I have been a Swiftie since childhood. On Christmas, I received CD copies of “Taylor Swift” and “Fearless.” My mom sang “Never Grow Up” to me as a bedtime lullaby. There’s an old video of me and my two sisters belting “You Belong With Me” in the car. “Reputation” was the only album I had downloaded to iTunes on my iPod touch. When I couldn’t make it to the Eras Tour, my sister and I made friendship bracelets and took my boyfriend and family to watch “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” in theaters. All this to say, I was pretty excited when Taylor Swift announced the release of her 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl.”
I have to admit, however, that my first listen was not thorough. I did not stay up until midnight on Oct. 3 to listen to the album as soon as it dropped, like many dedicated fans. Instead, I played it the following morning while getting ready for work and answering emails. My initial reaction? Ooh, that’s catchy. It wasn’t until I checked TikTok after my shift that I was exposed to any negative thoughts about the new album, commonly referred to as “TLOAS.” My For You Page was flooded with fans mourning the lack of expected lyrical depth, complaining about some of the album’s explicit sexual references and even accusing it of containing homophobic themes.
After seeing these reactions to “TLOAS,” I wanted to give the album a closer listen. I replayed it a few more times and also went to see the movie, “Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl.” Here are my thoughts on each song:
First off, I loved the music video for this song! It perfectly set the tone for the entire album, and it was really interesting to see the details from the video explained in the movie. It is catchy and non-controversial, a solid choice for the opening track. Swift’s Shakespeare references also prove that she is still the literary queen and lyrical genius we all know her to be.
Not going to lie, I had to look up who Elizabeth Taylor was. This song definitely sets the stage for the album’s theme, which enters the world of a showgirl. The song was okay, but I found it to be very chorus-heavy and repetitive.
3. “Opalite”
This is a track that I didn’t care for at first, but it grew on me with each listen. The imagery in the chorus is nice, and the song is catchy. No complaints here!
This is where the album begins to get a little more … explicit? Risqué? Vulgar? Whatever you want to call it, this song is definitely not entirely PG. While this track is one that received backlash from fans, it might actually be (don’t hate me for it) my favorite song on the album. It is giving confident. It is giving powerful. It is giving experienced.
Unfortunately, I have to side with the majority on this one. This song fell short of what it could have been. The lyrics feel poorly matched with the mood set by the music. Some lines in this song seem out of place, including “Every joke’s just trolling and memes,” “But I’m not a bad b*tch / And this isn’t savage” and “So we all dressed up as wolves and we looked fire.” This song had so much potential, but the unserious lyrics squashed it.
I like this song, partially because the lyrics feel reminiscent of Swift’s earlier albums, particularly “Fearless” and “Speak Now.” The representation of love in this song is more hopeful than in her previous work and more innocent than in other songs on “The Life of a Showgirl.” The only part that I find off-putting is the seemingly sudden death of the person Swift is singing about at the end of the track. It shifts the mood of the song from carefree and only mildly regretful to sad, final and deeply regretful.
This song is not bad, but it’s not great either. It’s giving, “What you’re saying is bothering me, but I’m gonna brush it off as if it’s not.” There is that one slightly questionable line, though … It’s kind of making you what, Taylor?
8. “Wi$h Li$t”
This song has fallen victim to a lot of internet hate, but honestly, it was my favorite when I first listened to the album. The chorus is really catchy, and the tune is super carefree and vibey. It is ironic that Swift writes about her disinterest in expensive things, like a private helicopter and Balenciaga sunglasses, when we all know that she is part of the 0.1% that could afford them (private jet, anyone?). It feels like she is trying to be relatable, but the attempt does not land.
9. “Wood”
I don’t mean to sound like a hater, but I genuinely have not heard a single positive thing about this song from anyone. It comes across as sexually explicit for no other reason than to be sexually explicit. This is definitely a “skip” for me, and unfortunately, it takes the cake as my least favorite song on the album.
10. “CANCELLED!”
This song received some criticism for being insensitive and failing to hold people accountable for their words and actions, but I think it carries a good message. In my opinion, cancel culture has gone too far, and this track addresses that point well. My only qualm, especially since this song follows “Wi$h Li$t,” is that Swift sings about liking her friends “cloaked in Gucci and in scandal.” Two songs ago, she told us she wasn’t about that life … Girl, you have to pick a side!
11. “Honey”
This song is really sweet and romantic. It captures Swift’s transition from being guarded and heartbroken to opening herself up to love, which is an experience that a lot of listeners can relate to. While this is not my favorite track on the album, it is definitely one of the stronger ones.
12. “The Life of a Showgirl (feat. Sabrina Carpenter)“
This was a good note to end the album on, and the Sabrina Carpenter feature was an appropriate choice, as she’s also a “pretty and witty” showgirl. Speaking of Sabrina…
I think this album would have been better received if it were written by someone like Sabrina Carpenter, whose fans are familiar with her risqué lyricism. Swift is known for her poetic writing style and narrative storytelling, and the songs released in “The Life of a Showgirl” may not have lived up to these expectations.
Overall, the album is really not that bad. Is it Swift’s best work yet? Probably not. But is it the horrid atrocity that some critics (and even some fans) have made it out to be? Probably not. Unfortunately, Taylor Swift has long been the subject of public scrutiny. She’s faced criticism for her music, her wealth and even her relationships. Ironically, the hate she has received for “The Life of a Showgirl” just proves her point: “You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby.”