Taylor Swift released her 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl” on Oct. 3. After announcing the album on her fiancé, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s podcast, Swift said, “It (the album) comes from, like, the most infectiously joyful, wild, dramatic place I was in my life, and so that effervescence has come through this album.” That energy is a total change of pace compared to her last album, “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT,” a 31-track reservoir for the emotions Swift dealt with following the end of a nearly seven-year relationship.
“The Life of a Showgirl” is one of Swift’s shortest albums, coming in at 42 minutes with 12 songs. Swift revealed during the podcast that she worked solely with producers Max Martin and Shellback, who had previously worked on many of Swift’s big pop hits. Her newest work is now in its third week at number one on the Billboard Top 200.
At the top of these charts is “The Fate of Ophelia,” the first single and the album’s opening track. The production starts off with a simple blend of piano and drums that eventually leads into a beat drop and the start of a more funky sound as Swift begins to sing.
It captures the overall message of the album while also reflecting on her past. In the song, Swift says, “If you never came for me I might’ve drowned in melancholy,” referencing how Kelce’s presence in her life saved her from the sadness that she was experiencing after the end of her relationships with Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy. In “The Fate of Ophelia,” Swift relates her experiences to the play “Hamlet,” in which Ophelia drowns after she descends into madness caused by heartbreak and the loss of her agency. As she puts it in the song, Kelce’s entry into her life “saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia.” Overall, it is the perfect opening act for “The Life of a Showgirl” as it sets the stage for the themes, lyrically and sonically for the album.
With track four, Swift pivots away from romantic relationships, the focus of the first three songs. “Father Figure” is Swift’s way of narrating how she reclaimed her masters, a dream that she worked towards for many years. When she was just 15 years old, Swift signed her first record deal, resulting in Scott Borchetta, the head of Big Machine Records, owning the master recordings of her first six albums. For years, Swift fought to buy back her masters so that she could own her creations, going as far as even re-recording and re-releasing four of her past works as “Taylor’s Versions” with the hope of decreasing the value of her original masters.
Earlier this year, Swift was able to buy back her masters. In a letter Swift posted to her website after purchasing back her work, she revealed that because of the success of “The Eras Tour,” she was able to buy back her music.
“I can’t thank you enough for helping me reunite me with this art that I have dedicated my life to, but have never owned until now,” Swift wrote in the letter.
“Father Figure” starts from Borchetta’s perspective as he takes Swift under his wing, but during the bridge, we see the perspective switch to Swift’s as she begins to see Borchetta’s ambition take over. Throughout the song, Swift repeats “I protect the family” six times to represent her protecting her six stolen albums. This song is a lot moodier than the album’s previous songs. The production becomes more pulled back in the first half of the final chorus as Swift has her symbolic confrontation with Borchetta. “You want a fight? You found it, I got the place surrounded,” she says, and then comes back even stronger during the second half with a dramatic key change as she reclaims her work, saying, “This empire belongs to me.” The production and lyricism create a vivid picture of the relationship between a mentor and protege.
The fifth track is known to hold Swift’s most vulnerable song on each album and oftentimes become fan favorites. However, while “Eldest Daughter” does give us insights into many of Swift’s insecurities, it falls flat compared to many other songs in the track five family when it comes to songwriting. That being said, the overall message is very beautiful. Many of the most impactful lyrics mirroring those of past songs such as, “When I said I don’t believe in marriage that was a lie,” directly references the line “and I wouldn’t marry me either” from “You’re Losing Me.”
Where the rest of the song falls short, the bridge is a perfect example of Swift’s writing ability. The daydream-like sound and clear imagery are reminiscent of Swift’s older writing. This bridge reminds me both in writing and in the sound of “Speak Now.” It seems as though Swift is looking back on the times that she fantasized about finding this storybook love and is realizing now that she has found it.
Continuing with the theme of the new love Swift has found, track eight, “Wi$h Li$t,” focuses on the happiness and the positive change being with Kelce has brought to her life. In the song, Swift compares what others want out of life with her own wishlist. While others dream about winning awards or living off the grid, Swift dreams about a simpler life: “I just want you, huh. Have a couple kids, got the whole block looking like you…. Got me dreaming ‘bout a driveway with a basketball hoop.” In past relationships, Swift let this part of her dream future fall onto the back burner because of who she was with, but with Kelce, she can imagine a future where this dream becomes a reality. The production is very similar to that of her song “Glitch,” in which she views her relationship with Alwyn as a blip that never should have happened.
The final song on the album is the title track, “The Life of a Showgirl,” featuring Sabrina Carpenter. Together, Swift and Carpenter take the listener on a narrative journey through becoming a showgirl, opening with the introduction of one of these girls: “Her name was Kitty. She made her money being pretty and witty.” Through their lyrical back-and-forth dialogue, the girls reveal the not-so-glamorous sides of being famous. During the bridge, the intense buildup between the performers pushes the song towards its peak as they reach the top of their fame and realize that it isn’t everything that they expected.
With the final chorus the girls reach the peak of their success in the story: “Pain hidden by the lipstick and lace. Sequins are forever, and now I know the life of a showgirl babe, wouldn’t have it any other way.” The song has a full circle moment as it ends with Carpenter repeating the lyrics, “Now I make my money being pretty and witty.” In a way, this song symbolizes Swift handing the baton over to the next generation of artists.
While the internet exploded with mixed reviews on “The Life of a Showgirl,” debating the production and songwriting value, I was happy to see Swift return to her pre-COVID optimistic style. I loved the writing on many of Swift’s newest albums, but it’s hard to ignore how depressing many of the themes are. It seems like now Swift has found enjoyment in life again, with “The Life of a Showgirl” encapsulating Swift’s return to her “glitter gel pen” ways, reminiscent of her younger more carefree self. As someone who adores both the complex writing in “folklore” and the girly “Lover” songs, I am happy to see Swift reignite the passion for pop music her albums once contained.