Taylor Swift did what she does best this week by breaking the internet with the announcement of a new album. But this time she did it with the help of Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, her boyfriend of nearly two years. The music superstar appeared on “New Heights,” the podcast Kelce does with his brother, Super Bowl champion and retired Philadelphia Eagles star Jason Kelce.
The appearance of a “special guest” for Wednesday’s episode was teased for days. And as Swifties do, they immediately began to investigate, looking for any clue to confirm that this guest was Swift herself. That confirmation came Tuesday. And then at 12:12 a.m. Wednesday morning, the news of her new album — title and all — was confirmed with a preview of the episode, which included an excited reaction from Jason upon seeing the album’s cover for the first time.
The teasing of the album details only increased the anticipation for the premiere of the full episode Wednesday night. And Jason’s introduction of Swift on the episode matched that energy level.
Wearing a shirt with her face on it, Jason rattled off some of her biggest accomplishments, including being the only artist to win the Grammy for Album of the Year four times. He also made sure to include her stats as a Chiefs fan.
“As a fan of that guy on the Chiefs, she has 19 wins, two AFC titles and a Super Bowl,” Jason said.
Taylor Swift announces new album on Travis Kelce’s ‘New Heights’ podcast, her first interview since 2023
Zachary Pereles
Swift quipped about the complaints directed her way over the last two NFL seasons, joking about those who complain they see her on the screen too much when she attends Travis’ games.
“You guys have a lot of male sports fans that listen to your podcast and I think we all know that if there’s one thing male sports fans want to see in their spaces and on their screens it’s more of me,” Swift said, smirking.
Here’s a full breakdown of what was discussed on the podcast, from how Swift began a relationship with Travis, to learning football, touring and her new album.
How did Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce meet?
For those unfamiliar with the back story, the short version of Kelce first expressing his interest in Swift involves making friendship bracelets with his phone number on them, wanting to meet the singer at her Kansas City show and then complaining on “New Heights” that they never met.
Swift credited the podcast with a lot.
“This podcast has done a lot for me, I owe a lot to this podcast. This podcast got me a personal boyfriend ever since Travis decided to use it as his personal dating app about two years ago,” Swift joked.
She said she has never seen the original friendship bracelets and laughed at Kelce’s attempt to meet her. Swift said Kelce never contacted her management team and thought because he knows the woman who runs the elevator at Arrowhead Stadium, he’d be able to get down there to see her.
“It was such a wild romantic gesture to just be like, ‘I want to date you,'” she said, imitating how Travis was on the podcast after the Eras Tour show. “This dude didn’t get a meet and greet and he’s making it everyone’s problem. If this guy isn’t crazy, which is a big ‘if,’ this is sort of what I’ve been writing songs about wanting to happen to me since I was a teenager… It was wild but it worked.”
Swift said Kelce is “the good kind of crazy” and both relayed how instant their connection was.
“I had never experienced something so mesmerizing on stage and then so real and so beautiful in person,” Kelce said.
Taylor Swift ‘fell in love’ with football
On their first date, Swift asked Kelce what it was like to play in the Super Bowl against the Eagles and see his brother across the line of scrimmage right in front of him.
“Didn’t happen,” Jason, who played on the offensive line and would never be on the field at the same time as Travis, chimed in.
“I now know what an insane question that was,” Swift said, but noted that Travis’ nonjudgmental reaction to her lack of football knowledge was one of the first “green flags” she saw from him.
“I thought everyone was on the field at the same time … I didn’t know what a first down was. I didn’t know what the chains were,” Swift said. “I didn’t know what a tight end was.”
Travis thanked her for “diving into the football world wholeheartedly,” something he saw firsthand during Swift’s first NFL Draft experience as a Chiefs fan.
“I fell in love with [football], I became obsessed with it,” Swift said. “I became like a person who was running through the halls of my house screaming ‘WE DRAFTED XAVIER WORTHY’ and my friends are like … ‘what do you mean?'”
Give her 16 months and Swift joked she’d be ready to go in the broadcast booth.
Taylor Swift recalls her first Chiefs game
If you were at Swift’s first Chiefs game against the Chicago Bears, you may have walked in with her and didn’t know it. She said she went through general admission with thousands of other fans, wearing a hat and a mask and surrounded by Kelce’s friends.
