Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” is receiving mixed reviews despite breaking her own Spotify streaming record in one day. She announced the album on her fiancé and Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce’s podcast, New Heights.
Fans had been anticipating the album’s Oct. 3 release with excitement, many expecting a rerelease of her “Reputation” album. Swift and her team released an orange cardigan to go along with “The Life of a Showgirl”, as is characteristic with her new albums. Along with the apparel came several limited edition record disks, which had acoustic versions of some of the tracks.
With a glittery orange and mint green theme, the album contained 12 tracks. Its title song featured Sabrina Carpenter, who opened for Swift on the Eras Tour.
Reviews for the album were mixed, with many saying her lyrics in past albums far outshone this one. Specifically, songs such as “CANCELLED” included phrases such as “Did you girl-boss too close to the sun?,” demonstrating a lack of lyrical artistry displayed in other tracks.
“Her lyrics really disappointed me with this album. They’re usually my favorite part of her songs, but it wasn’t the same with some of the tracks in The Life of a Showgirl,” sophomore Anthony Fateev said.
The first track, titled “The Fate of Ophelia,” became the most streamed song on Spotify in one day, breaking Swift’s own record. With an extremely catchy chorus and upbeat rhythm, the song explored someone who “dug me out of my grave and/saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia.”
The second and third tracks of the album, titled “Elizabeth Taylor” and “Opalite” respectively, contained emotional melodies about finding someone to love after feeling hopeless for so long. These particular songs featured her usual lyrical genius with phrases such as “Be my NY when Hollywood hates me/You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby” and “A storm inside a teacup/But shelter here with me, my love.”
As the album continued, the songs gradually got slightly less interesting. “The Life of a Showgirl” was compared to the Jonas Brothers’ “Cool”, with a nearly identical chord progression and tune.
There were a few songs on “The Life of a Showgirl” which will definitely be on repeat around the world judging by their immediate virality on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. However, with many other tracks, Swift may have missed the mark.
