On Oct. 3, Taylor Swift released her highly anticipated 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl.” Taylor Swift appeared on the “New Heights” podcast hosted by her fiancé, Travis Kelce, to announce her next project. “I want to be as proud of an album as I am of the Eras Tour,” Swift said on the podcast.
She partnered with Max Martin and Shellback to produce “The Life of a Showgirl.” The duo has also worked on some of her biggest hits, like “We Are Never Getting Back Together” and “Shake It Off.” On the “New Heights” podcast, Swift said while she was on the European leg of “The Eras Tour,” she flew to Sweden to write the album with Max Martin and Shellback.
The project explores topics like her relationship with Travis Kelce, the realities of fame and her future. The tracks feature pop-synth production and Swift’s signature introspective lyrics.
The album starts strong with the pop-synth track “The Fate of Ophelia.” The singer draws inspiration from Shakespeare by comparing herself to Ophelia from “Hamlet,” who tragically drowns. Swift puts a spin on the morbid story by saying she was saved from the fate of Ophelia by her significant other.
The song is followed by even more upbeat, pop-synth-inspired songs discussing fame and fresh love; namely, “Elizabeth Taylor” and “Opalite”
Another notable song on the album, “Ruin The Friendship,” fans speculate is about Swift’s friend from high school, Jeff Lang, who tragically overdosed in 2010. In the song, Swift reflects on her relationship with Lang, regretting the fact that she never kissed him.
“The Life of a Showgirl” also has a few songs addressing the alleged drama surrounding Swift. On “Father Figure,” which Swift samples George Michael’s song of the same title, it is theorized to be about Scott Borchetta, the label executive of Big Machine Records, who signed Swift when she was just 15.
Borchetta notably sold Swift’s masters to Scooter Braun in 2019, which led her to rerecord her old projects under the “Taylor’s Version” title.
On the track “Actually Romantic,” Swift is rumored to be addressing her alleged rift with singer Charlie xcx. Swift sings, “I heard you called me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave/ High-fived my ex and then you said you’re glad he ghosted me/ Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face.”
Swift is referencing Charli XCX’s song “Sympathy is a Knife.” The song is supposedly about feeling inferior and jealous of Swift and her level of fame. In the song, Charlie xcx says, “Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show/ Fingers crossed behind my back, I hope they break up quick/ ‘Cause I couldn’t even be her if I tried/ I’m opposite, I’m on the other side.”
Fans of Charlie XCX and Swift are debating on the internet whether the diss track “Actually Romantic” was warranted. Swift concludes the album with the title track “The Life of a Showgirl,” featuring Sabrina Carpenter.
Since the album’s release, reviews have been tumbling in, leaving fans polarized over whether they like it or not. Some fans argue the album is a pop banger, and is fun and reflective of the chapter of life Swift is currently in. However, the album has been met with criticism for having “cringe” lyrics and abandoning Swift’s usual craft of storytelling and descriptive writing, leaving fans disappointed.
One major complaint of the album was that the lyrics felt out of touch or confusing. One Reddit user says, “There’s a lot of internet speak and phrases from the last few years that are just gonna be so obnoxiously dated … It’s like a Millennial who is trying to speak like a Gen Z.”
Regardless, the album has only been out for a short amount of time, and its full influence and controversy remain to be seen.
