As a long-term Taylor Swift fan, I was extremely excited to learn the contents of her upcoming album “The Life of a Showgirl” upon its announcement in Travis and Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast episode.
Due to Swift’s artistic productiveness, her fans are accustomed to anticipation. Her album releases and music videos are always the talk of the Swiftie community. It was because of this that my standards and expectations for her new body of work were extremely high.
Unfortunately, the night of the album release was met with disappointment and confusion on my part.
Sonically speaking, it’s a cohesive album with pop-synth sounds reminiscent of those from Swift’s “1989” album. Lyrically, it didn’t tell the story I was hoping to hear about.
In the podcast episode, Swift spoke about the concept behind the album being the experiences she lived offstage during her time performing at the Eras Tour (2023-24). Because of this, I was expecting to hear songs like “Clara Bow” and “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” that encapsulate the pressure to entertain.
Any fan that follows Swift’s life closely knows she seemed to have lived nine lives during the Eras Tour. She was heartbroken, having to perform romantic songs in front of large stadium crowds. Not only that, but she was also carefully crafting and marketing her 2024 album “The Tortured Poets Department.”
Because of such events, I believed her album would speak about the struggles of being a performer just a bit more than it did. While songs like “Elizabeth Taylor” and “The Life of a Showgirl” illustrated Swift’s feelings about being under a metaphoric magnifying glass as an artist, I just don’t feel the visuals Swift shared via her Instagram account match the concept fans were promised, at least not lyrically.
Granted, showgirls are more than just their profession so, of course I hoped to hear about Swift’s offstage presence. I wanted to know what happened once the mascara and sequins came off in her dressing room. What was the ride back to her hotel like? Who did she call first? How did she set aside her overwhelming personal life while performing?
In the song “Father Figure,” Swift adopts the personality of a macho man from the music industry who coaches wannabe artists. This can possibly be seen as Swift’s experience with her former mentor from Big Machine Records, Scott Borchetta.
Lyrics such as “Oftentimes it doesn’t feel so glamorous to be me” and “You’re only as hot as your last hit baby” unveil a level of vulnerability that is to be expected from an artist like Swift, who is constantly demanded of.
The title track of the album featuring another relevant showgirl of today’s time, Sabrina Carpenter, tells the story of a young girl who dreams of the lavish life of performance while both Swift and Carpenter inform her of the less than ideal factors that such profession entails, given they’re “married to the hustle,” and therefore know such life through and through.
This, in my opinion, are the type of storylines that match the album’s aesthetic the most as Swift is cloaked by sparkles and 1920s-inspired outfits while talking about the hardships of showmanship.
However, it’s impossible to think about her life offstage and omit her now fiancè from the conversation, Travis Kelce, who she was dating at the time of her Eras Tour.
It seems to me that this album is more of a love letter to Kelce than it is to the concept of the behind the scenes of a showgirl. She seems to have experienced a rawness and vulnerability her past partners couldn’t supply.
Tracks like “The Fate of Ophelia” and “Wood” speak on what Swift perceives as the unbelievable luck to have met someone who has saved her from the doomed concept of love. She alludes to Shakespeare’s Hamlet when comparing herself to Ophelia, whose complicated love life drove her to madness.
Swift also seems to have emulated the balance of whispering vocals and pop beats from past songs like “Slut!” and “I Think He Knows.” Producers Max Martin and Shellback, who have assisted Swift in hit songs from albums like “Red” and “Reputation” achieved a genuine sound that elevates the romantic storytelling behind songs like “Honey.”
Admittedly, it’s not an immediate favorite as it can be easily overlooked by more pop-sounding tracks. However, I find the song to have captured the authenticity of being in love with the right person, one that values you entirely and checks all your boxes.
Similarly, “Eldest Daughter” speaks on Swift’s fondness of Kelce given the lessons she’s learned as the oldest child have equipped her with the type of affectionate material needed to love someone gently and legitimately.
Swift keeps the romantic scene going in “Wi$h Li$t,” as she mentions her one true desire is her partner, while other celebrities desire material products. This might come off as an effort from Swift to separate herself from her peers, but I believe it to be an honest commentary on the fact romance deems everything else as less important.
Throughout her romantic lyrics, Swift doesn’t fail to display cheekiness in the sexual innuendos sprinkled in multiple of the album’s tracks, which showcases a new level of confidence found within her and Kelce’s relationship.
Although a significant fraction of the album is spent storytelling Swift’s romantic journey with Kelce, she also dives into other meaningful relationships in her life.
In her song “CANCELLED!” Swift embraces her friendship with public figures that found themselves in problematic and even legal situations during the time of the Eras Tour. “Actually Romantic” however, tackles a different relationship.
Fans online have speculated Swift to dedicate the song to artist Charli XCX, who was dating her now husband George Daniel, drummer for the band The 1975, during the time Swift was dating the lead singer of the band, Matty Healy. The song depicts the event in which Charli allegedly congratulated Swift’s ex on breaking things off with her.
As someone who has witnessed Swift voice her opinion about problematic relationships with other celebrities, I don’t know that she understood Charli’s track “Sympathy is a knife” was not a diss on her, rather a praise anthem for Swift.
Charli’s track touches on themes like jealousy and inferiority as means of self-reflection for the brat pop star. Because of this, Swift’s lyricism in “Actually Romantic” makes me question if she is unfamiliar with nuance.
Tracks like “Ruin the Friendship” didn’t hit the mark for me either. Although I appreciated the ballad-like style, I struggled to see a connection between the lyrics and her offstage persona as she focused on a high school scene.
One thing the album wasn’t short of, however, was a pure pop atmosphere. “Opalite” quickly became one of my favorite tracks from the album. The lyrics communicate the sentiment of man-made happiness as one can step out of an “onyx night” and move on from the “temporary speed bump” one is facing at any given moment.
At first listen, the album is an underwhelming experience. I wasn’t necessarily expecting the serious and poetic lyricism found in records like “Folklore” and “Evermore,” but given the showgirl aesthetic of it all, I was hoping to get more lyrics that connected to Swift’s offstage persona.
While it is true a showgirl has a personal life, involving romance and various types of relationships, I believe those concepts were explored too much given the album was intended to illustrate Swift’s less than glamorous lifestyle.
Another hope of mine was for Swift to express herself without colloquialisms or terms like “memes,” “trolling” and “girlboss” which diminish her conveyance of serious messages.
I am still a fan of hers, I just believe she’s made a habit out of chronicling her life to the point where she feels rushed to produce something that could be fine-tuned a bit more.
For me, the album’s visuals hindered the listening experience. We were given images that only showcased the glam aspect of the showgirl even though Swift’s intent was to convey the story of her showgirl persona once she took off her heels and makeup.
Because of this, I definitely think the visuals for the album, while spectacular and eye-catching, could’ve been compromised to tell the story she communicated to all of us and that I so desperately wanted to hear.
While I believe the album’s problem lies in the marketing strategy, I am content with the pop renaissance this album brings about within Swift’s discography, especially given this album transitions from a melancholic era to a more hopeful and joyful one.
