Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” was released last Friday October 3 and predictably took the world by storm. With no singles released before the album, Swifties received all 12 brand new songs at once and entered in a new era of the pop star’s discography.
The album begins with a bang with “The Fate of Ophelia,” an upbeat love song referencing Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” and the album cover itself. Next is “Elizabeth Taylor,” a song referencing the famous actress and her “violet eyes.” This transitions into “Opalite,” a song about the experience of finding your true love after years of looking for it – coincidentally also paying homage to Swift’s fiance Travis Kelce’s birth stone: opal. “Father Figure” is next, which features an interpolation of George Michaels’ song by the same name and is alleged to be about Swift’s relationship with record label executive Scott Borchetta. As all Swifties know, the fifth track of Swift’s albums tend to be the most emotional and this album’s track five – “Eldest Daughter” – is no different as Swift explores the experiences of eldest daughters and the effort that goes into trying to be “cool.” Rounding out the first half of the album is “Ruin the Friendship,” a nostalgic song that brings listeners back to the days of high school and having a crush on your friend. Allegedly about Swift’s late friend Jeff Lang, the song takes a surprisingly dark turn in the bridge and reframes the classic worry of not wanting to “ruin the friendship” by confessing feelings.
The second half of the album begins with “Actually Romantic,” a unique take on the infamous “diss track” genre from the perspective of someone flattered by the negative attention they receive – allegedly about Swift’s relationship with singer Charli XCX. Next is “Wi$h Li$t,” a sweet love song about how it feels to have goals and aspirations that differ from other people in your life because all you really want is your significant other. Following that is “Wood,” a song equally about superstitions and luck as it is about, well, male genitalia – specifically Travis Kelce’s. Moving on, next up is “CANCELLED!” which is a cheeky homage to Swift’s experiences in the public eye and offering support to fellow celebrities who have been “cancelled” online for ridiculous reasons. The penultimate song is “Honey,” a love song exploring romantic nicknames and how negative experiences with them can become positive with the right person. The last song on the album, title track “The Life of a Showgirl,” features vocals from Sabrina Carpenter and describes the experience of meeting your idols and achieving your dreams.
The album is pop-centric overall, and guaranteed to make listeners want to dance. It’s much different from Swift’s last album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” which highlights the collaboration between her and producers Max Martin and Shellback on this album. Previously, she has worked with them on albums “Red,” “1989,” and “reputation.”
Swift and her team did something unique with the release of this album by creating an “Official Release Party” that premiered in theaters from October 3-5. This 90-minute experience featured the premiere of the music video for “The Fate of Ophelia” as well as lyric videos for the rest of the songs, all released to the public this past Sunday. The movie also featured behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the music video, and Swift discussing the inspirations behind each song. This release party captured the essence of the era by bringing Swifties together to sing, dance, and overall be “Showgirls” together.
Junior Emily Myers is a Staff Writer for the College Reporter. Her email is emyers3@fandm.edu.