Even Patrick Mahomes didn’t see Taylor Swift’s latest move coming.
The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback admitted he was caught off guard by Swift’s decision to announce her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, during an appearance on teammate Travis Kelce’s New Heights podcast. The episode premieres on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. C.T.
“No, it surprised me too,” Mahomes said when asked about the upcoming New Heights episode in his last media session in Chiefs training camp.
“I mean, I knew before y’all did just because … they called me after the podcast was done. They didn’t call me, they called Brittany [Mahomes], and I was in the back of the FaceTime.”
Mahomes said he’s “obviously super excited” for the release, having seen glimpses of Swift’s creative process up close. “Just knowing Taylor and seeing the process from just a little bit closer of how she makes the albums, it’s going to be amazing because of how much work she puts into it,” he said. “And what better place to announce it than the New Heights podcast, where I feel like she can be herself and showcase who she is?”
Mahomes and his family have been able to get to know Swift given the friendships and working relationships with Kelce and Mahomes as the stars in the Chiefs' offense. Yet Mahomes himself says he's going to have to tune in to see the New Heights episode with the rest of America.
“I think people are going to be really excited to watch it tonight. I haven’t seen it yet. I’ve seen a little bit of the clips, just like everybody else, but I’ll be tuned in tonight at, I think, it’s 7 Eastern,” Mahomes said. “So I’ll be able to have something to watch here on this night off that I have.”
The Taylor Swift-featured episode is expected to potentially break streaming records on YouTube and should certainly set new marks for the show itself. The preview clips have already become a national talking point, which at this point, feels on par for a Chiefs dynasty that has been at the center of the NFL world for years now.