As Taylor Swift enters her Showgirl era, she's in good company

Taylor Swift is about to enter her showgirl era.

The singer this week announced the title of her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, her first new music since the end of her The Eras world tour and since buying back her own music catalogue.

She's since unveiled the album artwork, showing her in a variety of glittering showgirl-style outfits – feathers, diamonds and all.

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But sorry, Swifites, Tay Tay isn't the first – and is unlikely to be the last – celebrity to embark on a showgirl era, with the likes of Cher, Tina Turner and even "our Kylie" going before her... but it just means she's in great company.

Most recently, Pamela Anderson scored Golden Globe and Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) awards nominations for her role as a Vegas showgirl in film The Last Showgirl.

While it's not quite an album launch, it was a career re-launch for Anderson, which gave her the ultimate Hollywood redemption story, cementing her comeback to the industry.

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Hollywood has long had an obsession and association with showgirls, with the likes of Liza Minnelli, Rita Hayworth, Marlene Dietrich and Dita Von Teese over the decades... but so too has music.

Let's take a look at other famous showgirls who prove Swift's in good company in her newest era.

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Christina Aguilera

A star of the early noughties, Christina Aguilera has arguably recently re-entered her own showgirl era.

Aguilera starred in the 2010 movie Burlesque alongside one of the OG pop showgirls, Cher, and now the Candyman singer is producing the stage version of the musical.

While the film was a more cabaret tone than Vegas showgirl, it borrowed from both worlds for the Genie in a Bottle singer's first and only lead feature film role.

Once a Mickey Mouse Club child star, Aguilera went on to sign a record deal in her teens and released a hit pure pop album.

In her transition to be the anti-Britney Spears ahead of her second album, she took part in the pop collaboration of the early 2000s, Lady Marmalade.

The massive hit was the lead track from Baz Luhrmann's movie musical Moulin Rogue, in which Nicole Kidman plays the showgirl (and courtesan) at the centre of the story.

For the 2001 music video, Aguilera along with collaborators Mya, P!nk and Lil' Kim all dressed as "ladies of the night" in their showgirl outfits.

Cher

The iconic singer who only goes by her first name helped reinvent the showgirl in the '70s.

It's what made her the perfect person to cast alongside Aguilera in the coming of age movie decades later.

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The singer, as part of the double act Sonny & Cher, performed in Las Vegas in 1978 and wore a series of striking and sexy showgirl themed outfits on stage during the run.

She returned in the decades since with a number of impressive and over-the-top looks each time she took to the stage, with one particular red feathered number from 1981 among her most memorable.

Those costumes became so iconic, they were on display in glass cases at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace when Cher returned to Vegas for a stint in 2008.

Tina Turner

Another exceptional singer of the same era, Tina Turner was a fan of the feathered costumes and elaborate headpieces when on-stage as well.

Her orange flame showgirl look from 1978 became so iconic, it's been among Bob Mackie's most popular works and been on display in museums.

Others replicated it on stage, including Beyoncé in the 2005 Kennedy Centre honours for the singer.

Beyoncé

Perhaps channelling her hero, Tina Turner, Queen Bey had a brief showgirl stint too.

Beyoncé embraced her inner showgirl for a special four-night concert series at Revel, a hotel and casino in Atlantic City in 2012.

She also sung hits like Naughty Girl in a style befitting the feathered costumes and headpieces.

Kylie Minogue

Kylie Minogue's showgirl era in 2005 became embedded in history for two reasons.

Firstly, it was one of the singer's most brilliant shows – like Swift's Era's tour, it was divided up into sections, featuring great costuming and, as a greatest hits tour, it was banger after banger.

But also, it was the tour during which the Australian-born singer was diagnosed with breast cancer.

It meant the remaining tour dates around Australia were postponed, along with a planned headline slot at Glastonbury.

But true to her word, after treatment, Minogue made a triumphant return to the stage in 2006, complete with feathers and sequins, in the renamed Showgirl: Homecoming Tour.

It would be 14 years before she could fulfill her promise to Glastonbury fans for the cancellation but, in 2019, Minogue made good on that promise too in an emotionally charged appearance at Worthy Farm.

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