Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift is an American singer and songwriter from Pennsylvania. Her first album, 'Taylor Swift', came out on Big Machine Records in 2006.[1] Since a November 2018 deal with Universal Music Group she has released records through Republic Records in the United States, and she owns the masters of everything she has recorded under it.[2]

## The Life of a Showgirl

Her twelfth studio album, 'The Life of a Showgirl', came out on 3 October 2025 and opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 4.002 million equivalent album units in the United States.[3] No album had earned more in one week since sales began to be counted electronically in 1991.[3] By September 2026 it had spent 12 weeks at No. 1 on that chart.[9] Its song 'Opalite' first reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and climbed to No. 1 on the chart dated 28 February 2026, the album's second Hot 100 No. 1 and her 14th overall.[4]

## 'I Knew It, I Knew You'

On 5 June 2026 Swift released 'I Knew It, I Knew You', a song she co-wrote for Pixar's film 'Toy Story 5' and co-produced with Jack Antonoff.[5] It entered the Hot 100 at No. 1 on the chart dated 20 June 2026. With 15 No. 1s she moved into third place on her own for the most in the chart's history, behind the Beatles and Mariah Carey.[5] In the United Kingdom it became her seventh No. 1 single.[6]

## The Encore

On 22 September 2026 Swift announced a new single, 'Patient Zero', and opened a 24-hour CD pre-order on her website.[7] It was released on 25 September as one of four new songs, with 'Cleveland!', 'Pink Clouding' and 'Babylon', on an expanded edition of the album called 'The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore'.[8][9] Swift said the songs came out of a trip to Sweden with Max Martin and Shellback, her collaborators on the album, made to celebrate its release.[8] According to Spotify, 'Patient Zero' drew more streams in one day than any other song by a female artist on the service so far in 2026.[9] mymy covered [the title of 'Patient Zero'](/trends/patient-zero-taylor-swift) and [the song 'Cleveland!'](/trends/cleveland-taylor-swift) in the week of the release.[14][15]

## MTV Video Music Awards

At the MTV Video Music Awards at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on 27 September 2026, Swift received the first Artist Director Honors, a new award for musicians known for their work behind the camera, and won Video of the Year for 'The Fate of Ophelia'.[10][11] The night made her the solo artist with the most VMAs, ahead of Beyoncé.[10] During the broadcast MTV premiered the 'Patient Zero' video, which she directed, with Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell in the cast and Emmanuel Lubezki as cinematographer.[10][12]