Taylor Swift released an expanded version of her album “The Life of a Showgirl” on September 25, and Spotify says it set two single-day streaming records for female artists in 2026.
The release, titled “The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore”, made Swift the most-streamed female artist on Spotify in a single day in 2026, DR reports. Her single “Patient Zero” also became the most-streamed song by a female artist on the platform in a single day this year.
The expanded edition keeps the 12 original tracks and adds four newly recorded songs. Per DR, the original album arrived in October 2025 and drew heavy media attention. It was inspired by her record-selling Eras tour and her relationship with American football player Travis Kelce.
According to Billboard, Spotify itself announced both records on September 25. The outlet identifies “Patient Zero” as the focus track among the four additions. New Times notes that Spotify did not disclose exact stream totals for either record.
The four new songs are “Cleveland!”, “Pink Clouding”, “Babylon” and “Patient Zero”, as reported by Paste Magazine. The same outlet reports that the music video for “Patient Zero” is scheduled to premiere at the 2026 VMAs on September 27.
Reviewers unimpressed
While fans responded quickly, several reviewers were critical of the half-new release, according to DR. One reviewer wrote that the songs suggest Swift is treading water and not challenging herself. He added that he hopes the “Encore” edition ends what he called her least inspiring era.
The Guardian gave the album two stars out of five. Its reviewer wrote that the four additional tracks simply dilute the thin premise of the earlier album. The paper reviewed the new songs rather than the streaming performance.
Swift signaled on Instagram that she expected strong numbers. She told followers that they had made “The Life of a Showgirl” the most-streamed album in a single week ever, roughly a year earlier. DR notes the word encore means an extra number in English.
The release lands in a market where Danish listeners follow streaming milestones closely, from year-end recaps such as Spotify Wrapped to platform expansions like Spotify’s audiobook catalog. Neither Spotify nor Swift has published country-level figures for the new release.
Swift’s original album was released in October 2025 and remains the commercial foundation of the expanded edition. The 2026 records announced by Spotify apply to single-day streaming totals only.