“There were rumors that we had been seeing each other but I think people were like, ‘What would they talk about?’ Fair,” Swift said.
This was one of the first “green flags” Kelce saw in Swift, because it showed how quickly she was ready to dive into being a member of Chiefs Kingdom. Jason even joked that he didn’t believe Travis when his younger brother first told him about their relationship.
Taylor Swift on Andy Reid: ‘He’s funny, he’s cheeky’
Chiefs coach Andy Reid has been friends with Swift’s father Scott for a while and even put in a good word for Kelce when he first showed interest in Swift.
Swift said Reid has been coming to shows for years, but she “didn’t really know what the sports were that he was doing … I now know that he is literally the most iconic, legendary coach of all time.”
She’s seen another layer to Reid through dating Kelce.
“The way that you talk about him, his leadership style, I respect it so much, because I feel like it’s done without aggression or raising your voice or losing your composure, it’s all very composed and focused,” she said, with Kelce adding in that Reid will “rip you apart for sure.”
“It’s not overdone,” she added about Reid’s style of running a team.
“If you get it from him, you know you deserve it and you gotta shape up. That’s what I heard from [Travis],” Swift said.
“There’s a lot of heart, he’s funny, he’s cheeky,” Swift said, saying that he coaches and lives in a very intentional way. She noted that she has always tried to keep composure in her life and calls Reid a great role model to that approach, saying he’s very focused on doing the right thing in the right moment.
Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce found parallels between their jobs
At face value, singers and football players may not seem to have similar jobs, but as they came out to support each other, Swift and Kelce found just how alike their routines were.
“I’m not getting hit by 300 pounders, but the heels for that long …” Swift said when comparing her tour to when Kelce is in season and the toll it takes on you mentally and physically.
“The similarities were crazy, I was like ‘Oh my gosh, she does more than I do,'” Kelce said. “We related on how much torture we put our bodies through.”
Why Travis Kelce believes Taylor Swift is an athlete: ‘I’ve seen what she goes through … it’s mind-blowing’
Brad Crawford
Swift was quickly able to compare the pressures she faces with what athletes endure.
“I love this new world that Travis has shown me. It’s so fun, it’s so exciting. There’s so much pressure on these players … the pressure on sports is just such a different type [than music] that I have so much respect for everyone,” Swift said.
They related on the level of dedication it takes to succeed at their respective craft because it’s something that starts from a young age.
“On paper we actually have a very similar job. Our job is to entertain people for three-plus hours in NFL stadiums,” Swift said. “When I’m there it’s called a dressing room. When Travis is there it’s called a locker room. For me it’s called a rehearsal, for him it’s called a practice. For him it’s called his coach, for me it’s my mom.”
Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce happy to create new NFL fans
There are a lot of opinions on their relationship, but Swift and Kelce don’t focus on that. Being in the spotlight for so long, Swift has become accustomed to ignoring the negative comments and the hate and is teaching Kelce to do the same. Swift noted that they’re too busy having an “actual relationship” to talk about the public perception of them as a couple.
“My name can be in the actual headline and it can still be none of my business,” Swift said.
Swift and Kelce were both surprised by the influx of fans their relationship brought to the NFL and have enjoyed seeing new fans, specifically young girls, learn to love the game.
“I think a lot of the women and girls maybe they watched one game to see me cheer on my boyfriend, but if they stayed, which is what people are saying based on the numbers, that’s because the game is so great and it’s such an amazing interesting thing to learn about,” she said.
Travis Kelce reviews Taylor Swift’s new album
At the end of the episode, Swift revealed the cover and track listing for her new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” which she wrote while on tour in Europe.
Kelce was astonished that she was able to write and record an entire new project while on the road. He gave it a rave review, saying it is “just awesome.”
Jason Kelce was unaware they wanted to reveal the album on the podcast, so it came as a shock to him. The older Kelce said he wants to hear the album before its release date, but they don’t think he’ll be able to keep it a secret.
“It’s so much fun. I’ve been fortunate enough to hear every single song on here, so I know it’s all 12 bangers,” Travis said. “It’s a lot more upbeat and it’s a lot more fun, pop, excitement and I think it’s a complete 180 from a lot of the songs on Tortured Poets for sure.”
