Taylor Swift released her anticipated 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, this past Friday, Oct. 3. She had previously announced the album back in August on her fiancé Travis Kelce’s sports podcast, New Heights, that he hosts with his brother, Jason. She had described the album as super poppy and very different from her last album, The Tortured Poet’s Department, so I was excited going into it.
Despite the fact that I am an English major and absolutely love words, when it comes to songs, I base my opinions purely on vibes. Does it sound good? Can I dance to it? Yes? Okay, perfect! Was this her best album? Definitely not. Did I love it? Absolutely! Any lyrics can work for me if the beat is there and the instrumentals can make my head bop and shoulders shimmy.
After listening to the album, I decided to take a little peek on TikTok to see how the masses feel. And just like Tortured Poets, they hate it. And just like Tortured Poets, they will all probably love it in two weeks. Now I’m not saying that people aren’t entitled to their own opinions–I have some strong ones myself that might get me canceled in the Swiftie community–but the people saying it’s “objectively bad” are the ones killing me. Art cannot be objective because opinions on it are entirely subjective. You can dislike something all you want, but that does not make it bad.
I think everyone forgets that Swift is a millennial to her core. Cringey lyrics are a result of her age and the internet, of course, and that is why I think they were so strong during the pandemic on albums like folklore and evermore; she wasn’t on the internet as much as everyone else during that time. Everyone was home and she had so much time to perfect them. She had time to write poetry. She wasn’t on a world tour or attending her boyfriend’s football games. I’m not saying that she should let her artistry die with her new schedule, but as always Swift loves to feed her fans. (Though, I will not lie, she could have left the album in the oven for a bit longer.)
Another big talking point I have seen on TikTok is that folklore and evermore were results of Joe Alwyn, her ex-boyfriend. People are even going as far as to say he wrote most of the albums while he is only credited on one, maybe two songs. This feels incredibly misogynistic. To disregard the lyricism on albums before the pandemic like Red and Speak Now is completely disingenuous. Swift did not write “Dear John” at 19 and “Treacherous” at 22 to have her talent thrown aside because she decided to be silly on her newest album.
But also, there are some very valid critiques online like the fact that she is now surrounded by “yes men” who don’t push her. Her lyricism lacks on some songs on Showgirl. I am the biggest fan of Swift, and even I can admit that. But if there is one thing about Taylor Swift, it’s that she listens to critiques. People thought Tortured Poets was too wordy and depressing? Okay cool now she’s making songs with surface level lyrics like “Did you girl-boss too close to the sun?” and “I was about 8 or 9 / That was the night I fell off and broke my arm” but to the beat of Jonas Brothers songs. Don’t worry though, Swift will once again prove her versatility and return with a brand new sound and completely different lyrics on TS13.
Regardless, my feelings do not change because others dislike this album. I loved it. I love fun. My favorites off of the album are “Elizabeth Taylor,” “Ruin the Friendship,” and “The Fate of Ophelia,” but really the whole album is great with only a couple skips for me –“Wi$h Li$t” and “Eldest Daughter” (which I was a bit sad about because I had originally claimed “Eldest Daughter”). So many of the songs sound like other songs, and she even seemingly sampled a couple of her own work like “Glitch” on “Wi$h Li$t” and “I Did Something Bad” on “CANCELLED!”
The Sabrina Carpenter feature on the title track “The Life of a Showgirl” was fun, but definitely not my favorite. I did love Carpenter’s vocals on it though; it felt like those off of her album emails i can’t send which I was so excited to hear as an eics stan. The song also sounded like it could be in The Greatest Showman which I LOVED.
Overall, I love this album. The girls who get it, get it. And if you don’t, that’s okay too. Every album is not for everyone. All I can do is just tell you to give it another listen or two and just vibe. Let it marinate. That’s the best way to listen to a pop album.
And always remember, hating pop music definitely does not make you cool.