Taylor Swift released her 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” on Oct. 3 and returned to the top of the music charts with a brand-new aesthetic overlapping her age-old persona.
“The Life of a Showgirl” is Swift’s 15th album with a number one debut, placing her second only to the Beatles. Swift posted numbers that saw the biggest debut for an artist since 1991, with all 12 of her songs occupying the top spots on the Billboard Hot 100. She surpassed Adele’s near decade-long records for equivalent album units and album sales in an opening week for the album “25.”
The album turns a leaf in Swift’s career, with upbeat and catchy pop tunes that give a snapshot into her life as a woman who has finally found a love that lasts and success that is irreversible. Swift enlisted producers Max Martin and Shellback, both partially responsible for the birth of several of her No. 1 hits from “Red,” “1989” and “Reputation.”
The increase of explicit statements used accompanied by equally provocative visuals resemble the edgy aesthetic of Swift’s “Reputation” era. Several tracks provide an inside look at the glamour and thrill of Swift’s present romance with fiancé Travis Kelce, a tight end in the NFL who plays for the Kansas City Chiefs.
The album opens with “The Fate of Ophelia,” an upbeat song with a defined beat and synth undertones. Swift steps into Shakespeare’s character of Ophelia in Hamlet while reimagining the story by singing of how her current love interest saved her from a projected ill fate.
Swift then takes a turn and explores her past and present interpretations of true love with “Opalite.” The track leads with delicate and iridescent guitar strokes that develop into a sweeping, catchy tune, carrying listeners on a predictable but nevertheless satisfying ride.
“Wi$h Li$t” and “Honey” display musical and lyrical similarities, with soft and romantic chords that are backed by an electronic drum beat reminiscent of electro and synth pop.
In “Wi$h Li$t,” Swift sings about how her fiance has her “dreaming about a driveway and a basketball hoop” and settling down. This starkly contrasts her past love declarations by embracing a more traditional American lifestyle. “Honey” delves into how her partner has redefined popular romantic phrases for her that she had only heard in demeaning contexts before.
“Wood” has a catchy beat that is eerily similar to Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” and made headlines for exploring an intimate aspect of Swift’s personal life with several not-so-vague sexual innuendos that she uses to paint a stimulating and lighthearted image of love.
Swift leans into her performative persona in “Elizabeth Taylor,” comparing her excess in success but loss in love to a star with a turbulent love life and career marked with scandal. Sprinkled with beat drops, luxurious orchestral backings, and complementary piano riffs, the song details Swift’s success and her quest for a balanced relationship. It has an ode to the dramatic synth pop of “Reputation.”
“CANCELLED” continues to play into darker synth beats while Swift welcomes listeners to “my underworld where it gets quite dark.” Her lyrics allude to those of “Look What You Made Me Do” with her interpretation of cancel culture and how she views her friends who have also experienced it.
The album has faced some backlash for Swift’s writing approach that verges on the edge of petty. It has capitalized on her own success while distastefully molding modern “brain rot” slang and explicit statements into rhyming schemes, cheapening her message.
In “Father Figure,” Swift uncovers a friendship she had with a protege that turned sour when the person mistook her kindness as weakness and found themselves at the mercy of her power. Although some lyrics mimic the feminist nature of Swift’s prior song “The Man,” her tone comes off as overly arrogant.
“Actually Romantic,” has gained a special amount of attention, with lyrics allegedly responding to a song Swift’s former tourmate Charli XCX wrote that appeared to reference her. Swift leans into an unbothered approach, describing her own disregard for the insults she has received, with the line, “I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave.” The song is scathingly humorous, depending on who’s side the listener is on, as Swift describes the artist’s distaste as an unhealthy obsession that destroys only them.
Track five, “Eldest Daughter” went viral on social platforms for several lines that used Gen Z phrases, including one that said, “So we all dressed up as wolves and we looked fire.” Swifties have long anticipated and analyzed Swift’s fifth song on each album, as the artist is known for producing beautifully devastating songs that hit a special heartstring. “Eldest Daughter” was instead a new low for the artist, who failed to produce a cohesive song, leaving listeners scrambling to interpret the choppy slang.
The album closes with the title track “The Life of a Showgirl” featuring Sabrina Carpenter. Swift and Carpenter sing about a fictional showgirl named “Kitty” and her influence on their own journey under the spotlight. The song finishes with a spoken outro from Swift’s final Eras Tour show in Vancouver on Dec. 8, 2024, tying the bow on her successful tour that brought millions of fans together in 51 cities.
However, the art of Swift’s statement lyricism has been somewhat lost in the album due to her cliche stanzas and off-brand shamelessness. While the tracks are easy to listen to and equally catchy, the light synth tones and breathy vocals also lack unique hooks or distinct melodies.
As Swift leaves her girl-next-door character to become the dark-haired provocative cheerleader with irrevocable sex appeal, her attempt at setting a precedent as the music industry’s ultimate showgirl may also result in her album being unable to capture the relatable magnetism that her fans have looked to her for.
The effect of her newer triumphant persona concurrently draped in victimhood is an undermining of the fundamental charm that made her a worldwide phenomenon.
But, not to worry, you will be singing her songs just the same.
