Swifties, stop what you’re doing; Taylor has released a new album! Her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl was released on October 3rd, and if you are anything like me, you listened to it when it first came out at 12 a.m. If you haven’t listened to it yet, or you just love to consume media that’s all about Taylor Swift, keep reading to hear my favorite songs from the album!
- The Fate of Ophelia. If you’ve read Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, you would know that Ophelia is the daughter of a nobleman who loves Hamlet, but meets a tragic end. In short summary, Hamlet drives Ophelia crazy, and she descends into madness and ends up tragically drowning. But in Taylor’s song, she describes being “saved from the fate of Ophelia,” which we can all assume is about Travis Kelce, possibly saving Taylor from a tragic fate. I absolutely love this song. I love Taylor’s twist on Ophelia’s story and how she makes a sad story happy. This song is upbeat and so catchy, and it’s always stuck in my head, but I can’t complain.
- Opalite. Something that I’ve noticed about this album is how wholesome the songs are, especially Opalite. I really admire the lyrics of this song, especially “sleepless in the onyx night, but now the sky is opalite.” It turns out that Travis Kelce’s birthstone is opal. Taylor’s song explains how her happiness was “man made” just like how opalite is man made. This song is so happy, it instantly puts me in a good mood whenever I listen, especially knowing that Travis is keeping our girl happy!Â
- Ruin the Friendship I really grew to love this song, especially because of its connection to another song, called “Forever Winter”, which debuted on Taylor’s Red (Taylor’s Version). This song is about Jeff Lang, a good friend of Taylor’s who passed away in 2010. In this song, she speaks about her regret of not kissing him, because it tends to ruin the friendship when you admit feelings for someone. In “Forever Winter”, she talks about a friend who is struggling, who many thought was also about Jeff Lang. This song is nostalgic, emotional, and honest, and I love to see this side of Taylor.Â
- Father Figure Father Figure is one of those songs where you make your theories about the meaning. Is Taylor talking about being a father figure to someone? Or is she talking about a mentor she had from the past? Many people speculate that this song references Scott Borchetta, who was the CEO of Big Machines Records. He famously sold her masters of the first six albums to Scooter Braun, which was a huge loss for Taylor. This song mentions betrayal, loyalty, and mentorship. I love seeing Taylor be assertive and strong in her writing, which is exactly what she does in this song.Â
- The Life of a Showgirl (featuring Sabrina Carpenter) This song talks about the life of someone in the spotlight, and how they are perceived as living a glamorous life, when in reality being a “showgirl” is hard work. Taylor and Sabrina discuss how it takes blood, sweat, and tears to get to where they are now. But now, they are “married to the hustle.” I think this song accurately describes what Taylor was going for with this album. It shows that yes, even though she has a glamorous life, she still wants what we all do; love and marriage, but also explores her regrets and grudges. Even though she is a showgirl, there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes than what meets the eye.Â
Overall, this feel-good album put a smile on my face upon my first listen. After relistening to this album and sitting with it for a few days, I’ve realized just how much happiness Taylor is experiencing in her life right now, and her songwriting directly reflects that. From her upbeat melodies to silly references, you can tell she’s having fun in and out of the studio. I think most of us were expecting something different when it came to this album, but I was pleasantly surprised listening to her songs about this new chapter of her life. It’s good to know that the life of this showgirl is so joyful, and I cannot wait to hear more updates about her!