Does Taylor Swift Still Have It? Sorry, Swifties

As someone who was an avid Taylor Swift listener during her childhood, but not a “Swiftie,” I find her earlier stuff is much more listenable than her recent releases. I know people in the past have claimed she is “the modern Shakespeare,” but I would have to disagree. In my opinion, her last truly good album was “Midnights”, with standout tracks like “Lavender Haze” and “Bejeweled.” 

Swift’s recent work feels less exciting to me amid a new era of pop stars, including talents like Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, or even newer mainstream girls like Adéla, Slayyyter, and Olivia Dean. I feel as if Taylor Swift is a high school girl trapped in a 36-year-old woman’s body. Between the endless album variants and perfectly timed releases, she seems to compete with rather than support newer artists. It’s like she expects her army of fans to boost every release, no matter how bad the music is.  

The way the charts work has completely changed. Swift is probably used to the way things worked in the past, but now streaming and TikTok visibility play a major role alongside physical copies.

Her most recent release, 2025’s “The Life of a Showgirl,” was a hard listen. With songs about Travis Kelce’s “wood” and her famous friends being cancelled, her lyrical choices were interesting. Most recently, she re-released an expanded version of the album in September 2026, now called “The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore”, with four new tracks added.

Going back to the chart-blocking aspect of some of her re-releases, Slovak artist Adéla took the No. 1 spot on the Spotify charts from Ella Langley, who broke the record for the longest No. 1 song from Mariah Carey, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Taylor Swift then released her “new” album with four added tracks, which reached  No. 1 in a single day. In doing so, Swift blocked the new artist’s chance at a No. 1 spot, preventing Adéla from having her moment. 

I might be biased, but her new songs sound like she asked ChatGPT to write songs about life after the honeymoon phase. 

In fact, when Lady Gaga dropped “How Bad Do U Want Me,” on “Mayhem,” Gaga did Swift better than Swift did herself. With a similar cadence and a “yearny” pop production style reminiscent of Taylor Swift’s old stuff, Gaga executed Swift’s signature style better than Swift has managed to over the past few years.  

Ultimately, Taylor Swift doesn’t need strategic variant drops to secure her legacy; her large catalog does that for itself. But as the new wave of pop stars redefine pop music, staying relevant requires new and fun artistic evolution. Revisiting something like “Reputation,” would allow her to respond to the massive backlash, remind her listeners of her talent, while simultaneously creating a sense of nostalgia. 

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