Whether you’re a Swiftie, a casual listener, or she’s just not to your taste, when Taylor Swift
releases new music, you know. The lead up to her album releases become an event, sending fans
into a spiral of frantic searches for Easter Eggs and decoding cryptic Instagram posts. Unlike
other artists, Swift is expected to meet the remarkably high standards of her fans and the public
with each album she releases, and when their expectations are not met, the world is quick to grab
their phone and make a TikTok or tweet saying just so. Yet, there is a noticeable pattern in the
weeks of an album’s rollout, the tide will change and fans will claim they “needed the album to
marinate” or that it’s a “grower” after a few listens.
Given the discourse surrounding Taylor Swift and her latest albums, it begs the question: why is a
pop star victim to the level of scrutiny typically reserved for the acclaimed literary geniuses of the
past and present?
Unlike the weeks of teasers and promotion of Taylor Swift’s previous albums, folklore was an
uncharacteristic surprise release. The album marked a shift in Swift’s musical prowess as she
moved away from the maximalist pop sound in her 1989 and Lover album run to a more
experimental, folk sound that pays homage to the previous work of her collaborator The National’s
Aaron Dessner. folklore’s reception by both critics and the public was widely successful, with
critics lauding it as her most cohesive album to date and a prime example of her lyrical abilities.
Swifties dubbed it as her best album, commenting on how Swift’s songwriting had visibly matured
and how it made for an easy, intimate listening experience. Even non-fans of Swift were able to
appreciate the artistic risk she had taken experimenting with the indie alternative sound, as well
as the departure from a record centred around her personal life, to one that sung of haunting tales
and heartbreak.
However, with the countless praise of folklore’s lyricism and production came the incomparable
expectations for her future album releases. Every release has since been measured against the
introspective storytelling and subdued, authentic musicality of folklore, and it appears that the
standards Swift is competing against are no longer in relation to her peers, but with herself.
When Swift later released evermore the same year, fans christened it folklore’s “sister album” and
a continuation of her experiment in the indie-folk sound. Despite the album rivalling it’s
predecessor as one of Swift’s most impressive records regarding her lyrical prowess and
versatility, it didn’t receive the same critical reception with some critics considering it’s
songwriting to be subpar in comparison to folklore. The release of evermore kickstarted a new
dynamic between Swift and her fanbase, one defined by comparison and endless fan theories
linking her work to her personal life.
With the rollout of Midnights in 2022, this dynamic had intensified and fan discourse began to
border harsh criticism stemming from the nostalgia of the folklore era. Fan critiques included
Swift’s regression into the “repetitive” synth-pop production of Jack Antonoff and her
underwhelming lyricism, and the question “What happened to folklore Taylor?” was a common
phrase seen across social media platforms.
The Tortured Poets Department was undoubtedly Swift’s most anticipated album of the year
following the success of Midnights at the 2024 Grammy Awards, setting the record as Spotify’s
most pre-saved album which was later broken by The Life of a Showgirl. Whilst many viewed it as
a return to the introspective style of writing present in folklore, the double album fell victim to
similar criticisms of evermore and some called it a die-hard effort of Swift’s to recreate the critical
success of folklore.
In August 2025, Swift went on her now fiancé’s sports podcast ‘New Heights’ to announce the
release of her much-anticipated twelfth studio album The Life of a Showgirl. To the delight of
many Red– and 1989-loving Swifties, Taylor revealed that acclaimed producers Max Martin and
Shellback had made a comeback to collaborate on a pop-driven record. The Life of a Showgirl
was recorded during the European leg of the Eras Tour and was said by Swift to be a behind-the-scenes look at her life on the road, with fans playing a guessing game at which songs would be
dedicated to her fiancé Travis Kelce.
As predicted, social media feeds were filled with content about The Life of a Showgirl, ranging from some fan’s
love of the album to other’s loud claims of dislike and, of course, those who could not stop
themselves from making the folklore comparison. The commentary surrounding the album was as
divided as expected – there were fans who were ecstatic and craved the return of pop start Taylor
and others who mourned the essayist behind folklore.
Some fans have even gone as far as claiming The Life of a Showgirl is proof that Joe Alwyn,
Swift’s ex-partner, was the true creative mastermind behind folklore and evermore – albums that
he was credited on under the pseudonym William Bowery. As a fan of Taylor Swift myself,
critiques of her work will always be natural and well-founded, however to attribute the success of
her songwriting abilities to an ex-partner diminishes her achievements over the course of her
career. It also sheds light on society’s ingrained discomfort with recognising a woman’s
achievements as a result of her own hard work. This is noticeable in the response to female
artists’ success in the music industry where male producers, feature artists and collaborators are
at times given more credit.
As the saying goes, comparison is the thief of joy. Swifties crave the eloquence of folklore’s
lyricism and musicality, yet yearn for the nostalgia of 1989’s “glitter gel pen” sound. When Swift
attempts to experiment with her versatility, fans applaud her for the desire to evolve her
discography, yet criticise her the moment her releases subvert the expectations they have.
Every album in Taylor Swift’s discography is a reflection of a chapter in her life, and it is time for
fans to recognise the folklore comparison discourse must be set aside. Despite lying on opposite
ends of the spectrum regarding genre, folklore and The Life of a Showgirl are two sides of the
same coin. The first uses fiction and storytelling of high-school heartbreak and nostalgia to
conceal the life of a celebrity withdrawing from the public eye, whilst the latter showcases the
‘showgirl’ embracing her life on the stage and all the tribunals she faces behind the scenes.
As Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter so beautifully sing, we really do not know the life of a
showgirl, and perhaps it is time we move past the comparisons and revel in the art we are so
generously given.