What Is Taylor Swift’s <i>The Life of a Showgirl</i> ‘Standby’ Event? Here Are the Biggest Theories

THE RUNDOWN

• Taylor Swift’s promotional schedule for The Life of a Showgirl includes a mysterious “standby” event on Saturday, October 4.
• Fans are theorizing what this could be, whether it’s new music or a surprise appearance.
• Other promo activities this weekend include a watch party in theaters and a new music video.

Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl era has officially begun, and she’s celebrating with a weekend-long agenda of promo activities. The schedule includes an official watch party in theaters starting today and the release of her “The Fate of Ophelia” music video on Sunday night, according to the fan account Taylor Nation. But a mysterious event slated for Saturday has fans talking.

An item simply called “Standby” is listed for October 4, with no additional details. Swift hasn’t revealed what it is or when exactly it will take place. However, if we’re to use context clues, we could assume it’s an evening event because it appears parallel to the 7 P.M. ET music video release on Sunday night. But we’ll have to wait for official confirmation.

Fans, as usual, have already begun theorizing what this mystery listing could mean. Might Swift be cooking up some vault tracks, a tour announcement, or a surprise appearance? Read through some of the theories below while we, well, stand by for Saturday.

SNL audience members often wait in line for free “standby” tickets ahead of each show, which could explain Swift’s sneaky reference. Although SNL episodes usually air at 11:30 P.M. ET on Saturday nights, in-person standby check-in takes place between 6 and 7 P.M. ET that evening, according to NBC, hence the timing on the schedule. This week’s episode would mark the SNL’s season 51 premiere, a big occasion that just might call for a Swift cameo.

Bad Bunny is hosting, and Doja Cat is performing at SNL on October 4. They might not have an obvious connection to Swift, but hey, anything is possible. Bad Bunny and Swift were reportedly seen at the same recording studio in September 2023, which led fans to speculate about a potential collaboration. They haven’t dropped music together yet, but could that change Saturday night? Bad Bunny and Swift’s fiancé, Travis Kelce, are collaborators too—they appeared in Happy Gilmore 2 together this year.

Fans pointed out that Sabrina Carpenter, the only artist featured on the album—on the title track, no less—is headlining the 2025 Austin City Limits festival on Saturday, October 4. Could Swift join her there for their first live performance of “The Life of a Showgirl”?

Swift promised in her New Heights appearance that there would only be 12 songs on The Life of a Showgirl, so the release of additional tracks seems unlikely. But what about material from her past albums? While announcing that she finally bought back her masters in May this year, Swift revealed that she was not yet finished recording Reputation (Taylor’s Version), but she did hope to release Reputation vault tracks eventually.

In a letter to fans, Swift wrote, “There will be a time (if you’re into the idea) for the unreleased Vault tracks from that album [Reputation] to hatch.” She added that both Reputation and her self-titled debut, which she also planned to re-record, “can still have their moments to re-emerge when the time is right, if that would be something you guys would be excited about.” Could that time be now?

A tour seems like the natural next step for an artist after dropping a new album, but that seems unlikely for Swift, who just spent two grueling years on the road for the Eras Tour. Though she sings in “The Life of a Showgirl” that she is “married to the hustle,” she does, in fact, need a break.

When asked whether she’d tour again soon, Swift told BBC Radio 1 plainly, “No.” She added, “I’m gonna be really honest with you. I am so tired. Like when I think about doing it again, I’d wanna do it really well again, you know?”

Looking back on Eras, she explained, “I had so much fun on that tour. It was obviously the most exhausting challenge ever, physically. I’ll never forget what I saw.”