From Charli XCX to 50 Cent: Decoding all mentions and Easter eggs in Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life Of A Showgirl’ album

Taylor Swift's newest album, The Life Of A Showgirl, was released on October 3, 2025.

The album is the singer's 12th studio album and her first release since The Tortured Poets Department in 2024. The album consists of 12 tracks with the titular track featuring Sabrina Carpenter.

The album has several mentions and Easter Eggs, which have been decoded by publications and fans online alike. These include references to Charli XCX to 50 Cent on the various tracks of the album, alongside references to Travis Kelce, and more. The list of mentions and Easter Eggs is listed below in the following paragraphs.

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Taylor Swift's Life Of A Showgirl: All mentions and Easter Eggs

Travis Kelce

Travis Kelce is referenced in several of Taylor Swift's new album, including in the first track, titled The Fate of Ophelia.

In the track, Swift references how Kelce called Swift on his New Heights podcast and how their romance started. She also references the character of Ophelia from William Shakespeare's Hamlet, singing how she was rescued from the fate of Ophelia by him:

"I heard you calling / On the megaphone. You wanna see me all alone. I swore loyalty to me, myself and I. Right before you lit my sky up. You dug me out of my grave and saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia / Keep it one hundred."

The last line is a reference to an Easter Egg posted by Kelce on his Instagram in July, in which he posted a series of pictures of himself and Swift with the caption "Had some adventures this offseason, kept it [100 emoji]."

In the third song of the album, Opalite, the singer mentions Kelce, talking about how her life was now calm with Kelce after the storms she had with her past relationships. Opalite is also a man-made replica of Opal, the natural gemstone. Thus, the title of the track is itself an easter egg, with the singer seemingly referencing the fact that Kelce is the man in her life.

In Wi$hli$t, the singer talks about her future with him, singing:

"I just want you/ Have a couple kids / Got the whole block looking like you."

Similarly, in Wood and Eldest Daughter, the singer alludes to their forthcoming marriage, alluding to a ring, her belief in marriage, and how she will never let him down.

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Elizabeth Taylor

In the track of the same name, which is the second track of the album, the singer directly mentions Elizabeth Taylor in relation to her relationship with Travis Kelce:

"Elizabeth Taylor/ Do you think it's forever? /That view of Portofino was on my mind when you called me at the Plaza Athénée/Oftentimes it doesn't feel so glamorous to be me/All the right guys. Promised they'd stay. Under bright lights They withered away/But you bloom/Portofino was on my mind and I think you now why/And if your letters ever said goodbye..."

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Charli XCX

In one of the songs, Taylor Swift talks about an unknown nemesis, which fans believe to be Charli XCX. The track is Actually Romantic, and Swift sings in the track:

"I heard you call me 'Boring Barbie' when the coke's got you brave/High-fived my ex and then said you're glad he ghosted me/Wrote a song saying it makes you sick to see my face."

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50 Cent and Abigail

Another direct mention, Taylor Swift mentions 50 Cent in the track Ruin the Friendship, which seemingly references a dead friend and the romance that never was with that friend:

"Have fun, it's prom / Wilted corsage dangles from my wrist / Over his shoulder I catch a glimpse / And see...You looking at me / And it was not an invitation / But as the 50 Cent song played / Should've kissed you anyway."

Abigail is a reference to her best friend 'redhead' Abigail, whom the singer first referenced in her 2008 album Fearless. In Ruin the Friendship, the singer is informed of the death of her friend by Abigail.

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George Michael, Scott Borchetta, and Lana Del Rey

George Michael is credited posthumously in the track Father Figure as it contains an interpolation of his track of the same name from 1987. Meanwhile, Taylor Swift seemingly also mentions Scott Borchetta in the track when she sings how her music 'empire' is hers now.

Scott Borchetta was one of the figures involved in the sale of her masters to Scooter Braun and his company. The singer has previously openly called him out. In May this year, the singer purchased her masters back from Shamrock.

In the same track, the singer references Lana Del Rey's Mariners Apartment Complex. Similar to that track, Swift sings in Father Figure about said father figure 'mistaking her kindness for weakness.'

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Taylor Swift's parents and brother

In the song Eldest Daughter, Taylor Swift sings about being close to her loved ones and how she would never let them down, referencing her childhood and how she is the eldest daughter of Andrea Swift and Scott Swift. The song is also addressed to the youngest child, seemingly referencing her younger brother, Austin Swift.

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A Canceled! friend

In the song Canceled!, the singer talks about standing by the side of a friend who had been canceled. She sings about how she is there to support them and not judge:

"Good thing I like my friends cancelled, I like them dripped in Gucci and in scandal. At least you know exactly who your friends are-we’re the ones with matching scars."

It is unclear who Taylor Swift is talking about, but there is some speculation that it is about Blake Lively, who has been involved in a lawsuit against Justin Baldoni and Jamey Heath.

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Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift: The Life of A Showgirl

The titular track of the album, The Life of A Showgirl, is sung from the perspective of a girl who wants to be a showgirl but is warned not to become one by one of the showgirls, seemingly referencing how Sabrina Carpenter embarked on her music career after years of being a Swiftie.