“The Life of a Showgirl” Album Review

As the first album Taylor Swift has released since the end of her record-breaking Eras Tour, “The Life of a Showgirl” quickly topped the charts just hours after its release on Friday, October 3. This was an impressive feat, but not a surprising one, as her previous album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” had already swept fans off their feet.

Opening with tracks like “The Fate of Ophelia” and “Elizabeth Taylor,” “The Life of a Showgirl” instantly establishes itself as a pop album. Each song plays a key role in developing the album, from the unexpected twist in “Ruin The Friendship” to Swift being in love in “Honey.” The album undeniably provides some catchy pop hits, but it remains subpar to Swift’s previous works. 

Musical Breakdown

Upon looking deeper into these tracks, we can see more of who Swift is and what these songs mean to her. In the opening track, “The Fate of Ophelia,” Swift makes several references to the Shakespearean play, “Hamlet.” Some of the lines make direct allusions to the play: “Ophelia lived in a fantasy / But love was a cold bed full of scorpions / The venom stole her sanity.” Additionally, this connection can be seen in the album cover, which shows Swift’s head just above water—or, perhaps, coming out of the water. 

In “Hamlet,” Ophelia ends up losing her sanity and drowns. Some could argue that Swift uses this connection to resemble her love life, suggesting that if she had another heartbreak, she too might ‘drown’ or give up on love. However, Swift follows this with the line, “You saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia”. From this, fans have inferred that Travis Kelce, her now fiancé, has shown her true love, hence saving her from ‘drowning’ or, in other words, “The Fate of Ophelia.” This song represents the renewal of Swift’s perspective on love and how she was saved from giving up on it forever.

The remaining songs on the tracklist follow a similar sonic theme. Despite each song having a completely different vibe, some begin to blend together. Not only this, but you can find hints of other songs by various artists scattered all throughout the album. Listen hard enough, and you’ll find the beginning of  “I Want You Back” by the Jackson 5 in “Wood,” samples of George Michael’s “Father Figure” in Swift’s track of the same name, and many other memorable songs that clearly inspired some of Swift’s latest work. 

Even so, the album explores a range of different tones; from the darker mood of  “CANCELLED!” to the pop-rock drums of  “Actually Romantic” (rumored to be directed at Charli XCX), and even the tragic piano of “Ruin the Friendship.” Closing out the album, the title track, featuring Sabrina Carpenter, captures the vocals of both artists, enhancing one another while including a fun, musical theater-esque bridge. This song provides a positive yet brutal closure for the album, depicting what it’s really like to live in their world of fame.

Swift’s goal for the album was to create something upbeat, showy, and fun for her audience, while also showing what her life is like behind the scenes of all her fame. The result is a mostly upbeat album, with a few slower tracks and fun visuals to go along with it. However, despite containing some fun unique melodies, we still feel that it is inferior to Swift’s previous work.

A Divided Fandom

Swift talks very proudly of the album, writing with the intention of making something sillier and more fun in comparison to her recent works. It didn’t seem to sit well with audiences, however, as the reviews appear to be split—a rare occurrence for the pop star.  Swift has been heavily praised in the past for her clever and deep lyricism, even earning the title of a modern-day Shakespeare. Now, with lines such as “Did you girlboss too close to the sun?” and “But I’m not a bad b*tch, and this isn’t savage,” fans and casuals alike are beginning to question her artistic choices. Many tune in expecting to hear heartfelt poetry paired with a strong melody, but it seems that these “cringe” lyrics just aren’t cutting it.

Lyricism aside, many are calling this album disappointing due to the sheer lack of vibrant pop that was expected from iconic producer Max Martin. Known for creating countless pop hits over the last few decades, fans had their hopes set high for an album similar to his previous collaborations with Swift, such as ‘1989’, ‘Red’, and ‘Reputation’. Not all of these hopes were met, however, as much of the criticism going towards the album is for being “sonically bland” and overall just “boring.” 

Though there is a lot of judgment being aimed at the newest addition to the Swift catalog, plenty of fans are still enjoying and appreciating it for what it is. Sophomore Olivia Howard listened to the album on the day of its release and took some time to form her opinion.

“I actually really liked it,” Howard said. “Some of the songs definitely had to grow on me, but for the most part, I really enjoyed it. I think they do a perfect job at encapsulating her life recently.” 

The most favorable tracks among the Swifties seem to be “Opalite” for its energetic and sparkly tone and “The Fate of Ophelia” for its danceable nature and stunning visuals from the new music video. Swift’s artistic choices were deeply appreciated by fans like junior Evie Conlin. 

“It’s really different from everything that she usually does, so it was a bit hard to get used to, but I feel like it really displays how she feels in these songs and what it’s like each time she plays them,” Conlin says. “If you really listen to the lyrics and what each song means, then you can see the correlation.” 

Even with these positive reviews, along with many others, there is still criticism being discussed among Davie students. Junior Riley McNeil has a mixed view on the album.

“I didn’t have a visceral reaction to any of the songs on my first listen like I’ve have with other albums,” McNeil said. “I really liked the production of the album, like the beat and background music, but the lyricism is lacking, and it’s not like what we have seen from Taylor before.” McNeil goes further into her opinion, discussing the out-of-place lyrics, jabs at fellow artists, and uncomfortable song topics that many Swifties seem to be disappointed with. “It felt like she wasn’t really writing for herself, more like she was writing to further put her name into the book of billionaires.”

One of our Swiftie teachers has also weighed in on this debate, expressing her support for the album. Civics teacher Kamryn Harris has nothing but positive reviews for the new release and believes she knows where the hate stems from.

“It always takes me a listen or two to get used to a new sound and a new album,” Harris said. “I already had a feeling that it would not be full of metaphorical lyrics like TTPD, and instead it would be more upbeat or pop, so the contrast of sound from the last album to ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ didn’t really shock me.” 

As a fan since 2006, Harris has had to keep an open mind throughout decades of album releases and genre shifts. Something that a newer fan has not had to experience. Over time, she believes that fans may begin to warm up to the album and its familiar sounds. 

“I’m a big believer that negative opinions come from loud voices, not necessarily a lot of voices. Now that I’ve had time to absorb the album, I really like it—it might be one of my favorites.”

Ultimately, despite the positive opinions here, there seems to be a split in the Swiftie fandom on whether this is a fun, creative, “glitter gel-pen” album or a bland, embarrassing soundtrack written almost for the sake of having a new album. Outside of this fanbase, most appear to have reached the consensus that it’s a simply bad album.

Final Review

Agreeing with public opinion, “The Fate of Ophelia” and “Opalite” are sonically the best tracks on the album, successfully giving us something to dance to and have fun with. We find that the title track is also one of the better songs, fitting right in with that desired pop feel. These three songs have been, and will likely remain on repeat, as they are very enjoyable. Unfortunately, not all songs meet this standard. The album in itself is good, but nowhere near comparable to her iconic pop productions of the past.