After two years of nonstop inspiration from ‘The Eras Tour’ and falling in love with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, Swift has shared her reflections through synthesizers, drums, and key changes on her 12th studio album, ‘The Life of a Showgirl,’ released on Oct. 3.
The album starts strong with the lead single, ‘The Fate of Ophelia,’ which features a unique sound and enticing vocals. Swift’s last album, ‘The Tortured Poets Department,’ ends with a melancholic piano melody and a quiet concession: “the story isn’t mine anymore.” To go from that ending into a 2000’s-style, fast-paced track with muted drums, and bass beats, where Swift sings that she swore her loyalty to herself, is quite a switch.
She sees herself in the Shakespearean character, Ophelia, who lives a lavish life but drowns in her own tears. Rewriting the story’s ending, she was saved from Ophelia’s tragic fate. Listeners may speculate that her fiancé, Travis Kelce, is the subject of her saving.
In the music video for the lead single, Swift recreates the ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ painting, but instead of drowning, she is uplifted from the river. After being saved, Swift portrays the perfect image of ‘The Life of a Showgirl,’ dancing with her friends, made up of the crew members from ‘The Eras Tour.’ Through her new music, Swift gives us permission to simply have fun, and that’s not such a bad thing.
Swift has never shied away from leaning into character work and tropes. Famously, songs like ‘Blank Space’ and ‘But Daddy I Love Him’ entertain and play into the images that the media has projected onto her. ‘Actually Romantic’ continues this theme, as she sings to an obsessive audience. With her tongue in cheek, Swift thanks those who cannot keep her name out of their mouths. One of the lyrics she sings that reflects this is ‘It’s actually romantic all the time you’ve spent on me / It’s honestly wild all the effort you’ve put in.’ Attention is like food and water for a showgirl, and Swift expresses gratitude for it in a playful and sassy way. Fans are speculating that this song may be about pop star Charli XCX, but in reality, you can insert any subject and the lyrics will hit the same.
When Swift announced ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ in August, 12 ‘bangers’ were promised, and she did not fail to deliver. For this album, she described writing that matches the skill level of her eighth studio album, ‘Folklore.’ This promise is where the new album falls short.
People online are calling attention to lyrics like ‘Every eldest daughter / Was the first lamb to the slaughter / So we all dressed up as wolves and we looked fire,’ and ‘Everyone’s unbothered ’til they’re not / Every joke’s just trolling and memes,’ for being ‘cringey.’
Had Swift not promoted the lyrics of this album, public reactions may have been more forgiving. Instead, Swift is coming off an era of her music that was heavily defined by her storytelling, and these stories are different from her recent work.
Self-proclaimed ‘Swiftie’ Allison Dammer ’26 said that in her opinion, the writing was awkward at times, but it is more nuanced than just that.
“There’s always been some lyrics where I’m like, ‘what the heck?,’ but I think it’s also just such a fun, poppy new era,” Dammer said.
She went on to explain that this is not the first time Swift has released a song that has had unexpected lyrics, but successfully communicates a specific feeling and story.
“With ‘I Can Do It With a Broken Heart’, some of the lines were a little cringey, but it’s very specific to ‘The Eras Tour’ era,” Dammer said.
Molly McCleary ‘26, who is not a Swiftie, did not enjoy the album.
“It sounds very rushed and like industry produced music. It’s not as well-crafted as her other lyrics,” McClearly said.
McClearly went on to say she is not anti-Taylor Swift, and enjoys some of her albums like ‘Red,’ ‘Folklore,’ and ‘Evermore.’
Despite some weak lyrics, Swift and her producers for this album, Max Martin and Shellback, did what this trio has historically mastered: creating earworm pop songs that you cannot shake. Martin and Shellback are the producers behind some of Swift’s biggest songs, like ‘Blank Space’, ‘Delicate’, ‘Style’, and ‘Shake it Off’. You’d be hard pressed to walk through the grocery store, flip through radio channels, or share some water-cooler talk that doesn’t somehow incorporate Taylor Swift and her new, catchy songs.
Upon first listen, references to slang stand out as awkward, but that is her goal. Swift plays into her awkwardness and lack of ‘swagger’, which is evident in just hearing her sing the words ‘savage’ and ‘memes.’ Despite owning the persona of a showgirl, Swift is open about being a baking-obsessed, wine-drinking, cat lady. The juxtaposition of a simple, soft melody on the piano backing up these lyrics demonstrates the worlds she straddles, and just how strange it can feel to be her.
Dammer believes that Swift is in a unique position because of how colossal her spotlight is. Even people who are not fans listen and weigh in on her albums, which brings a mirage of negative feedback online.
“There’s even more negative stuff just because there’s more of a spotlight on her. It’s like everyone thinks they should make an opinion rather than just Taylor Swift fans,” Dammer said.
Dammer added that this has become even more prominent since her relationship with Travis Kelce has brought her name into completely new spheres. She also went on to address how social media can create a false sense of reality.
“I love [the album] and I love her, and I’m not out here posting, so you never really know all the reactions,” Dammer said.
Swift described this album as like catching lightning in a bottle, and she is right. This album is pure energy and vibes, and I am ready for it. Be aware: even if you started out critical of this album, chances are you’ll catch yourself humming along to new tunes or throwing a new song onto your playlist.
