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taylor swift at the 2025 grammy awards
taylor swift at the 2025 grammy awards
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IUP | Culture > Entertainment

The Life Of A Showgirl

Mikenna McFadden Student Contributor, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at IUP chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

I’ll say it once, and I’ll say it again… Taylor Alison Swift is in fact the music industry. The fact that just over a year ago she released the lyrical masterpiece of The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology, to now we have one of the most iconic pop albums ever! I honestly didn’t fully know what to expect with this album because it could go so many ways. I wasn’t sure if we would get a true pop album, or an album full of up-beat songs with the most soul crushing lyrics. Let’s just say my jaw dropped from the start to the end of listening to this album.

I did in fact stay up until the official release of TLOAS because I have FOMO, and I was not disappointed. Her petty lyrics were truly hilarious, I love what she did with this album. I am not gonna lie, the lyrics are very scandalous so all the people who didn’t like TTPD will most definitely not enjoy these lyrics. But let’s be honest, the album cover and multiple photoshoots let us know right from the start that this was not a cute little innocent album. No, Miss Taylor Alison Swift delivered one of the most insane (and lowkey freaky) albums of her career on October 3rd.

I listened to the entire album once through, and right from the start ‘Opalite’ was indeed my favorite! The track I was most excited for was ‘Eldest Daughter’ because in typical track 5 Taylor fashion, it was absolutely heartbreaking and hit way too close to home as an overachieving, perfectionist daughter. Since the initial release, I have listened to the album multiple times, and ‘Opalite’ remains my top favorite song!

Of course there are already people who don’t like this album, or claiming that it sounds extremely familiar to other artists’ work, like ‘Cool’ by the Jonas Brothers, but this happens every time something new is released. It is very common for music to sound similar, especially when there are so many overlapping musicians, and writers in the music industry. But let’s be for real, everyone makes sure it is targeted at Taylor and other women more so than it is towards any men in the industry. Again, her music isn’t for everyone, and we have known this. It is the same when it comes to any other artist releasing a new album, but she gets so much unnecessary hate and it’s mostly because the men are jealous at how well she has done for herself… newsflash this is why she is considered to be one of the best artists.

There will always be people who don’t enjoy Taylor’s music, and that is perfectly okay! I think the hate is absolutely not needed and wouldn’t happen if she was a man who has accomplished all she has. Either way, go stream this album at least once and decide your thoughts on it! It is not for the faint of heart or innocent ears, so take her lyrics with a grain of salt if you’re not a full-time swiftie. Just give it a chance, you never know, some of these songs may find their way into your playlist!

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Mikenna McFadden is a member of the HerCampus IUP chapter, and her writing varies across the entertainment aspect of news. Mikenna is also apart of the social media team, where she posts relatable content on the club's TikTok account and is the Social Media Video Content Manager!

At IUP, Mikenna is expected to graduate in the Spring of 2027.

In Mikenna's free time she enjoy reading books, watching movies, and listening to music. Some of her favorite singers include Taylor Swift, Gracie Abrams, Renee Rapp, Olivia Rodrigo, and Noah Kahan! Mikenna is a huge fan of all of these things, and they spark a lot of her inspiration for her articles!