop culture twist and drew global attention.
In one of the biggest revelations, Swift officially unveiled her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirldue for release on October 3. She introduced the album on air by pulling a mint-green briefcase from beneath the table, revealing a vinyl edition to the Kelce brothers.
Swift said the album was written and recorded during her Eras Tourwith sessions taking place in Europe — mostly in Sweden — between tour dates. Producers Max Martin and Shellback, frequent collaborators, helped her complete the project.
The album, featuring 12 tracks, is not a double release like The Tortured Poets Department. Swift described the new record as full of “bangers,” reflecting her desire to make something more upbeat after her darker, poetic previous release. “It’s a 180 from Tortured Poets,” Travis Kelce observed. Swift agreed, saying, “Life is more upbeat now.”
The album’s title and concept reflect what was happening behind the scenes during the tour. Swift described it as capturing “everything that was going on behind the curtain.”
The cover art, she revealed, is themed after the end of her day — featuring her in a bathtub. Orange, the dominant color of the album’s aesthetic, reflects the emotional energy she felt during the tour period.
Swift also used the podcast to share deeply personal news. Her mother recently underwent knee replacement surgery, while her father had quintuple bypass surgery over the summer after doctors discovered five blockages in his heart. “This was the summer of my parental upgrades,” she said.
The couple briefly discussed how they handle media coverage and online commentary surrounding their relationship.
She praised the podcast as her “favorite,” and credited it for bringing them together. Their first connection, she recalled, started with the exchange of friendship bracelets — a nod to a Swiftian fan tradition.
Jason Kelce also joined in, asking about how their very public relationship affects their lives. The trio shared a light-hearted tone, with Swift emphasizing the joy and simplicity they’ve found together.
Swift confirmed that she ended her final Eras Tour show by exiting through an orange door — a hidden message hinting at her transition from that musical phase to the Showgirl era. The move was one of many “Easter eggs,” Swift is known for planting throughout her work.
Her favorite Easter egg moment? When she embedded clues about her Midnights album into her NYU commencement speech in 2022, before the project had even been announced. Fans, she said, correctly suspected the entire speech was coded.
Switching gears, Swift revealed that baking remains one of her favorite pastimes. She’s particularly fond of making sourdough bread, with variations including blueberry lemon, cinnamon swirl, and Funfetti. The puns were plentiful — “Are you bread-y for it?” and “Loafing him was bread” among them.
On the subject of her re-recorded albums, Swift said she treasures each one but admitted Red (Taylor’s Version) holds a special place, primarily because of the 10-minute vault track version of “All Too Well.”
In May, Swift made headlines for regaining ownership of her entire Big Machine catalog after purchasing it back from Shamrock Capital. While she didn’t reveal the purchase price, she emphasized how meaningful it was to finally own the full rights to her past work.
Swift’s New Heights episode premiered on YouTube and is available on most podcast platformsincluding Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Audible, and Wondery. The audio-only version runs about 20 minutes longer than the YouTube edition and includes a lightning round with fun, off-topic discussions — from Bad Bunny’s rumored role in Happy Gilmore 2 to Swift hiding in a cleaning cart during her tour.
The lead-up to the episode’s release was tightly managed, with brief teaser clips shared on social media. In one, Swift joked about appearing on a show popular with male sports fans: “If there’s one thing they want more of in their spaces, it’s more of me.”
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