The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore arrives almost a year after the standard edition of Taylor Swift’s twelfth studio album, featuring four new bonus tracks. As anyone with a screen time above six hours can tell you, The Life of a Showgirl received the poorest reception of any Taylor Swift album, despite breaking records in both Spotify streams and vinyl sales. So, is The Encore Taylor Swift’s re-vindication? Or is it the last nail in the showgirl coffin?
“Patient Zero” is the first of the bonus tracks, and the only one released as a single. It’s addressed to an ex-lover’s new partner, the hook of the song being “if you’re sick of him, I got you / I was patient zero”. The music video, featuring Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell alongside Swift, premiered on September 27th at the VMAs. While the spoken bridge did not land well with many, neither the chorus nor the concept leave much to be desired—even if the production lacks a certain oomph.
Next up is “Cleveland!”, a love song to Travis Kelce. More accurately, though, it’s about finding love despite the haters. Swift has explored similar themes in songs like “Delicate” and “Paris”, to better results. “Cleveland!” is meant to be lighthearted and at times ironic, but at certain parts, it comes off as bitter. The instrumental is far from good enough to make up for the weaker lyrics, which, arguably, makes it the worst of the four tracks.
“Pink Clouding” reflects on an old relationship and takes accountability for hurting the other person. Many have pointed out that it sonically resembles the vault tracks from 1989 (Taylor’s Version), with the production style being similar to songs like “Now That We Don’t Talk” and “Suburban Legends”. Thematically, though, it resembles 2017’s “Getaway Car” the most. It’s the girl-next-door of pop songs: fun, but more subdued than what Taylor is usually known for.
Last up is “Babylon”, which tells the story of someone whose ambition made them miss out on their own life. It feels the most quintessentially Swift, with the acoustic guitar and linear storytelling feeling very reminiscent of Red. I have no qualms with “Babylon”—it’s probably my favourite of the four, and many seem to share my opinion.
What’s the verdict, then? Both “Pink Clouding” and “Babylon” could pass as Swift album tracks from her earlier discography, and “Patient Zero” was an alright song that probably just needed some more time in the studio. I will not attempt to defend “Cleveland!”, though—one must maintain some journalistic integrity. I doubt I’ll revisit these tracks much (if at all), but some people online are overstating how terrible they are. Whether you’ll be tuning into that thirteenth album or not, though, I think we’re all ready to move on from the showgirl.