Taylor Swift’s massive star power was the catalyst for New Heights, hosted by her boyfriend Travis Kelce and his brother Jason, when they planned to have her announce her new album on the show. Rather than settling for a fleeting viral spike, New Heights is crafting a model for turning major moments into sustained success.
Since 2025 began, New Heights Instagram Reels have amassed 566 million views, per Tubular Labs data.
A staggering 244 million of those views came between August 11-13, coinciding with Swift’s album promotion. The announcement clip for Life of a Showgirl (featuring blurred cover art) alone racked up 161 million views, making it the top U.S. Instagram Reel that week and the show’s most-viewed video of the year.
The podcast fueled anticipation with seven strategic Reels to attract new audiences.
Chart-Topping ImpactBy Wednesday afternoon, New Heights claimed the No. 1 spot on Apple Podcasts—before the episode even aired. The Daily Beast reported 1.3 million live YouTube viewers in the episode’s first hour, outpacing Donald Trump’s Joe Rogan Experience appearance last fall by 500,000 viewers.