Taylor Swift released her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, on October 3, 2025. The album, announced on the New Heights podcast hosted by Travis and Jason Kelce this summer, sparked high expectations and excitement from fans eager for its release.
Three weeks into The Life of a Showgirl era, opinions about the album vary widely. Some listeners appreciate its lyrics, sound, and jam-ability, embracing the album’s happy emotional tone. Others criticize inconsistencies and lackluster aspects, especially in its lyrics and overall style. The debate centers on whether the album’s approach delivers on fan expectations or falls short.
From the leading track to the celebratory ending, The Life of a Showgirl takes the audience behind the curtain and into the life of Taylor Swift. During the second half of the Eras Tour, while this album was being written, recorded, and produced, Swift was falling deeper in love. Songs like “The Fate of Ophelia,” “Wi$h Li$t,” and “Honey” describe her feelings of love, comfort, and giddiness towards the football star, Travis Kelce.
Also, during this time, Swift and her management team were making deals with Shamrock Capital to buy back her music from the start of her career. This includes her original first 6 albums. Songs like “Father Figure,” as well as “The Life of a Showgirl,” express her feelings towards the music industry, including her experience as an artist with influence no other living artist can claim.
While many people were expecting songs like “I Can Do It with a Broken Heart,” a punk-pop sound, showing us her struggle behind the scenes of the Eras Tour, this album is completely different. Many people have blamed Swift for an inconsistency between the art and rollout of the album compared to the actual music. Saying the cover, as well as prominent events in her life, led the audience to believe there would be more reputation-style music and angst. While this interpretation of a tougher, unfiltered struggle is valid, once past any personal expectations of the album, the lyrics and sound match her high school love emotions, as well as her Y2K sound and classic storytelling.
Fans also had complaints related to the lyrics. Swift has become known as our celebrity English teacher, with her exquisite detail-oriented and storytelling aspects in songs. Taking the audience from their room into a landscape painting. While some of the lyrics lack a certain depth, I believe this is intentional. For example, in “Eldest Daughter”, the chorus has the lyrics, “I’m not a bad bitch, and this isn’t savage.” While a surface-level listener might view this as cringeworthy or out of touch, when taking a deeper look, it is apparent that Swift uses this lingo as a way to mimic how she is referred to online. The point of “Eldest Daughter” is that she is not as tough as people think she is, and with the person she loves, she is allowed to let her guard down.
While The Life of a Show Girl may not be everyone’s cup of tea, it is one of Swift’s most loved albums. It shows her feelings of forever love, while still displaying her masterful lyricism and storytelling. At the end of the day, artists will not satisfy everyone, and this album is no exception. For Taylor Swift, the life of a showgirl is the stripped-down version of a mega celebrity, seeking effortless love and the romantic dreams of a child.