As a proud Swiftie, I can’t complain about the abundance of Taylor Swift music we’ve been blessed with in the last six years. A lot of my favorite songs come from her recent albums, so I was excited when she announced her twelfth studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl”.
However, when Swift began marketing the album as a fusion of “1989” (her most iconic album; think “Blank Space”, “Shake it Off”, “Wildest Dreams”) and “Folklore” (her masterpiece, in my opinion), I was afraid. The blending of two iconic works that caught lightning in a bottle is an impossible standard to set for any new album — let alone for two albums that won Album of the Year at the Grammys.
Swift painted a luxurious and dramatic picture through the album’s imagery, featuring glittery, scrapbook-style graphics. With most of Swift’s recent albums taking on a more serious tone, I was hoping that this playful imagery meant we would finally get some more upbeat pop anthems we heard on her albums like “Lover”.
Upon first listen, I felt conflicted about the album as a whole. While some of the songs completely blew me away, others left me feeling confused or disappointed. As far as being a blend of “1989” and “Folklore”, I’d say about half the songs on “The Life of a Showgirl” meet that standard.
For me, the top three songs on the album are “The Fate of Ophelia”, “Opalite” and “The Life of a Showgirl (feat. Sabrina Carpenter)”.
The first track and lead single on the album, “The Fate of Ophelia”, is one of the best pop hits we’ve heard from Taylor Swift in years. The production and beat of this track are so expertly crafted that you physically cannot stop yourself from dancing. The lyrics are peak Taylor Swift songwriting — Swift’s effortless poetic imagery paired with general silliness makes it easy to love.
“All that time, I sat alone in my tower / You were just honing your powers / Now I can see it all / Late one night you dug me out of my grave and / Saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia.”
If you’re not a Swiftie, prepare to get sick of “The Fate of Ophelia”, because I have a feeling it is going to be a hit.
On “Opalite”, Swift returns to form with simple, fun lyricism to make a feel-good pop bop that we really haven’t heard from her since her “Lover” album. “Opalite” is infectiously joyous — a reminder that everything is going to be alright.
“It’s alright / You were dancing through the lightning strikes / Sleepless in the onyx night / But now the sky is opalite.”
This could have been a contender for lead single with “The Fate of Ophelia”, because this really has pop-hit potential too. I’ll definitely return to “Opalite” on my bad days to cheer me up and remind me not to take life too seriously.
The title track, “The Life of a Showgirl (feat. Sabrina Carpenter),” was the perfect note to end the album on. The song is fun, and Sabrina Carpenter elevates it to a new level.
Swift does what she does best here: storytelling. On the track, she spins a fun narrative about meeting an idol who warns her about the demands of a showgirl’s life. Swift decides to pursue that life anyway and doesn’t regret it.
“Sequins are forever / And now I know the life of a showgirl, babe / Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
It’s a warm, cheerful reflection on Swift’s incredible career, and the cherry on top is that Swift and Carpenter sound surprisingly great together.
There are more tracks worth praising on the album, but there are also some songs that didn’t quite meet the mark for me. The bottom three tracks for me were “Wi$h Li$t”, “Wood” and “CANCELLED!”
“Wi$h Li$t” could have been a cute song, but the execution of the lyrics makes it sound out of touch. After mocking her celebrity peers for their luxury lifestyles, apparently, all Swift wants is to have babies and a house with a basketball hoop. The sentiment just isn’t effective coming from one of the richest women in the world. The lyrics are pretty cliche, and the instrumentals are similar to her work on “Midnights”, which isn’t my favorite production style for her.
I had one thought while listening to “Wood”: We really should all know less about each other.
I don’t think I can defend some of the lyrics on this track. I’ll just say this — I’ve now heard far too many metaphors about a certain football player’s “New Heights of manhood.” I think we should leave the innuendo to Sabrina Carpenter. It is pretty catchy, though.
To me, “CANCELLED!” is the low point of the album. The song did exactly what I feared it would do — tried way too hard to be a “reputation” song. Between the tired narrative of Swift being hated by the media and the boring production, this entire song feels forced and falls flat.
This isn’t a perfect album by any means, but it feels so quintessentially Taylor Swift that I can’t help but love it. It has everything I love most about her work: poetic songwriting, bold lyrics, catchy melodies and glossy, gorgeous production.
The album has received mixed reviews, as Swift’s work usually does. It seems everyone has a take on this album — they either love it, or they think it’s one of her worst. Either way, I think it’s a reminder that whatever you think about Swift and her music, no one else has the world talking like this.
“The Life of a Showgirl” grows on me every time I listen. What I love most is the fun of this album — it’s been a long time since we’ve heard Swift make truly joyful, upbeat and dance-worthy songs, and it’s so much fun to see Swift in her pop princess era again.
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Great review